UW PEG Summer Institute
The Physics Education Group at the University of Washington is pleased to announce the inaugural Lillian C. McDermott Summer Institute in Physics and Physical Science, which will take place in the Summer of 2023. Upon her passing in 2022, the Institute has been made possible by a gift from Professor McDermott’s family in recognition of her deep commitment to improving physics education at all levels.
The 2023 Institute is the latest in a series of internationally recognized programs for elementary, middle and high school teachers that the PEG has been conducting for more than 30 years through funding from the National Science Foundation. These programs provide teachers with the opportunity to study physics and physical science through a process of inquiry. Physics by Inquiry, a curriculum developed in this context, is the core of the Summer Institute.
Summer Institute 2023 participants will strengthen their subject matter background and gain familiarity with common difficulties that students encounter in the study of physics and physical science. They will also experience instructional strategies that are effective in helping increase student learning. Through the hands-on, inquiry-oriented method of instruction, participants will further develop their skills in teaching science as a process of inquiry. Technology, assessment, and other critical issues will also be addressed. The instructional staff includes past Summer Institute participants and experienced teachers, as well as university faculty.
We invite applications from teachers at any grade level, and with any level of prior science teaching experience. Topics are chosen on the basis of participants’ teaching assignments and experience, and support state and national science teaching standards.