Prof. Valery Milner congratulates the students who won medals in the Pre-Build challenge at the 47th (2025) UBC Physics Olympics

UBC Physics Olympics is a province-wide annual collaborative outreach event at the University of British Columbia that I have been involved in for almost 20 years now. It brings together 1000+ students and more than 80 teachers from all over British Columbia: 2025 UBC Physics Olympics map.  During the day, the students compete in various hands-on physics challenges, while the teachers meet each other and participate in an informal Pro-D event (led by physics teachers) that addresses the topics of interest for them. The event is a collaboration between the Faculty of Science and the Faculty of Education: https://physoly.phas.ubc.ca/physics-olympics-2023/ 

I am always inspired by the enthusiasm of the students and the creative ideas they bring. The UBC Physics Olympics shows what a collaboration between different faculties, faculty members, graduate and undergraduate students can achieve. We have written about this outreach event and we hope other universities will also do similar activities to engage students in physics and in STEM in general.

Papers:

Zhang, B., et al. (2024). “Science Outreach Activities: Practice · Experience · Cooperation – Take UBC Physics Olympics as an example; 科学拓展活动：实践·体验·合作 ——以UBC物理奥林匹克活动为例.” Physics Teacher (China) 43(11): 90-96.

Milner-Bolotin, M. and V. Milner (2024). “Increasing student science, technology, engineering and mathematics engagement through phyphox activities: Three practical examples.” Future in Education Research 3(3): 111-126.

Milner-Bolotin, M., et al. (2019). “UBC Physics Olympics: Forty-one years of province-wide physics outreach.” International Newsletter on Physics Education: International Commission on Physics Education – International Union of Pure and Applied Physics 70(November): 5-6.

Liao, T., et al. (2017). “Four decades of High School Physics Olympics Competitions at the University of British Columbia ” Physics in Canada 73(3): 127-129.

Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah and Happy New Year!

On January 1st, I will begin my 15th year at UBC Faculty of Education. I was a faculty member at Ryerson University (2007-2009) prior to that and at the UBC Faculty of Science (2004-2007). In total, I have been more than 20 years in the academe in Canada, and almost a decade in the US and in Israel. Time flew for me so fast that I didn’t even notice it.

However, last year was an extraordinary year for me, as a teacher, as a teacher educator, and as a parent. At first, I didn’t even realize that. My oldest son came to me one day and invited me to try a strange thing on my computer, which he called ChatGPT. I have read about AI, but always felt that it was something far removed from what I do and it will not touch me directly. I could not have been more wrong. Slowly, I was introduced to it and started playing with different AI-powered platforms becoming more comfortable with them. I didn’t even notice how AI had changed me. It changed how I learn, how I live, and how I work.

I do not use my words lightly, but from what I have seen, AI is going to change our education in ways we could not even fathom today. And I am not talking about AI doing students’ English or social studies homework, or solving mathematics equations. I am thinking about how we learn and how we grow.

In the last five years (since COVID), I became much more independent in many non-academic areas of my life. For example, I learned to cook, as the restaurants were closed and we had no other options.  Luckily, I was able to access amazing videos or chefs and cooking aficionados from all around the world sharing their cooking tips with professionally generated videos. I also learned a lot of other skills, as I realized that I can learn things that I always thought would be far beyond my current abilities. I became patient with myself and allowed myself to make mistakes, reflect on them, and try again. Very quickly, I became more comfortable in the kitchen, be it bread making, baking pastries or cooking a delicious dinner. I also started practicing languages using online resources beyond Duolingo. Slowly, small successes in cooking, language learning, or other areas of my life have empowered me to reconsider my own perceptions of myself.

Yet, none of this could have prepared me for the opportunities AI has presented to me. AI has allowed me to become much more efficient and detailed in my own research, but providing a sounding board to my ideas. It also helped me learn how to express myself more clearly, how to paraphrase, how to be more succinct, and how to structure my argument. It became my virtual colleague who I can consult with, disagree, or discuss my ideas. I could not have expected that.

