in the classroom
Einstein first
Program teaches modern physics to kids in an engaging way .
By Tim Dodd
An innovative program that introduces West Australian schoolchildren to university-level concepts in physics is set to go national , backed by federal government support to train teachers to deliver it .
The program , Einstein First , which is currently offered in 38 WA schools , will be supported by a new University of Western Australia micro-credential , which will train primary school teachers to teach Einsteinian physics . The federal government will fund 60 places free of charge next year .
Two eminent physicists – the UWA ’ s David Blair and the Australian National University ’ s Susan Scott , who jointly won the Prime Minster ’ s Prize for Science in 2020 – are high-level backers of Einstein First and led the launch of the national program on Tuesday .
Both were members of the international team that first detected gravitational waves , which are vibrations of spacetime , in 2015 – a dramatic confirmation of Albert Einstein ’ s theory published a century earlier .
“ We really feel the time is right to go national ( with Einstein First ). Every child needs to have this as part of their education ,” said Professor Scott .
She said that most children never learned modern science in their formative school years , even though their future would be dominated by technologies that were based on it .
The Einstein First program runs from year 3 to year 10 and introduces students to the physics of atoms , photons and electromagnetism ; concepts in Einstein ’ s theory of relativity such as curved spacetime and turning matter into energy ; the quantum world ; and applications to other fields such as climate change .
Professor Scott said children picked up the concepts quickly , learning in school a way of thinking that was currently not taught until university .
A new program called Quantum Girls , funded by the federal Industry and Science Department to be trialled in 100 schools across Australia , will work in tandem with Einstein First .
Professor Blair said a key goal of Quantum Girls was to encourage girls to stay engaged with science subjects in school and university , but the program also welcomed boys . “ It ’ s not exclusively girls , but it ’ s aimed to encourage girls ,” he said .
The program will introduce school students to quantum science , particularly quantum computers , and they will learn how to program them . The material will partly be taught in class but also operate through extra-curricular clubs and computer-coding hackathons .
Einstein First has shown promising results in schools where it has operated in WA , with students showing a much more positive attitude to science , and less-academic students have developed a knowledge comparable to more academically oriented students .
“ It is not intimidating , and teachers like myself enjoy the program because it makes my teaching feel much more worthwhile . The classes are easy to teach because the students are so engaged ,” said a year 7 teacher .
Professor Blair said such science teaching was important for many reasons , including societal ones . “ It ’ s the fact the people don ’ t know the science which drives anti-science movements ,” he said . ■
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