Training Programme for Secondary Education Teachers | 2024

The “Greek Teacher Programme” for secondary school teachers was launched in 2008 as part of a series of international courses, in the framework of CERN’s education efforts to promote innovative teaching methods of modern Physics through high-quality training and increase knowledge exchange between teachers and scientists. The aim of the Programme, which has been implemented since 2016 with the support of the John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation, is to allow participating teachers to act as multipliers of scientific knowledge, returning to Greece with new effective and creative ways to bring modern Physics and CERN into the school classroom and design relevant experiential activities for their students based on the educational material offered by CERN online.

With the support of the Foundation, 69 secondary school teachers visited CERN in Switzerland and participated in an intensive training programme held during the summer of 2024. During the Programme, teachers had the opportunity to attend lectures given by Greek CERN scientists, on topics such as the latest developments in particle physics, energy conversion, cosmology and computer science. They also participated in workshops conducting scientific experiments, with the aim of fostering a collaborative spirit and enriching their teaching methods to stimulate student interest in an inventive and exciting way. At the same time, the Foundation’s donation made possible the purchase and distribution of 69 Arduino Starter Kits to the participating teachers, who brought them back to their classrooms to conduct scientific experiments with their students.

• In 2024, 444 applications were submitted by teachers from 56 Secondary Education Directorates, while a total of 69 teachers from all over Greece participated in the Programme.
• 1,056 secondary school teachers have participated in the “Greek Teacher Programme” since its launch, in 2008.

“The guides and instructors were particularly approachable, tireless, enthusiastic, and eager to share their work and expertise.”

“A valuable part of the Programme is that, as teachers, we had the opportunity to interact with one another and exchange teaching methods and experiences.”

“Visiting and participating in activities at CERN, an institution whose name is associated with some of the greatest discoveries and scientists of our time, was a truly inspiring experience for me. I also appreciated the well-balanced structure of the programme, which included both experimental activities and theoretical presentations, while the social interaction undoubtedly played an important role in the exchange of knowledge.”

“Although my students are in High School and sometimes find certain concepts difficult to understand, the identity of CERN and its experiments can be conveyed through the material from the lectures and tours we attended here. It is very important for students to understand CERN’s achievements in medicine, technology, and, more broadly, in improving human life. The appeal of research itself, as well as the applications of its methods and results, can open new pathways in my students’ thinking and make them love physics, and science in general.”

Testimonials from teachers who participated in the Programme