However, these experiences also helped me realize how students might misuse AI and instead of using it as a springboard for future learning, use it as a crutch that prevents them from learning for themselves. This realization made me think more about the role of parents in helping students learn how to learn with AI. I even organized an online workshop for parents to help them navigate this new tool: https://blogs.ubc.ca/mmilner/2024/11/11/ai-and-your-childs-future-smart-strategies-for-academic-success/ As a teacher, I keep thinking how our education system will change as a result of AI. How should we teach our teachers, so they can empower the students to learn with AI? What kind of skills will be important? How should teachers utilize AI? I think, 2024, was truly the year of AI in Education. We want it or not, AI will be here and if we, teachers and parents, do not learn how to learn with it and how to empower and motivate our kids to do so, we are not going to win this battle. I view it as a big challenge of 2025. And I would like to wish all the teachers, parents, and students a successful year.

FREE Online Workshop for Parents

Title: AI and Your Child’s Future: Smart Strategies for Academic Success

Presenter: Prof. Marina Milner-Bolotin marina.milner-bolotin@ubc.ca

Discover how AI can support your child’s education! This interactive workshop is designed for parents of middle and high school students to explore how AI tools can enhance learning, provide personalized support, and simplify homework. Learn practical strategies to guide your child’s responsible and effective use of AI while fostering their academic success. Join us to empower your family with the skills to thrive in the digital age!

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I feel very fortunate to be able to present our science outreach work to the colleagues at the Department of Physics at Aarhus University this summer. These exchanges of ideas allow us to learn from each other and to improve how we reach out to the general public. Since STEM outreach is a big part of my work, I am very glad to do that.

It is even more exciting to present to the colleagues from the country of Niels Bohr, Hans Christian Oersted and Hans Christian Anderson. You might wonder, what does Andersen has to do with physics outreach? I think Andersen’s story “Emperor’s New Clothes” is very relevant to STEM outreach. The children (unlike many of us) haven’t lost the ability to ask good questions, to be honest with what they understand and do not understand, and most importantly, they have the sense of unquenched curiosity that many of us loose when becoming adults. I personally really like Anderson’s story as it remind me why STEM outreach matters so much!

STEM_Education_2024_Denmark

Every year, early March I have an opportunity to write about the the event that is very near and dear to my heart – the UBC Physics Olympics . This allows me to share how much pride I feel for BC physics teachers who inspire their teams to participate in the event and who spend the entire Saturday and many days prior to that to help students do science and experience what science is all about. You can read about the event on the UBC Physics Olympics web site mentioned above.

Here I would like to reflect on the experience of this year’s event. Just to describe the scope of the event – we had 76 teams, 927 students participated in the event, a number of schools had 2 teams of 15 or more students, 100+ teachers, coaches, parents and future physics teachers, more than 80 volunteers from the departments of Physics and Astronomy and Curriculum and Pedagogy, as well as many spectators. We had so many people that we had to have three large auditoriums at the end of the day to hold the final award ceremony.  However, the event is not just about numbers. The most amazing thing about it is that the event is a hands-on event and not a written theoretical competition. All the students participated in the hands-on labs, solved Fermi Questions, did Quizzics – answered conceptual physics questions and did two pre-build challenges. It was unbelievable to see the excitement of the students when they showed their contraptions and cheered each other during the events. It was a truly team science event that the students will remember forever.

However, for me, there is something else that I feel very proud of. Many of the teachers who brought their teams to the event (including Mr. Pyo – see the picture below), are my former students. This is something very special for me. To know that I helped to educate physics teachers who want to inspire their students and bring them to the Physics Olympics is extra special for me. It makes all my work worth it. I am so glad to see how our collaborative province-wide Physics Olympics event inspires the next generation of students. I hope Physics Olympics goes on for decades! Congratulations to all and don’t forget to check the UBC Physics Olympics web site.

46 UBC Physics Olympics Overall Winner – Port Moody Secondary School Team and their teachers Mrs. Hester Greenwood and Mr. Jin Pyo (both are UBC grads).

