There have been many fundamental breakthroughs in Astronomy, Astrophysics, and Cosmology in the past two decades, such as the detection of Cosmic Neutrinos (Nobel Prize 2002) and Cosmic Microwave Background Anisotropies (Nobel Prize 2006), the discovery of dark energy (Nobel Prize 2011), gravitational wave (Nobel Prize 2017), exoplanets (Nobel Prize 2019), and supermassive black holes (Nobel Prize 2020). These breakthroughs have important implications for our fundamental understanding of the universe. It is certainly a good idea for students to know about these developments at an introductory level, not just to stimulate their curiosity, but also to let them see the deep connection between the physics they learn and these discoveries. An effective first step to strengthen STEM education is to enrich teachers’ knowledge about these recent discoveries. The main objectives of the project are to:
• Promote fundamental physics to secondary school students and teachers.
• Enhance STEM education in the secondary school sector.
• Develop a support network among secondary school teachers and frontline researchers to achieve continual improvement in science education.
• Help teachers and students experience and understand the importance of teamwork, data analysis, large collaborations in current scientific and technological development, and the close relations between scientific fields that may seem unrelated.
Expenses:
CUHK does not charge any fee for the programme. However, participating teachers will pay for their own air tickets, lodging, food, ground transportation, and their share of the group viewing fees at some of the observatories and labs. The total expected budget per person is around HKD22,000.
Application deadline: 5 pm, Jan 31, 2025 (Friday).
Selection Criteria: subject expertise, track record for science education, commitment to implementing program knowledge in the classroom, and potential contributions to the program.
The programme is organized
by Department of Physics, The Chinese University of Hong
Kong.