Author: Dalibor Paar

Education systems around the world cannot follow the extremely fast development of science and technology, which is why methods should be developed to give children an insight into STEM areas and motivate them to turn to modern professions at an early age.

In the last two years, the Croatian Physical Society has been implementing the project "Scientific education from an early age" supported by the Croatian Ministry of Science and Education. The main purpose of the project is the introduction of modern physics topics in kindergartens and schools, with emphasis on the teaching of physics from the age of four. The results of the program are beyond expectations. The children are enthusiastic about physics and want more.

Within these activities, children are introduced not only to basic physical concepts, but also to current topics of today's science and technology. Topics include entering the atomic level, understanding how a computer works to the black hole at the center of our galaxy. All activities are based on a multitude of experiments that introduce physical concepts in an interesting way. The aim of these activities is to emphasize the importance of physical experiments and scientific model in all levels of education.

To illustrate how children perceive these topics, here are some of their statements after the program (age 5-6 years):

• I liked Schroedinger's cat the most.
• I liked drawing a lot of electrons. And count the electrons in the Radium atom.
• I didn’t know about atoms before, and now I know they made nature.
• I learned that lightning has energy.

As a contribution to these activities, our member Nikola Poljak published a series of booklets "Physics for Children 3+" entitled ABC Physics, Mechanics, Optics, Thermodynamics, and Nuclear Physics.

The European Physical Society, acting through its Physics Education Division, grants the Award for Secondary School Teaching subject to the following criteria:

• The award should be made to an individual high school teacher. (It is not a team award.)
  
• The award should recognize work that directly affects students of physics in one or more European secondary schools. (What constitutes a secondary school may be broadly interpreted, but specifically excludes primary schools and universities.)
• The award should recognize a specific contribution to teaching, particularly one that might be taken up in a range of countries. (It is not a lifetime achievement award, nor is it an award for research into teaching, but teaching may be broadly interpreted and should include activities that encourage students to take up the study of physics or improve access to the study of physics.)

The award consists of a certificate and a sum of money to the amount of  € 1,000.

The award will be presented during the GIREP-EPEC conference, which will take place from July 6-10, 2015, in Wrocław, Poland.  The award winner is normally provided with additional funding to allow attendance at the conference. 

The award committee consists of four ordinary members and a chair, all nominated by the EPS Physics Education Division.

A single nomination is invited from each National Physical Society belonging to the EPS in the year of the award. The nomination should be no longer than 500 words and should be in English. In order for the committee to be able to take into account the conditions under which the nominee’s work was carried out, the covering letter should address the following issues:

• In what type of school does the nominee teach (state or private, general or specialized)?

• What type of courses does the nominee teach (regular physics courses, special courses for small groups of interested students, interdisciplinary subjects, other subjects in addition to physics)? 

• If the nominated contribution comprises a specific activity or project, did the nominee have a full teaching obligation during its conception, design and execution, or was the teaching load reduced to enable the activity to be developed?

The Societies are particularly encouraged to nominate individuals who have already won a national prize or award. The Societies are also encouraged to consult national associations of physics/science teachers regarding suitable candidates.

The nominations should be sent to:

European Physical Society
6 rue des Frères Lumière
68200 Mulhouse
France

Email: secretariat@eps.org

in paper and electronic format before March 16^th 2015.

The European Physical Society has published a series of position papers giving an expert view on important themes such as education, energy or the place given to research in European countries.

Feel free to download the position papers on:

Education

The implementation of the Bologna Process
Physics studies (bachelor - doctoral - master)
Physics education

Science and research

Physics and society

Environment and energy

European cooperation