Every day is a school day

The 14th International Conference on Education and Training in Optics and Photonics has offered me a unique perspective into how local community and institutional education work ties into the bigger picture. The conference featured 1 plenary, 16 keynotes and 16 invited talks, in addition to 8 parallel sessions. I have developed my understanding of classroom teaching methods and been inspired by case studies at regional, national and international level. I have found out about useful tools and evaluation techniques that I wish to integrate into my future activities. I am struck by the overwhelming desire to better the global education system and prepare the skilled workforce needed for the next photonics technology revolution.

Coming into this conference I was hoping to get some insight on the role of industry in the education sector. This came, often in unexpected places! I attended a workshop given by Judith Donnelly (Judy) in Problem-Based Learning, a pedagogy that was adapted to the photonics technology sector as a result of an industry demand for students to be better prepared for the workplace. Some educators related their experiences of delivering successful projects working alongside industry, where students trained in technical photonics skills were being scooped up by companies in the private sector. It was encouraging to see a small number of members of industry participating in this conference with stands and talks. Tsutomu Hara from Hamamatsu offered some perspective on outreach programs offered in the private sector to develop the public’s appreciation of Optics and Photonics technologies, as well as educational and training activities implemented to train students.

Creating a world "wherein the intriguing nature and limitless potential of light are communicated and educated to the younger generation.
Creating a world “wherein the intriguing nature and limitless potential of light are communicated and educated to the younger generation.”

I was also going to attend a second workshop organised by Judy, which is called Dumpster Optics. It aims to teach graduate students how to use simple experiments to explain optics phenomena to children. I’d developed a workshop with similar aims in the past (see TS Squared) so I was looking forward to getting some new perspectives. To facilitate the communication exercise Judy, had invited conference attendees to bring their children; as a unforeseen consequence, the children outnumbered the adults considerably. Doff the student cap, don the teacher hat, and here I am, bemused, standing with Mei, local student turned translator, Judy and her assistant-son Matt, in front of 40 very excited Chinese children. It was unsuspectingly amusing to be faced with exactly what got me there: a classroom full of very excited primary school students with bags of experiments at their disposal! I learnt that “Wow” does not get lost in translation, and I it was a pleasure to give these children the opportunity of practising hands-on experiments and experiencing various optics phenomena.

"How did this happen?", I must be thinking. Teaching under the guidance of Judy, and saved by our excellent student translator Mei.
“How did this happen?”, I must be thinking. Teaching under the guidance of Judy, and saved by our excellent student translator Mei. Picture courtesy of Judy Donnelly