Abstract

It is not uncommon for Science students to completely focus on acquiring knowledge in their own fields. That means sometimes students would be underdeveloped in the interpersonal skills, the ability to apply their professional knowledge in educational and industrial settings, and the flexibility of breaking down complicated concepts for non-experts. The lopsided development could hurt the students when they pursuit their careers in academia or other fields.

We therefore propose to develop a new elective course to incorporate the experiential components through service learning. In a nutshell, it is like a guided educational project or an internship during the term time. The students will focus on one of the following three areas, while also spend some time to learn about the other two areas:

• Curriculum of high-school Physics or General Science
• STEM activities for high-school or primary-school students
• Science education for general public

We will organize talks by educators in the three areas. Students are required to attend the talks in all areas. Students have to choose an area to (1) develop materials / demos / activities, or (2) teach / run activities. The goal is to serve the needs of schools or other organizations (e.g. HK Science Museum, HK Space Museum, HK Academy for Gifted Education, HK Astronomical Society). By doing so, students can get feedback and learn to identify and help fulfill the real needs of the schools and the organizations.