Since brain waves can do so many things, can we "eat" with our minds?
In the face of such "brain-opening" primary school students, Guo Yinrui, a graduate student at the School of Computer Science of the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (hereinafter referred to as the "National University of Science and Technology"), was surprised. As a member of the graduate science popularization team of the "Spring Equinox Engineering youth science popularization special action" (hereinafter referred to as the "Spring Equinox Project") of the National University of Science and Technology, he was really overwhelmed by the questions raised by the students at first.
In fact, situations like Guo Yinrui's are not uncommon in the science popularization team of graduate students of the National University of Science and Technology. "In the process of engaging in the practice of science popularization, graduate students themselves can digest and absorb the knowledge they have learned and find the most appropriate way to interpret their profession, which is a thing that benefits both sides." Wu Baojun, executive deputy secretary general of the Science and Technology Association of the National University of Science and Technology, said.
On October 25, 2021, Wang Yue, a graduate student of the School of Chemical Sciences of the National University of Science and Technology, gave the students a "color change magic" at the Jiaming Branch of Chen Jinglun Middle School in Beijing.
From "not in high mood" to "scrambling"
On the day of the spring equinox in 2018, the National University of Science and Technology launched the "Spring Equinox Project". Relying on the strength of teachers and students of the College of Science and Education Integration of the National University of Science and Technology, the "Spring Equinox Project" is mainly for young people, carrying out activities such as science popularization reports, public welfare support teaching, science and technology counseling, and science popularization exhibitions; and cooperating with television stations, online platforms, mainstream newspapers and periodicals and other media to develop popular science programs to enhance the public's scientific literacy.
In May of the same year, the National University of Science and Technology cooperated with the Beijing Huairou District Education Committee and the Huairou District Science and Technology Association to put the project into practice. At the end of 2019, 17 professors or doctoral supervisors of the National University of Science and Technology were hired as vice principals of science and technology in 17 primary and secondary schools in Huairou District. In 2021, under the contact of the vice president of science and technology, the postgraduate science popularization team of the National University of Science and Technology has opened more than 150 science popularization reports for primary and secondary schools in Huairou District.
Li Jinsong, vice principal of Huairou Sixth Primary School, still remembers that in the first few months of the "Spring Equinox Project", the acceptance of school teachers was not high. "Some teachers even complained to me that the pressure of coursework was already very large, and the popular science course was a bit 'delayed'." Li Jinsong said that in the process of continuous attempts in the future, students showed great interest, and teachers have also made great changes to the graduate science popularization courses, and have asked for "additional lessons".
"The popular science resources of suburban schools are relatively scarce, and the form of graduate students entering the campus to do science popularization is very popular with students, they have strong communication skills, a wide range of courses, and flexible and interesting teaching methods." Li Jinsong said that now, the school will arrange one or two popular science courses every week, which opens the children's eyes and sows the seeds of scientific dreams for the children.
Refusal to "stuff knowledge into students' brains"
"If you become as fat as Earth, you can curl up on the couch and suck the remote control over to watch cartoons while eating a snack!"
In October 2021, Wang Chen went to a small Huairou branch school in Zhongguancun to tell children about the knowledge of gravity. As a graduate student of the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics of the National University of Science and Technology, how to popularize the esoteric aerospace knowledge to primary school students was Wang Chen's biggest headache at first. "In this class, I play a clip of a rocket taking off, a process that involves the knowledge of gravity, but I can't directly tell elementary school students the formula of gravity." Wang Chen said that he will pay attention to expressing scientific phenomena in a living way to explain the causes of gravity.
Wang Chen
What Wang Chen did not expect was that these primary school students really embarrassed him. "Once, I played a video of a Chinese astronaut out of the capsule, and a little boy asked me what material the astronaut's clothes were made of. Due to inadequate preparation at the time, I did not make this issue clear. Wang Chen said that this is a warning to himself, and in the future, he will optimize the curriculum more extensively and consider the problem from multiple angles.
"Students also give me a lot of inspiration." Zhang Wenjie, a graduate student at the School of Resources and Environment of the National University of Science and Technology, once in a class, he asked his classmates to draw a mountain, and some people painted the Loess Plateau and some people painted the northeast black soil slope. A classmate drew a red mountain with a unique idea, and when everyone was puzzled, the classmate blurted out: "This is the Jinggang Mountain made of the blood of the revolutionary martyrs!" ”
Zhang Wenjie was very touched by this incident, and since then, before every science class, she will think about how to grab the attention of her classmates with 45 minutes. "Traditional courses are characterized by teaching and learning, and the elements of popular science classrooms are thinking and doing. For example, when I talk about the knowledge point of the ground rotation bias force that affects the bending of the river, I will design a sand table to interact with the students. Zhang Wenjie said.
Zhang Wenjie
Different from the common band clubs on the university campus, Wang Yue, Liang Xinhu, Luo Qunyi and Ye Wenyan of the School of Chemical Sciences of the National University of Science and Technology specially formed a popular science interpretation team to carry out "scientific research stalls" every day. What does an undersea volcano erupt look like? How to separate salt and pepper? They often "wander" in various popular science classes, resolutely resist "stuffing knowledge into students' brains", and lead students to do interesting scientific experiments to pass on the scientific knowledge behind them.
As graduate students majoring in chemistry, they also popularize a lot of knowledge in the field of chemistry to the public through various forms, and resolve the public's misunderstanding of the concept of chemistry. "I hope that through our efforts, everyone will not think of a laboratory explosion as soon as they hear about chemistry."
"Ambitious" to engage in science popularization
In view of the management of postgraduate science popularization courses, Liu Weiqiang, deputy secretary-general of the Science and Technology Association of the National University of Science and Technology, said that each college has its own characteristics, and the National Science and Technology Conference organizes special scientists to review and correct the design of the popular science course, including the correctness of the teaching knowledge points, the different teaching forms for different audiences, and the rhythm of the course.
For example, Liu Weiqiang said, "Once, a classmate wanted to take a popular science class on neural networks, in order to avoid the course being too professional and boring, we suggested that he start with the fragments of the 'strongest brain'" program, and the effect was not bad. ”
In fact, the graduate science popularization team is only the tip of the iceberg of the "Spring Equinox Project", the science popularization report led by academicians, the science popularization explanation that serves the community, and the "Come on! Toward the future", "learning is not divided into subjects", "rational party" and other popular science programs are an important part of it.
Wu Baojun introduced that the National University of Science and Technology has a good foundation in science popularization work. Here not only has a strong faculty and disciplinary strength, the ability to popularize high-end scientific research resources; but also has the country's largest volume of graduate students, they are an active force in knowledge innovation, but also a rich scientific popularization force.
"In the future, the postgraduate science popularization team of the National University of Science and Technology will also go deep into many schools in Beijing to carry out science popularization services and influence more primary and secondary school students." Wu Baojun laughed and said that this was their "ambition".
Source: Popular Science Times
Author: Epic
Editor: Mao Mengyuan
Review: Wang Fei
Final Judge: Chen Lei