CERN Publishing
Not a member yet
1219 research outputs found
Sort by
Le changement climatique comme contexte d’un cours de physique au niveau secondaire II
Full text linkContexte : Selon plusieurs études, l’intérêt des élèves pour les sciences physiques décline à l’école secondaire II. Pour rendre les cours de physique plus attrayants, une idée consiste à lier l’enseignement à un phénomène d’actualité. Par exemple, la contextualisation de l’enseignement de la physique autour des questions climatiques pourrait permettre d’augmenter l’intérêt des élèves dans leurs apprentissages, tout en sensibilisant les élèves aux enjeux environnementaux de demain.
Objectif : Notre but est de développer une séquence d’enseignement en sciences physiques faisant le lien avec les questions climatiquesmesurer l’intérêt des élèves pour une telle séquence. Une telle initiative est testée pour la première fois dans l’Etat de Genève.
Méthodes : La séquence d’enseignement a été développée par le deuxième auteur. Elle est alignée avec les objectifs curriculaires du Plan d’études Romand. Seize participants d’une classe du niveau secondaire II et d’un âge moyen de 16 ans ont suivi la séquence dans une école publique à Genève. L’échantillon comporte 75% de filles et 25% de garçons. Nous avons donné le même questionnaire aux élèves avant et après la séquence d’enseignement en sciences physiques intégrant les questions climatiques. Nous avons utilisé une approche quantitative pour mesurer l’intérêt des étudiants pour cette séquence d’enseignement grâce à un questionnaire. Celui-ci comporte 26 items issus de questionnaires validés, et utilise une échelle de Likert. L’effet de la séquence sur l’intérêt des élèves a été mesuré avec une analyse pre/post - avant et après la séquence d’enseignement, via la taille d’effet Cohen-d et un test de Student. De plus, la corrélation item-test (r_it) et le Cronbach Alpha (α) sont reportés afin de vérifier les qualités psychométriques du test, telles que la qualité des items ou la consistance interne. Les calculs ont été effectués avec le logiciel R.
Résultats: Les résultats du test pre (M=2.64, SD=0.61) et post (M=3.50, SD=0.89) indiquent que l’intérêt des étudiants pour la séquence d’enseignement en sciences physiques intégrant les questions climatiques a significativement augmenté (T(25)=5.7, p<0.01, Cohen d=1.1). Le questionnaire montre une très bonne qualité psychométrique, avant la séquence (r_it_moyen=0.53, α=0.90 (5% IC : [0.83,0.96])) et après la séquence (r_it_moyen=0.55, α=0.91 (5% IC : [0.83,0.96])).
Conclusions: Notre étude suggère : 1/ qu’il est possible de développer une séquence d’enseignement en sciences physiques incluant les questions climatiques, et 2/ qu’une telle initiative augmente l’intérêt des élèves de façon significative. Une étude plus poussée pourrait investiguer de manière plus détaillée l’augmentation de l’intérêt des élèves, par exemple il serait intéressant de savoir si celui-ci est corrélé à une augmentation des connaissances conceptuelles en sciences physiques.
Mots-clés: intérêt, climat, enseignement.
Climate change as context of a high school physics course
Context: According to several studies, the motivation of students for learning physical sciences at the secondary school level is declining. One handle to increase the attractivity of science courses is to link the learning material to a known context from real life. As an example, physics taught in the context of climate related questions could bring additional motivation to students and at the same time increase their awareness for such questions.
Goal: Our aim is to develop a physics teaching sequence related to climate issues, and to measure students’ interest in such sequence. Such type of sequence is tested for the first time in the Geneva state.
Methods: The teaching sequence was developed by the second author. It is aligned with curricula aims of the “Plan d’Etudes Romand”. 16 participants from secondary school aged 16 followed the teaching sequence in a school of the Geneva state. The sample consists of 75% girls and 25% boys. Students completed the same questionnaire before and after the physics teaching sequence that included climate change issues. We applied a quantitative approach to measure students’ interest for this teaching sequence, using a set of 26 items drawn from validated questionnaires, and based on a Likert scale. The impact of the teaching sequence on students’ interest was measured with a pre/post analysis before and after through Cohen-d size effect and a t-test. Besides, the item-test correlation (r_it) and Cronbach Alpha (α) are reported to measure the psychometric qualities of the questionnaire, such as items’ qualities and internal consistency. Calculations were done with the R software.
Results: The results of the pre (M=2.64, SD=0.61) and post (M=3.50, SD=0.89) test show that students’ interest for the physics teaching sequence that includes climate issues has significantly increased (T(25)=5.7, p<0.01, Cohen d=1.1). The questionnaire exhibits very good psychometric properties, before the sequence (average r_it=0.53, α=0.90 (5% CI : [0.83,0.96])) and after the sequence(average r_it=0.55, α=0.91 (5% CI : [0.83,0.96])).
Conclusions: Our study suggests that: 1/ it is possible to develop a physics teaching sequence that includes climate issues, and 2/such initiative significantly increases students’ interest. A more advanced study could investigate further whether the increase of interest is correlated to an increase of conceptual knowledge.
