Create podcasts to help update various physics content for science teachers. That was the goal that the doctor set for himself. Rodrigo Sotodirector of Millennium Nucleus Physics of Active Matter and academic of the University of Chile (DFI-FCFM) when, in 2020, it launched, in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, the scientific dissemination project, “Physics Podcast”.
It started with the series “Nobel Prizes” (13 chapters), continued with “Multidisciplinary” (4 chapters) and now, it has just released “Science of the Earth” (4 chapters), a series whose theme was suggested by the teachers themselves -a through a survey – and the first to be financed by Millennium Science Initiativeof the National Research and Development Agency of Chile (ANID)of Ministry of Science, Technology, Innovation and Knowledge.
“The podcasts already have more than 16 thousand listeners, which is a number that I did not expect. We are very happy with the reception they have had, where most of the auditors are from Chile, but there are also many from Mexico, Spain, Argentina, Colombia and Peru”, says Soto.
The newly released series “Earth sciences” includes four podcasts, that already have more than 1,500 listens: “Earthquakes”, with the seismologist from the University of Chile, Diana Comte; San Ramón Fault, with the geologist from the University of Chile gabriel easton; Volcanoes, with the volcanologist from the U. Católica del Norte (UCN) Felipe Aguilera, and Origin of the Moon, with the expert geologist in meteorites from the UCN, Millarca Valenzuela.
The scientists interviewed positively rated their experience in the podcasts and highlighted that they are intended to update science teachers’ knowledge, both because of the importance of providing them with relevant and accurate information, and because of the transfer of this knowledge to students.
“The very experience that it means for professors in these areas to listen to the podcasts means that there will be some instance in which they will be able to transfer this to their students,” says the volcanologist from the UCN, Felipe Aguilera, while the seismologist Diana Comte adds that “This contribution is very important, since there are many subjects that could and should be updated in physics and science pedagogies.”
The researchers also reveal that a scientist is behind this outreach work: “I think it shows a turning point in the way that Chilean scientists are coming out of their research bubbles to take science not only to the level of dissemination between peers, but beyond, disseminating in different ways to ever wider audiences. A great contribution that a physicist like Rodrigo Soto has generated this instance to impact science teachers and their students”, says the UCN geologist, Millarca Valenzuela.
An opinion shared by Gabriel Easton, professor of Geology at the University of Chile, who indicated that a scientist disclosing “gives rigor and credibility to the program, at the same time that it allows establishing a link, within a framework of daily life, between people and academics in the area”. Felipe Aguilera, meanwhile, adds: “It is our task to land these issues in society, because if not, nobody considers them and I think it is excellent that a scientist takes charge of this.”
What do science teachers think? To find out, Rodrigo Soto will launch this week a contest that seeks teachers to answer a short survey in which they evaluate this season, raffling science books among those who participate. To participate, you must fill out a form.
An initiative that will be repeated at the end of September, when the next podcast series that Dr. Soto is preparing, also financed by Milenio, and which will premiere in June, ends. “We will resume the Nobel Prizes in Physics. We will start with an episode about the Nobel Prize to Giorgio Parisi, last year, where we already recorded an interview with Professor Leticia Cugliandolo, who was an active collaborator of Parisi. We also have two episodes scheduled, one on superconductivity and one on messy electronic systems and their everyday use in electronic gadgets. And a fourth episode will be about particle physics ”she advanced.
Physics Podcasts is available for free on Buzzsprout, Spotify and the online platform from the University of Chile, Tantaku.
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Earthquakes, the San Ramón Fault, volcanoes and the Moon: they launch a new series of scientific podcasts for teachers – La Tercera