GIREP 2026 Summer School, Rethymno, Crete, Greece

Europe/Athens
University of Crete, Rethymno

University of Crete, Rethymno

Description

Update: Application Deadline is extended to April 12, 2026

Applications are now closed. Registration is open.

GIREP Summer School, Rethymno, Crete, Greece

The second GIREP Summer School will be held in Rethymno on the island of Crete, Greece. The Summer School precedes the GIREP-MPTL 2026 Conference. It is organized by the International Research Group on Physics Teaching – GIREP [Groupe International de Recherche sur l’Enseignement de la Physique] and the University of Crete.

The GIREP Summer School is a PER-specific convening that aims to open opportunities for developing community among novice and experienced researchers. The programme is planned from Friday evening until Sunday evening. The core of the School is working groups consisting of 5-6 PhD students and 3-4 experienced researchers. The students take turns presenting their work and questions, and receiving feedback from the group members. Ground rules serve to establish norms and ensure a safe place to discuss dilemmas of PER practice. 

The Summer School consists of two types of sessions:

  • Working-group sessions: Each session lasts 90 minutes and focuses on the work-in-progress of a single PhD student. 
    • One-half of each session is devoted to a PhD student presenting their work (either in the form of a 45-minute presentation, or in the form of a 15-minute presentation followed by 30 minutes of workshop activities anchored in participant artifacts (e.g., bottom-up analysis of interview transcripts; analysis of respondents’ data with a coding scheme, etc.)).
    • The second half of the session is devoted to discussion with junior and expert researchers focused on the presenter's dilemmas. 
  • Whole-group sessions, in which participants from different working groups will meet, such as 
    • Reflection sessions focused on participants' experiences and challenges as newcomers to the community
    • Plenary sessions focused on educational research practices
    • Social sessions focused on building community and strong connections among researchers.


Cost: Though the budget has not been finalized, we expect that the cost per participant will be approximately 200 Euro (excluding accommodation). Dinner on Friday, and breaks, lunch, and dinner on Saturday and Sunday will be provided. 

Fifteen double rooms have been reserved at a pleasant local hotel in the old town. These rooms are to be shared by student participants on a first-come, first-served basis. The per night cost for the double room is 81 euro and includes breakfast (i.e., 40.50 euro per person). In case these rooms are not all taken up, the per night cost of a single room is 67 euro, including breakfast. To receive the negotiated prices, please contact summerschool@girep.org.

Eligibility: 

PhD students should meet two criteria. (a) They should have at least second-year standing in their PhD studies by the time of the Summer School and have passed the PhD proposal stage; and b) They are no closer than nine months away from submitting their PhD dissertation.

Supervisors of participating PhD students are most encouraged to attend.

Other PER researchers may apply.

See important dates. 

See application instructions for PhD students; for supervisors of PhD student participants; for other researchers.

 

Local organizing committee
Registration
Registration for the GIREP 2026 Summer School on Crete
    • 16:30 17:00
      Registration XENIA-click for address

      XENIA-click for address

      Psarrou 46, Rethymno 741 33, Greece
    • 17:00 18:00
      Welcome and Setting of Goals XENIA

      XENIA

      Psarrou 46, Rethymno 741 33, Greece
      Conveners: Edit Yerushalmi (Weizmann institute), Stamatis Vokos
    • 18:00 20:00
      All Together: The BIG PhD Game of Rethymno Rethymno Harbor and Old City

      Rethymno Harbor and Old City

      Conveners: Edit Yerushalmi (Weizmann institute), Stamatis Vokos
    • 20:00 22:00
      Break: Heavy Hors d'Oeuvres XENIA

      XENIA

      Psarrou 46, Rethymno 741 33, Greece
    • 08:45 09:00
      Working Group 1: Getting to Know One Another University of Crete

