The History and Aim of LADY CATS (Physics women teachers in Japan) (original) (raw)

The History and Aim of LADY CATS —Simple and Beautiful Experiments

Proceedings of the 12th Asia Pacific Physics Conference (APPC12), 2014

LADY CATS (LADY Creators of Activities for Teaching Science) is an organization of science teachers. Our group includes a lot of female teachers. We have demonstrated "Simple and beautiful experiments" since ICPE 2005. We aim to encourage both students and teachers who are not interested in physics. Our concepts of experiments are as follows: the "simple" experiments which the teachers in the world can utilize in their classes easily, the "beautiful" experiments in which children get interested, and the "essential" experiments which can demonstrate the principles of physics. We demonstrate several educational experiments of our group.

Simple and beautiful experiments by physics teachers and students in Japan

In this workshop, we show the simple and beautiful experiments that attract students to physics. We prepare the materials and explain how to make the apparatus of the experiments, and you can make them with us together. Since the experiments we show are low cost and easily made of daily use, you can bring the experiments in your class soon. As an example, we show the experiments with which students can learn how we can detect radiation, how much are we exposed to the radiation from the natural environment and so on. Most of all, we hope students to have an attitude to make a decision on radiation in a levelheaded manner. This workshop is associated with the special session about Fukushima nuclear plant accident by H. Nitta, A. Kobayashi, and H. Kawakatsu.

Lesson Plan Series - Reflections on Gender & Physics

Refubium Repositorium der Freien Universität Berlin , 2018

In this volume we present a collection of 7 lesson plans to explore the gender imbalances in science and particularly in physics. The aim of these teaching units is to understand how gender inequalities are constructed and reproduced during the interactions in the labs and class rooms while doing physics. On the one hand, the students will learn to uncover the often unconscious processes which lead to underrepresentation of women in physics at all levels. On the other hand, the basic structural dynamics linking gender effects in science and society are taken into account. The lesson plans have been designed and tested as a part of the International Summer Schools “Diversity in the Cultures of Physics”. This project is funded by DAAD / Erasmus+ since 2016, when a Strategic Partnership was formed to enhance the situation of female junior scientists. Scientists from the physics departments at Freie Universität Berlin, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Universitat de Barcelona, the University of Manchester, the University of Sheffield and Uppsala Universitet joined this co-operation. Each lesson plan represents a teaching unit of 180 minutes that comprises discussion topics, references for reading materials and other resources, and interactive learning tasks. Taken together, the lesson plans provide the material for a full course on gender & physics covering a set of key issues based on research in science studies. Parts of the lesson plans can be integrated in either general courses on interdisciplinary gender studies or specific courses on gender in STEM. Individual units can supplement social and natural science courses, that wish to point out specific gender dimensions in a reputedly gender neutral field of knowledge production. The resources can be used in classrooms from undergraduate level onwards.

A Study of Current and Desired State of Physics Education in Iranian Female Secondary Schools

International Education Studies, 2012

This study has examined the characteristics of physics teachers, their professional competences, supplies of equipments and technologies, appropriate textbooks and motivational factors in students' learning of physics from female physics teacher's points of view. The population included all female physics teachers in Isfahan city and a total of 88 teachers were selected as sample of study. The study was a descriptive survey that used researcher made questionnaire consists of 46 items. Cronbach's alpha coefficient for this scale was set to be .95. For data analysis, descriptive statistics, t-tests and ANOVA test were used. The results showed that in the present state, physics teachers have a low level of scientific knowledge. In terms of professional skills, their abilities were average and educational equipments and technologies were available at low level. Moreover the satisfaction of female physics teachers of books and educational texts was moderate. Meanwhile, the motivation for learning the lessons of physics was moderate. Also the results in desired state showed that all components of study could be effective in learning physics. Accordingly, it is recommended to enhance learning and teaching physics education, school should be equipped to supplies and technologies for teaching physics, including virtual laboratory.

Nurturing Girls´ Interest in Science with Particle Physics Masterclasses

Proceedings of 40th International Conference on High Energy physics — PoS(ICHEP2020)

To help boost the number of women entering physics careers, the well-established program International Masterclasses is holding special events on the UN International Day of Women and Girls in Science (February 11). Girls aged 15-19 participate in a Masterclass under the supervision of female facilitators, who serve as role models. Particle Physics Masterclasses, organized by the International Particle Physics Outreach Group (IPPOG), are a proven tool to engage high school students with particle physics. In a Masterclass, participants learn about high energy physics in a day-long course and perform a tailor-made physics analysis with real LHC data. In 2020, universities and research labs organized 17 Masterclasses for girls, with participation from three continents. About 600 girls attended the Masterclasses. Videoconferences with CERN were held where the girls could talk to CERN women scientists and learn about the careers of these role models.

Activities to Attract Girls to Physics in Iran

AIP Conference Proceedings, 2009

In Iran there is no difference between boys' and girls' activities in scientific works; however, they study separately at schools until they reach the university level. Before going to university, students think engineering and medical science are better than the other sciences for earning enough money to support their lives. But after the entrance exam for universities most of the girls choose basic sciences based on their test results. Creative methods of teaching physics at the elementary and secondary levels, such as "Dominos in Physics" and "Physics in Nature," and understanding physics through real-life examples and animation are important for attracting students to further studies and careers in physics. Participating in international physics competitions and holding national tournaments and university open houses in physics is also very helpful. Studying physics can improve students' abilities and also help them to imagine, decide, think, and live better.

A WAY FORWARD IN ENHANCING THE PARTICIPATION OF THE GIRL-CHILD IN PHYSICS EDUCATION

International Journal of Advanced and Innovative Research , 2018

Physics has become the bedrock of many nations' socioeconomic development for sustainability. The study was a descriptive survey research design to investigate a way forward to enhance girl-child participation in Physics Education. The study was carried out in the forty-two public secondary schools in Aguata Education Zone of Anambra State. The population consisted of 232 Physics teachers in the education zone. Simple random sampling techniques were used to select 120 female Physics teachers and 80 male Physics teachers for the study, Two research questions and ne null hypothesis guided the study. Data was collected using a-26 item structural questionnaire developed by the researcher. The reliability of instrument was established • 0 Cronbach Alpha giving a reliability index of 0.84. Mean d standard deviation were used to answer research lons while t-test was used to test the null hypothesis at 1}5 level of significance. The findings showed that early , oe, poverty, cultural/traditional belief, sex bias etc 1IR'.

Physics for Girls and Boys: Teaching and Learning Strategies Examined in 25 Classes of the Upper Secondary Level

1996

In this experimental study various strategies were developed and empirically tested for physics instruction designed to improve girls' and boys' attitudes toward and achievements in physics. Strategies included opportunities to integrate different pre-existing knowledge, variation of teaching methods to enhance cooperation and communication in the classroom, and supervision of teachers. The research design includes three experimental groups I-III and a control group. The teachers of experimental group I developed a set of teaching and learning materials (40 lessons on optics and kinematics), used it in their physics courses, and were supervised. Group II used the same set of materials with the same supervision. Group III used the set of materials with no further support. Data sources were various student and teacher questionnaires, tests in optics and kinematics, classroom observat;ons, and semi-structured interviews with teachers. Contains 24 references.