There are many burning topics in the field of STEM education, but in my opinion, none of them is as controversial and unpredictably interesting as AI and its role in student learning. This is especially relevant to STEM education. Of course, we (educators) have been using AI for years even if few of us realized that we did. For example, the beginnings of AI could be seen in STEM homework systems, such as WebAssign or Mastering Physics, when the students were asked to solve problems online and the system attempted to scaffold them. Then Khan Academy and other more advanced STEM learning systems started considering AI’s applications for their platforms. However, what we often neglect to think about is how AI will inevitably change how our students learn outside of the classroom and how we engage them during our lessons. This is what I keep thinking about while teaching future STEM teachers, doing my research or preparing for my classes with K-12 students or university faculty from around the world.

I would like to outline here three examples, where I think AI will change how we teach STEM. These examples focus on helping STEM teachers reach outside of their comfort zone and expand their knowledge into other STEM fields.

1. Identifying and connecting BIG IDEAS in STEM: While many of us teach STEM, most of us are mathematics, physics, biology, chemistry, computer science, or geology teachers, as opposed to STEM teachers. As a result, while we might have strong ideas in one area, we might not feel as comfortable across other STEM fields. As a result, teaching BIG IDEAS across STEM might be very challenging (this is what BC Curriculum prescribes us to do). I think this is very AI might help educators. For example, I can ask ChatGPT to help me identify big discoveries in life sciences in 19th century:

My prompt: Big discoveries in life sciences in 19th century

ChatGPT

The 19th century was a pivotal era for discoveries in the life sciences, marked by significant advancements and groundbreaking work that laid the foundation for modern biology and medicine. Some of the most notable discoveries and developments include:

1. Cell Theory (1839): Matthias Schleiden and Theodor Schwann proposed the cell theory, stating that all living organisms are composed of cells and that the cell is the basic unit of life. This theory revolutionized biological sciences and is a fundamental concept in biology.
2. Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection (1859): Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace independently formulated the theory of evolution by natural selection. Darwin’s publication of “On the Origin of Species” in 1859 provided a unifying theory of life sciences, explaining how diverse species evolved over time from common ancestors.
3. Discovery of Microorganisms (19th Century): Throughout the 19th century, advances in microscopy led to the discovery and study of microorganisms. Scientists like Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch made significant contributions, including the development of germ theory which demonstrated that many diseases are caused by microorganisms.
4. Mendelian Genetics (1865): Gregor Mendel, through his work on pea plants, discovered the fundamental laws of inheritance, laying the groundwork for the field of genetics. His findings on dominant and recessive traits were initially overlooked but later recognized as the basis of genetic inheritance.
5. Antisepsis in Surgery (1867): Joseph Lister pioneered the use of carbolic acid as an antiseptic, drastically reducing surgical infections and making surgery safer for patients. This practice was one of the early steps towards modern antiseptic and aseptic techniques in medicine.
6. Vaccination Advances (1796-19th Century): Although Edward Jenner’s development of the smallpox vaccine occurred at the end of the 18th century (1796), the 19th century saw significant advancements and wider adoption of vaccination as a method to prevent infectious diseases.
7. X-rays (1895): Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen discovered X-rays, a form of electromagnetic radiation, which had a profound impact on medical diagnosis and treatment, particularly in imaging techniques.
8. Discovery of Hormones (Late 19th Century): The concept and discovery of hormones began in the late 19th century, laying the foundation for the field of endocrinology. The isolation of secretin in 1902 by William Bayliss and Ernest Starling marked a significant milestone, but the groundwork was laid in the 19th century.

These discoveries, among others, fundamentally changed our understanding of life, health, and disease, and set the stage for further advancements in the 20th century and beyond.

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As a STEM teacher, I can build on this starting point and use ChatGPT as a collaborator in my lesson planning when my knowledge of the subject might be limited. Of course, I cannot trust ChatGPT and I have to check what it gives me, but this is a great starting point. I can also ask ChatGPT directly about the connections of different STEM fields. This is my second example.

