Editorial – Getting girls into Physics – are we saying the wrong things?
We are all keen to engage more girls in physics. And, certainly in the UK, there have been initiatives and large amounts of money thrown at this problem for the past 30 years. Yet the percentage of girls taking physics up to age 18 and as undergraduates has remained stubbornly at about 20%. We can only conclude that everything we have tried has made NO difference to the uptake of physics by girls.
Following in Eratosthenes’ footsteps
An ancient experiment in schools around the world!
The Eratosthenes Experiment, organized by Ellinogermaniki Agogi’s [EA] Research and Development Department, on Friday 21 March 2014, in Athens Greece, on the occasion of the previous day’s equinox, received an overwhelming response, as 350 schools from 37 countries participated in this celebration of science and education, calculating the circumference of the Earth by using eLearning educational tools and simple instruments…
Cedric Linder wins the 2014 ICPE Medal for Physics Education
The International Commission on Physics Education [ICPE] is pleased to announce that the winner of the 2014 ICPE Medal for outstanding contributions to physics education is Professor Cedric Linder of Uppsala University, Sweden.
The award recognizes Professor Linder’s outstanding contributions to physics education research. His work has been notable for its range, depth and impact, as well for its international scope. Educated at universities in South Africa, the USA and Canada, Cedric Linder, in 1996, was awarded the first personal Chair in Physics Education in South Africa …
Good results for ISE and the best is yet to come
The partners of the Inspiring Science Education [ISE] project have begun to see the result of their work during the first year of the project.
Science education is an investment for both society as a whole and the next generation of scientists. Bringing scientific culture into primary and secondary schools will inspire children to embrace scientific careers as well as enhance scientific awareness of future generations of policy makers, teachers, lawyers, etc…
Editorial — Bringing Nobel Prize physics to high schools
Today much of the ethical and political decision-making involves some understanding of the nature of science, its strengths and limits. There is perhaps no better or more recent example of this need, than the debate that arose around the discovery of the Higgs Boson and the operation of LHC at CERN, which has sparked the imagination of authors of works of fiction, occasionally causing concern among the general public. To understand the role of science in deliberations about the projected outcomes of the experiments taking place in the LHC, their safety and value – given the immense investment in human and other resources involved – all students, including future scientists need…
How to train doctoral researchers for a diverse job market
The League of European Research Universities [LERU] just published a paper sharing some successful experiences regarding doctoral education in Europe.
Doctoral education has changed significantly, not least to adapt to changing demands from a variety of employers. Universities have (re)developed structured programmes and are embedding in them a great choice of professional development training opportunities for doctoral researchers.
For example, under the heading formal research training, there are masterclasses…
Inauguration of the International Center of Interdisciplinary Science Education
On August 12, 2013, one and a half years after the groundbreaking ceremony of the International Center of Interdisciplinary Science Education [ICISE], an impressive building was inaugurated in Quy Nhon, Central Vietnam. The Vietnamese government, along with many internationally recognized, prestigious universities and institutions in physics, strongly endorsed this initiative.The ICISE is part of an ambitious project planned by Professors Tran Thanh Van and Le Kim Ngoc, as part of the work of the Association “Rencontres du Vietnam”. This non-profit organization was created in 1996 to contribute to…
GIREP-MPTL 2014
The GIREP-MPTL International conference on Teaching/Learning Physics: Integrating Research into Practice [GIREP-MPTL 2014] will be held from 7 to 12 July 2014 at University of Palermo, Italy.
The purpose of the GIREP-MPTL 2014 is to bring together people working in physics education research and in physics education at schools from all over the world to allow them to share research results and exchange their experience.
The conference organisers are the Groupe International de Recherche sur l’Enseignement de la Physique [GIREP]…
Pathway conference
The Pathway conference will be held from 23 to 26 October 2013 in Bad Hofgastein, Austria.
The Pathway conference is the opportunity for science teachers from all over Europe to meet together with their peers and education experts. Workshops and plenary lectures will be organised under the theme of the inquiry-based science education [IBSE]. Workshops for teachers will be held in English as well as in German.
The conference is the closing event of the Pathway project. During 3 years, materials and resources have been…
Assisting education in the EU countries under serious economic pressure
The EPS Executive Committee supports a widespread dissemination through its e-EPS newsletter of the following appeal, which is integrally reproduced.
Dear Colleagues,
please consider our initiative which is open on support-education-eu.itp.uni-heidelberg.de trying to assist education in the EU countries affected by serious economic pressure. We should like to ask you to sign it, and it would be…
Science on Stage 2013: sharing best-practice teaching ideas
From 25-28 April 2013, about 350 science teachers met in Slubice, Poland, during the Science on Stage festival.
The main focus of the event is to offer science and mathematics teachers a platform from which they will exchange teaching projects and network together. The projects presented at the festival in 2013 were selected from 25 European countries.
The Science on Stage festival gives teachers the opportunity to present their best-practice ideas…
Odysseus contest reveals the next generation of scientists
Students from all over Europe demonstrated their interest in science during the Odysseus contest.
The contestants, from 14 to 18 years old, had to design a project related to space exploration and research. Over 430 high school students from 17 European countries participated. After the national and international selections, 5 teams were selected as laureates of the contest. The winning pupils and their coaches were invited to visit the astronaut-training center in Cologne, Germany and to attend the awards ceremony and event at Space Expo…
