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GIFT workshops are a two-and-a-half-day teacher enhancement workshopsorganized by the EGU Committee on Education and held in conjunction withthe EGU annual General Assembly. The program of each workshop focuses ona different general theme each year. Past themes have included, forexample, “Major Events that Shaped the Earth”, “Mineral Resources”, “Ourchanging Planet”, “Natural Hazards”, “Water”, and “Evolution andBiodiversity”. These workshops combine scientific presentations oncurrent research in the Earth and Space Sciences, given by prominentscientists attending EGU General Assemblies, with hands-on,inquiry-based activities that can be used by the teachers in theirclassrooms to explain related scientific principles or topics.Participating teachers are also invited to present their own classroomactivities to their colleagues, even when not directly related to thecurrent program.The main objective of these workshops is to communicate first-handscientific information to teachers in primary and secondary schools,significantly shortening the time between discovery and textbook. TheGIFT workshop provides the teachers with materials that can be directlyincorporated into their classroom, as well as those of their colleaguesat home institutions. In addition, the full immersion of scienceteachers in a truly scientific context (EGU General Assemblies) and thedirect contact with leading geoscientists stimulates curiositytowards research that the teachers can transmit to their pupils.In addition to their scientific content, the GIFT workshops are of highsocietal value. The value of bringing teachers from many nationstogether includes the potential for networking and collaborations, thesharing of experiences and an awareness of science education as it ispresented in other countries.Since 2003, the EGU GIFT workshops have brought together more than 800teachers from more than 25 nations. At all previous EGU GIFT workshopsteachers mingled with others from outside their own country andinformally interacted with the scientists, providing a venue for richdialogue for all participants. The dialogues often included ideas aboutlearning, presentation of science content and curriculum.Programs and presentations of past GIFT workshops, with some availablewith Web streaming, are at: https://www.egu.eu/education/gift/workshops/ |
