Teaching by inquiry key for physics educators
In the lab: teachers learn experiments in the same way their students
will learn – by observation, exploration and hands-on activities.
Thirty-six of Qatar's educationalists met to discover new ways to involve their students in physics experiments, at the first in a series of workshops to be held throughout the 2006/07 academic year.
Coordinated by Qatar Physics Society in collaboration with WCMC-Q and Qatar University (QU), the workshop was hosted by the Medical College on September 14 and 17.
Secondary school teachers and supervisors from the Ministry of Education and Supreme Education Council attended.
WCMC-Q professor of physics Dr. Roger Hinrichs said the workshop series, titled New Frontiers in Learning and Teaching, was based on a model for teaching laboratory-based units at any level.
“We are focussing on teaching physics by inquiry,” he said. “We know from physics education research that students learn content and problem-solving skills better if they are taught by observation, exploration and hands-on activities.”
The demonstration of experiments using everyday materials was part
of workshop one. Here, professor of physics Dr. Roger Hinrichs uses
a light bulb to show optical activity.
Split into two sessions to allow as many teachers as possible to attend, the first workshop on electric circuits featured demonstrations of experiments, a hands-on lesson in the laboratory, and discussions about the content of future workshops.
QU associate professor of physics Dr. Ilham Al-Qaradawi said the aim was for teachers to take away some new methods to help their students develop a greater interest in science and better learn the coursework.
Workshop participant, Mona El Barawy El Showbaki, who teaches at Amna Bint Wahab Independent Secondary School, said she was eager to learn new ways to reach her students intellectually.
“Students often feel physics is a difficult subject, but experiments are one way we can help students become more interested in physics,” she said.
Sponsored by Qatar Physics Society, WCMC-Q, QU, the Ministry of Education and the Supreme Education Council, the workshops are one outcome of the Qatar Physics Society’s formation during the first Qatar Physics Conference at the university last December.
They follow the group’s initial meeting at WCMC-Q last April, which had a strong focus on teacher education in physics. [Archived Report: New Society takes quantum leap ]
Teachers experiment with a circuit board in the WCMC-Q
physics laboratory, part of the workshop on electric circuits.
Teamwork: teachers put themselves in their students’
shoes as they work through an experiment.
Report by Krista Dobinson, Assistant Editor/Writer