2. Lesson planning with ChatGPT – Identifying connections across STEM fields:

My prompt: Examples of Connections between mathematics biology and physics

ChatGPT

The connections between mathematics, biology, and physics are profound and varied, reflecting the interdisciplinary nature of modern science. Here are some notable examples illustrating these connections:

1. Population Dynamics and Ecology (Mathematics and Biology): Mathematical models, especially differential equations, are extensively used to understand population dynamics in ecology. The Lotka-Volterra equations, for example, model the interactions between predator and prey populations, helping ecologists understand complex biological interactions.
2. Biophysics and Molecular Dynamics (Physics and Biology): Biophysics applies the principles of physics to study biological systems. This includes understanding the physical properties of molecules like DNA and proteins, and how physical forces impact biological processes at the molecular level.
3. Statistical Mechanics and Thermodynamics (Physics and Biology): Statistical mechanics and thermodynamics are crucial in understanding biological processes such as protein folding, enzyme activity, and cellular metabolism. These physics concepts help explain how biological systems maintain order and function under various conditions.
4. Bioinformatics and Computational Biology (Mathematics and Biology): The analysis of biological data often requires sophisticated mathematical algorithms. Bioinformatics, for instance, involves the use of mathematics and computer science to analyze and interpret biological data, like genetic sequences.
5. Neuroscience and Neural Networks (Mathematics, Biology, and Physics): The study of the brain and nervous system is inherently interdisciplinary. Mathematical models and physical principles are used to understand neural network behavior, synaptic transmission, and brain function.
6. Epidemiology and Disease Modeling (Mathematics and Biology): Mathematical modeling is essential in epidemiology for predicting the spread of diseases, understanding the dynamics of epidemics, and informing public health strategies.
7. Quantum Biology (Physics and Biology): An emerging field, quantum biology investigates the possible role of quantum phenomena (like quantum coherence and tunneling) in biological processes, such as photosynthesis, enzyme action, and even animal navigation.
8. Mathematical Physiology (Mathematics and Biology): This field applies mathematical techniques to understand physiological processes. For example, the Hodgkin-Huxley model uses differential equations to describe how action potentials in neurons are initiated and propagated.
9. Fluid Dynamics in Biology (Physics and Biology): The principles of fluid dynamics are applied in understanding blood flow in the circulatory system, air flow in respiratory systems, and even in the movement of microorganisms.

These examples illustrate how mathematics and physics not only provide tools and frameworks for understanding biological phenomena but also deepen our fundamental understanding of life at various scales, from molecular to ecological.

3. AI use in Project-Based Instruction

As a teacher, I can consider which one of these examples might be of interest to my students and which one I might need to expand on. Finally, Chat GPT might help my students and myself when working on long-term projects.

Challenge of AI: Can we trust it and should we? – Beyond cheating.

While many educators focus on student cheating with AI, I am more concerned with students trusting it, without being able to critically evaluate the trustworthiness of AI’s answers. At the same time, AI can also help develop critical thinking skills if students are asked to evaluate ChatGPT’s response critically and identify when it is hallucinating. This is especially important today when  many students fail to realize that one cannot trust AI, but has to be vigilant when relying on the information it supplies. There are many interesting articles on the topic: https://zapier.com/blog/ai-hallucinations/ .

In summary, I think AI has a lot of potential, it can open many opportunities for creative STEM educators and creative students. However, they are also possibilities that if STEM educators create assignments that can be done with ChatGPT alone, without any higher order thinking requirements, then cheating will be inevitable. For example, finding information about people or writing a “standard essay” about basic concepts can be done with ChatGPT alone. This makes teaching more challenging, as we have to think what are the skills that we want the students to acquire that will be valuable for the, in the future? So while ChatGPT in particular and AI in general made our lives more interesting, it also added a lot of challenges to educators that we all have to think how to address.