Keywords: interest, climate, teachin
Preface
Full text linkWhen the decision was made to launch basic courses on the physics and technology of particle acceler- ators in the 1990s, this field was developing successfully at CERN, mainly for fundamental research in nuclear and particle physics. Not far from CERN, two other research laboratories were taking off and would soon gain an international reputation: 1) the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) in Villigen, Switzerland, with a large proton ring accelerator as its centrepiece; and 2) the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in Grenoble, France. Taking advantage of the many technologies developed for these purposes, special applications related to health and industry were also being worked out. In the acceler- ator field, technicians and engineers learned their specialisation on the job and in specialised workshops organised by the laboratories, each lasting one or two weeks per year. Over time, and with the needs ahead, these learning opportunities began to appear insufficient; therefore, organising extensive courses, starting at the ground level, was considered to be necessary.Skimming through the full volume has been a tonic experience. I would like to thank the editorial board for inviting me to write this preface, which I have done in an old-fashioned way, without using AI! “AU REVOIR!” said the penguins on the card signed by the first JUAS class in 1994. Today, I wish JUAS a long life!
I.2 — Special relativity
Full text linkIn most situations particle accelerators use beams at nearly the speed of light. Without Einstein’s theory of Special Relativity, they simply wouldn’t work. Since the theory is typically part of the university curriculum, we restrict ourselves to a review of the basics which are of interest for particle accelerators
I.12 — Collective effects
Full text linkParticle accelerators use external electromagnetic fields to guide and accelerate charged particles. In a real machine, however, there is another source of electromagnetic fields, the beam itself, which, interacting with the accelerators’ devices, produces additional self-induced fields which perturb the particle’s motion leading to the so-called collective effects.The self-induced fields are commonly divided into space charge fields, generated directly by the charge distribution and including the image currents circulating on the walls of a smooth, perfectly conducting pipe, and the wakefields, produced by the finite conductivity of the walls, resonant de- vices, or any geometrical variation of the beam pipe.Collective effects in particle accelerators are one of the key constituents for determining the ultimate particle accelerator performance. Their role is becoming increasingly important as particle accelerators are being pushed to ever higher intensity and beam brightness
Action research: Combining research and problem solving for socio-technical engineering and innovation management research
Full text linkAction Research is an established and powerful applied research approach that combines scientific knowledge creation with practical problem-solving and competence building. This article provides a structured overview of the underlying characteristics of action research, suitable areas of application, and a framework to help structure the variety of action research approaches. The application of action research is illustrated using the example of Action Innovation Management Research, which is particularly useful for complex socio-technical engineering and innovation management research
II.16 — Accelerators for medical and industrial applications
No full textClassical, isochronous, and synchro-cyclotrons are introduced. Transverse and longitudinal beam dynamics in these accelerators are covered. The problem of vertical focusing and isochronism in compact isochronous cyclotrons is treated in some detail. Different methods for isochronization of the cyclotron magnetic field are discussed. Typical features of the synchro-cyclotron, such as the beam capture problem, stable phase motion, and the extraction problem are discussed. The main design goals for beam injection are explained and special problems related to a central region with an internal ion source are considered. The principle of a Penning ion gauge source is addressed. The issue of vertical focusing in the cyclotron centre is briefly discussed. Several examples of numerical simulations are given. Different methods of (axial) injection are briefly outlined. Different solutions for beam extraction are described. Finally, the Rhodotron, an electron accelerator, is briefly discussed
II.17 — Physics and accelerators for particle therapy
Full text linkAt the Paul Scherer Institute (PSI) radiation therapy is performed by means of proton beams. Proton therapy is one of the particle therapies, in which energetic ions (mostly protons and carbon ions) are used to treat cancer patient by irradiating the tumor with high precision. At PSI the radiation dose is applied by a proton beam of max 250 MeV. In this chapter, the interactions of energetic ions with matter (tissue) and the way particle therapy is applied are discussed, followed by a description of the PSI’s medical proton cyclotron and the treatment rooms in which the dose is applied to the patient
III.2 — Particle accelerators in the XXI century
Full text linkParticle accelerators are sophisticated instruments designed to concentrate energy at atomic and subatomic scales and use it to explore matter, generate secondary beams, or drive industrial processes. Their impressive evolution over the last century has been driven by a series of innovations, the last one being the widespread introduction of superconductivity at the end of the XX century. In this XXI century, the demand for more scientific discoveries and for a wider use of accelerators for societal applications is high, but to sustain their growth accelerators need to increase their performance while meeting new sustainability goals. In this dynamic landscape, new innovative technologies are appearing and are competing with traditional technologies pushed at their extreme limits. Particle accelerator research is a very dynamic interdisciplinary field that provides excellent opportunities for young creative students
III.6 — Beam coupling impedance measurements with beam and on a bench
Full text linkThe beam coupling impedance is one of the key quantities describing the interaction between a particle beam travelling in a particle accelerator and its surroundings. Under specific circumstances, the impedance can lead to severe beam instabilities which limit the overall performance of a running accelerator or pose challenges for the achievement of a project.In this contribution, we present the main techniques in use to characterize the impedance either with beam-based procedures, or with RF measurements on a test bench. The former is usually performed on running machines for which limitations are found or need to be assessed, the latter is typically performed before/after equipment installation and for validation purposes.We will also introduce some of the measurement techniques used to characterize the electromagnetic properties of materials. This is relevant, for example, for the correct material modelling in simulations, or to validate a fabrication process.