Physics for Africa: an international workshop
The Physics Education Division is organising a workshop in conjunction with the Institute of Physics (IOP), London, at the forthcoming joint GIREP-EPEC-ICPE conference in Dublin (July 3-7, 2017, details available at http://www.girep2017.org/). The workshop will be led by the IOP, who have a long-standing interest in supporting physics education in Africa through their IOP for Africa programme.
The IOP for Africa programme is a series of practical physics teacher training courses in sub-Saharan Africa. The aim of the programme is to enhance the physics subject knowledge of teachers, i.e. to equip teachers with knowledge of how to conduct experiments with low-cost equipment and provide the practical skills required to encourage students to embrace physics and make the most of the opportunities that science can offer.
This project is one of many which aims to tackle the wide spread problems within teaching science in low-to-middle income countries. In addition to the IOP, the International Union for Pure and Applied Physics, the European Physical Society and the University of Bristol all have projects or interests in this specific area. What this workshop will do is discuss the similarities between those projects and explore the possibility of establishing a wider consortium of organisations that can deliver teacher training on a larger scale.
The four organisations listed above are by no means the only ones working in this area and we would like to invite others who feel they could contribute to this discussion. Delegates who are part of an organisation or project that focuses on STEM teacher training in sub-Saharan Africa are welcome to attend this workshop. The aim of the workshop is to develop a plan of action for collaboration and therefore it would be preferable for those attending to be open to the idea of collaborating and sharing resources.
The session will run from 08:00-12:00 on the 3rd July 2017 in the Gallery room, Helix Building at Dublin City University. If you wish to attend please register through the conference website or for more information please contact Linsey Clark, International Officer at the IOP.