For more information:

Emsley, R. (2023). ChatGPT: these are not hallucinations – they’re fabrications and falsifications. Schizophrenia, 9(1), 52. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41537-023-00379-4 

Cotton, D. R. E., Cotton, P. A., & Shipway, J. R. (2023). Chatting and cheating: Ensuring academic integrity in the era of ChatGPT. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1080/14703297.2023.2190148

Cardona, M. A., Rodríguez, R. J., & Ishmael, K. (2023). Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Teaching and Learning: Insights and Recommendations. W. US Department of Education, DC.

Barnett, T. R. (2023). The Official ChatGPT Guide for Teachers: A Must-Read Guide to Enhancing Classroom Learning and Addressing Ethical Concerns.

As I am getting ready to start a new academic year, I keep thinking about what I will carry on from the past and what I will try to do differently this year. I also keep thinking about what I learned this year and what I should change in my own teaching. In addition, I have been teaching a special summer course for graduate students from Hangzhou Normal University and this experience provided me with some new ideas as well.

I have been teaching at UBC Faculty of Education for more than a decade now. I have taught a variety of undergraduate and graduate courses and have developed many of them “from scratch”. At the same time, I have seen my students grow into experienced science and mathematics teachers who inspire their students both in British Columbia and around the world. So what can I do to make them succeed and support them beyond their studies at UBC?

So the biggest thing I will try to work on this year is to inspire my students to incorporate educational technologies (e.g., AI, STEM apps, etc.) in their teaching that students have already access to – the applications that students can easily install on their smartphones. In the last few years, I have collaborated on a number of projects where we explored the potential of smartphones in STEM education. I think I am ready to help my students – future teachers to unleash this potential. I hope, after finishing my courses, my students will be able to incorporate smartphones in a new way in their own teaching. I hope that as a result, our future STEM teachers will be able to create more engaging and meaningful lessons for their students. I also hope that I will be able to learn a lot from my students. I am very excited about it and I am looking forward to a new academic year!

Milner-Bolotin, M., & Milner, V. (2023, July 16-21). Smartphones: Bridging mathematics and science with novel technology Psychology in Mathematics Education 46 International Conference, Haifa, Israel. https://pme46.edu.haifa.ac.il/

Milner-Bolotin, M., & Milner, V. (2023). Breaking the Vicious Circle of Secondary Science Education with Twenty-First-Century Technology: Smartphone Physics Labs. In G. P. Thomas & H. J. Boon (Eds.), Challenges in Science Education: Global Perspectives for the Future (pp. 177-199). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-18092-7_9

Milner-Bolotin, M., & Milner, V. (2023, February 2nd). Breaking the vicious circle of physics disengagement: From undergraduate physics teaching to teacher education [Online webinar]. 81st International Scientific Conference of the University of Latvia 2023: Physics. Education, Practice. Seminar for University Physics Education Practitioners, Riga, Latvia.

It was a great opportunity to attend the 46 Psychology in Mathematics Education International Conference in Haifa, Israel. The participants from more than 50 countries presented their work on teaching and learning mathematics, science and other related fields. One of the major themes of the conference was the use of technology in mathematics education.

We presented in a special session dedicated to STEM education and the use of technology in STEM teaching:

Milner-Bolotin, M., & Milner, V. (2023, July 16-21, 2023). Smartphones: Bridging mathematics and science with novel technology Psychology in Mathematics Education 46 International Conference, Haifa, Israel. https://pme46.edu.haifa.ac.il/

As the school year is coming to an end, it is a great opportunity to reflect on the highlights of this year for me. I would like to mention 7 special opportunities I had this year that made it all worth it for me:

