|
In the physics education group we are
concerned with the position of physics in society and in the educational
system. We work to enhance recruitment to physics and to improve physics
education on all levels of school and higher education. Our activity is
built on a close contact with schools.
Courses and service for teachers
We offer continued education and in-service courses for teachers in primary
as well as secondary school, and we try to contribute with ideas about
the form and content of school physics and school science. For instance,
we test lab equipment and offer suggestions for practical work on various
levels of school. Recently, we have particularly concentrated on how to
use modern computer technology in physics teaching.
Research on physics education
We are involved in several research and development projects within physics
education. The TIMSS project (Third International Mathematics and
Science Study) has yielded large amounts of data on students' understanding
of various physics topics, and we work to analyse these in detail in order
to gain insight into students' thinking and the relative merits of various
teaching strategies.Planning of the FUN project (Physics Education
in Norway) started in 1999, and the project's aims are to gain insight
into students' reasons for choosing (or not choosing) to study physics
in school and higher education, and to explore how students and teachers
perceive physics as a subject and how they experience physics teaching.
Two master students participate in this research project.
Read more about FUN here.
Science communication and popularisation
projects
We take part in a range of projects aimed at enhancing students' and the
general public's interest and participation in physics. Examples include
popular science lectures for students and pupils, "street university"
activities during science festivals, cooperating with a science center
in Oslo, organising the Physics Olympiad and the EPS project "Physics
on Stage".
|
