Rate My Professor Robertson Burgess

Dr Robertson Burgess is a Lecturer of Secondary Science and Mathematics in the School of Education, College of Human and Social Futures, at the University of Newcastle, Australia. With a background in physics research, he transitioned into high school teaching before pursuing a career in teacher education. He earned a PhD in Physics from the University of Newcastle, focusing on simulations of light interactions with nanometer-scale metallic particles, along with a Bachelor of Science (Honours) and a Master of Teaching (Secondary) from the same institution.

His professional experience includes serving as a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Milano-Bicocca, Italy (2012-2013), Project Officer at the University of Newcastle's School of Education (2015), Science Teacher at Hunter Valley Grammar School, Australia, and Mathematics Teacher at The Hastings Academy, United Kingdom. As Program Convenor for the Bachelor of Education (Secondary), he prepares aspiring teachers for secondary classrooms. Dr Burgess's research explores the integration of emerging technologies such as AI, virtual reality, and games-based learning into science education. He examines their impact on teaching practices, ethical use, and support for early-career science teachers, including out-of-field teaching, using generative AI to analyze teacher social media interactions. Notable publications include the journal article "Using large language models to complement humans for the coding of social media interactions between science teachers" in Discover Education (2026), "Communities of secondary science teachers: a systematic review" in International Journal of Science Education (2024), and physics-related papers such as "TDDFT Study of the Optical Absorption Spectra of Bare Gold Clusters" in the Journal of Physical Chemistry C (2014) and "Cerium-Doped Zirconium Dioxide, a Visible-Light-Sensitive Photoactive Material of Third Generation" in the Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters (2014).