1. My EDCP 357 Physics Methods Course – was a wonderful opportunity to inspire and be inspired by new physics teachers. We had an exceptionally strong group of physics teachers and I am enormously grateful for that. You can see t heir projects and contributions to our video collections here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHKp2Hd2k_dLjODXydn2-OA
2. EDCP 544 Graduate Course in the MED in Science Education Program: The graduate students in our Master’s Program, who are practicing STEM teachers, inspired me to think of innovative use of technology in STEM education. This was a fantastic group of teachers who also shared with me their STEM education projects. For example, this one was related to the use of Phyphox in physics teaching: https://phyphoxpd.weebly.com/ and there were many other great projects.
3. Students and teachers who participated in the 42nd UBC Physics Olympics made me so happy and proud of their work. This was a very meaningful activity and I am grateful to everybody who helped to make it happen: https://blogs.ubc.ca/mmilner/2023/03/07/45-ubc-physics-olympics/
4. Having an opportunity to mentor graduate students who do research in STEM education. I am grateful to all of you for giving me a chance to learn with you.
5. Mentoring students at the University Transition School. This is a group of young, talented and curious students. Engaging with them in STEM was a challenge and an opportunity for me.
6. Participation in the STEM 2022 Conference at the University of Sydney together with my graduate students was a great opportunity to learn from colleagues from around the world. I am grateful for that.
7. Visiting many BC schools with STEM outreach activities was definitely a highlight. Volunteering for the Scientists and Innovators in the Schools organization (SIS) has brought us lots of joy in the last 15 years! This organization makes a huge difference for thousands of students all across BC. I especially would like to thank Mr. Bill Deagle from Carihi Secondary School in Campbell River and Mrs. Angie McTague from LV Rogers Secondary School in Nelson BC for inviting us. This was a collaboration with my husband, Dr. Valery Milner (whose experiment on breaking a wine glass with sound you can see below). We both enjoyed it immensely and would like to thank students and teachers for welcoming us. All these trips would have never happened if not for Christen Olsen from SIS and her team. The SIS is hosted by Science World and what they do to support STEM outreach is very inspiring.

I am grateful for all these opportunities and I would like to wish you all a great summer.

Carihi Secondary School and their teacher Mr. Bill Deagle (the team travelled from Campbell River, BC)

The Overall Winner – Eric Hamber Secondary School team and their teacher Mr. Eric Lam, who is also a UBC graduate!

Semiahmoo Secondary School and their teacher Mr. Louay El Halabi. This year they were in the 3rd place!

Dear physics enthusiasts and friends:

This Saturday, more than 700 secondary students from all over BC travelled to UBC to participate in the 45^th Annual UBC Physics Olympics: https://physoly.phas.ubc.ca/ . It was our first face-to-face post-pandemic event and I am so glad to report that it went exceptionally well. The event is a long time (almost half a century) collaboration between the Departments of Curriculum and Pedagogy and Physics and Astronomy. It is the largest hands-on on-campus science event in Canada and probably one of the largest in North America. Vancouver CTV News featured the following report about it: https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2023/03/04/ubc-physics-olympics/

I also would like to share with your that this year the overall Champion is Eric Hamber Secondary School team. Their teacher – Mr. Mark Lam – is our own BED graduate. And most of his team are Grade 10 and 11 students! I am so proud of him and his team.

Here are a few numbers about the event:

1. Students: 718
2. The distance the farthest team (LV Rodgers Secondary School from Nelson, BC) travelled to get to UBC: 665 km
3. Number of medals distributed at the event: 90
4. Number of volunteers: More than 70
5. Number of participating teams: 63
6. Number of teachers: 61 (we had some schools with two teams)
7. Number of the annual UBC Physics Olympics: 45^th
8. Number of teachers who attended our special Pro-D event: Physics teaching ideas exchange: 32
9. Number of teachers who were own BED students and who are currently our own students in our MED in Science Education cohort: 18
10. Number of tours at TRIUMF facility: 12
11. Number of special plaques for the winners: 6
12. Number of different events: 6 (2 labs, Quizzics, Fermi Question challenge, and 2 Pre-Builds)
13. Number of overall trophies – 1

We were interviewed by the CTV news. The interview link: https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2023/03/04/ubc-physics-olympics/

We received many-many thank you notes from the teachers. I am so glad to see that we have strong connections with the community and we are contributing to science education in our province not only through teacher education, but also through successful and inspirational outreach events:

“Just wanted to say a huge thank you for a fantastic event. My students were super touched by your acknowledgments and were completely inspired by their fellow students and the events. We look forward to coming next year.

Kind Regards,

Angie McTague

LVR Physics teacher

Nelson, BC”