Chicago Public School's STEM curriculum specialists Laura Decker and Joe Seabloom partnered with the UCCCC Office of Education and the Committee on Medical Physics for a CPS Physics Teacher Professional Development Day on March 19th.
After CPS-led curriculum planning sessions, Medical Physics students Gia Jadick, Sagada Peñano, Lucas Berens, Hadley DeBrosse, and Chris Valdes led laboratory demos, including demonstrating the use of a portable ultrasound machine. They also gave talks on their current research and how it can be integrated with high school physics curriculum.
Following engaging research talks from the Medical Physics students, the CPS teachers were able to see medical physics in practice through demos by Radiation Oncology and Radiology faculty. Jooyoung (James) Sohn, PhD designed a 3D-printed block made of a material that blocks radiation (top center photo, above). The irradiation of film through the block created a unique souvenir for the physics teachers to take back to their classrooms (see the top right photo above).
Our partnerships with CPS are a great way to expand science communication skills as well as the breadth of impact. Each teacher interacts with hundreds of students a year, and we hope that the knowledge and insight we share with CPS teachers sparks a passion for STEM in the next generation of young scientists!
UCCCC, Medical Physics, and Chicago Public Schools partner for a Professional Development Day
