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		BCCP and the Berkeley Lab Academy Present Physics In and Through Cosmology A workshop for high school students and teachers July 21-26, 2008

		What: A workshop for teaching and learning modern physics by exploring the big questions in Cosmology Who: High school physics teachers and their students Where: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory When: Summer 2008 (July 21-26) Visit our Cosmology Workshop 2007 site "I have been going to engineering/scientific seminars/workshops here and in Europe for more than 30 years...the Cosmology workshop over the summer was simply fabulous. I consider myself and the students who attended exceptionally lucky. We received a rare gift, We learned about the latest happenings in physics directly from the people doing the work. It has become my gold standard for workshops! I doubt that one could top that event, but I would like to encourage people to try." Dick Damien, Physics Teacher, Washington High School, San Francisco
		Scientists will present the current scientific view of the history and structure of the universe Students and teachers will learn how scientists seek answers to the “big questions” in cosmology and related “big questions” in particle physics Teachers will share lessons for teaching foundational concepts in the high school and introductory college physics and astronomy curriculum linked to cosmology Organizers will capture the workshop digitally for use in a web-based course for students and teachers
		Did inflation happen? How? What is dark matter? What is dark energy? What generated the matter-antimatter asymmetry? Are there other relics to be found? (e.g. cosmic strings)? Are there extra dimensions? Do fundamental constants vary? What other exotic forces might come in play? Related “Big Questions” researched at the Large Hadron Collider.
		A 6 day workshop for 10 teams of high school physics teachers and their students. Each team will consist of one teacher and 1 to 3 students. Five days will include talks and presentations by scientists. A sixth day will be devoted to cosmic ray measurement field trip. Each day will include hands-on lessons and activities designed to teach students foundational concepts, principles and theories of physics. Teachers will participate as learners along with the students in the morning lectures and presentations and will share the teaching of hands-on lessons in late mornings and afternoons. Teachers will facilitate student learning and present model physics lessons. Student participants will be the primary audience for all content and instruction.
		Each day will include an assessment of students preconceptions of key concepts, principles and theories presented during the day (e.g. what preconceptions do students have about the nature and properties of light) Formative assessments during the workshop Students will produce a concept map on the final day that will be evaluated according to a rubric developed by the participating scientists and teachers
		Location Perseverance Hall, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Personnel Lead Organizers: Stu Loken, George Smoot, Rollie Otto Workshop audio, visual and web development: Rosemary Nocera Targeted Teachers Participants in 2007 Cosmology Workshop (QuarkNet Teachers) Bay Area QuarkNet Teachers Potential International Partners Student Recruitment: Participating teachers have first opportunity to select 2 to 3 students from their classes ________________________________________________________________________ Teacher Stipends Teacher participants will receive a stipend of $500 Contacts Rollie Otto, rjotto@comcast.net Stewart Loken, SCLoken@lbl.gov 925-451-5530 510-486-7474 Physics In and Through Cosmology 2007 Back to top