      University of Crete

    • 08:45 09:00
      Working Group 2: Getting to Know One Another
    • 08:45 09:00
      Working Group 3: Getting To Know One Another
    • 09:00 10:30
      Working Group 1: Session 1
      Convener: Enrico Chiosini (Universidade de São Paulo)
    • 09:00 10:30
      Working Group 2: Session 1
      Convener: Caterina Giovanzana (Università degli Studi di Trento)
      • 09:00
        Supporting Physics Teachers’ Use of Augmented Reality through a Community of Practice 1h 30m
        Speaker: Caterina Giovanzana (Università degli Studi di Trento)
    • 09:00 10:30
      Working Group 3: Session 1
      Convener: Dan Klein (Weizmann Institute of Science)
      • 09:00
        How do advanced physics courses for in-service teachers influence their views of the mathematics-physics interplay? 1h 30m
    • 10:30 11:00
      Break: Coffee Break
    • 11:00 12:30
      Working Group 1: Session 2
      Convener: Tobias Patrick Treczoks (Ludwig Maximilians Universitat (DE))
    • 11:00 12:30
      Working Group 2: Session 2
      Convener: Juuso Jaakola
    • 11:00 12:30
      Working Group 3: Session 2
      Convener: Matteo Onate Orozco (University of Insubria, Department of Science and High Technology, Como, Italy)
    • 12:30 13:30
      Break: Lunch
    • 13:30 15:00
      Working Group 1: Session 3
      Convener: Rok Kuk (University of Ljubljana)
      • 13:30
        Design and Implementation of Activities on the Enhanced Greenhouse Effect 1h 30m
        Speaker: Rok Kuk (University of Ljubljana)
    • 13:30 15:00
      Working Group 2: Session 3
      Convener: Filippa Dalesjo (University of Copenhagen (DK))
    • 13:30 15:00
      Working Group 3: Session 3
      Convener: Mrs Margareta Lovkovic Indra (Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Ljubljana, Slovenia)
    • 15:00 15:15
      Break: Short Break
    • 15:15 16:30
      Workshop Session A
      Convener: Geraldine Cochran
    • 16:30 16:45
      Break: Short Break
    • 16:45 18:00
      All Together: Roundtables
    • 19:30 21:00
      Dinner 1h 30m Fisalida Restaurant

      Fisalida Restaurant

      Vorios Odikos Axonas Kritis, Rethimno 741 00, Greece
    • 21:00 22:00
      Fun and Games Fisalida Restaurant

      Fisalida Restaurant

    • 09:00 10:30
      Working Group 1: Session 4
      Convener: Marina Ristol Roura (Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - Barcelona Tech)
      • 09:00
        Identifying and Addressing Students’ Conceptions about Force Identification and Newton’s First Law 1h 30m
        Speaker: Marina Ristol Roura (Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - Barcelona Tech)
    • 09:00 10:30
      Working Group 2: Session 4
      Convener: Ms Ruoshi Wang (University of the Basque Country)
      • 09:00
        Investigating Students’ Conceptual Understanding of RC Circuits 1h 30m
        Speaker: Ruoshi Wang (University of the Basque Country)
    • 09:00 10:30
      Working Group 3: Session 4
      Convener: Ms Aiswarya Amalucottage (The Ohio State University)
    • 10:30 11:00
      Break
    • 11:00 12:30
      Working Group 1: Session 5
      Convener: Kerstin Lindmaier (Johannes Kepler Universität Linz)
    • 11:00 12:30
      Working Group 2: Session 5
      Convener: Petra Plavšić
    • 11:00 12:30
      Working Group 3: Session 5
      Convener: Catalina Arboleda (University of Colorado Boulder)
    • 12:30 13:30
      Break: Lunch
    • 13:30 15:00
      Working Group 1: Session 6
      Convener: Jason Tran
    • 13:30 15:00
      Working Group 2: Session 6
      Convener: Gilad Hazaraty Zohar
    • 13:30 15:00
      Working Group 3: Session 6
      Convener: kana ofir (Weizmann Institute of Science)
    • 15:00 15:15
      Short Break
    • 15:15 16:30
      Workshop: Studying Participation in Physics Inquiry: Embedding Sociolinguistic Discourse Analysis in Ethnographic Case Studies
      Convener: Shulamit Kapon (Technion - Israel Institute of Technology)
      • 15:15
        Studying Participation in Physics Inquiry: Embedding Sociolinguistic Discourse Analysis in Ethnographic Case Studies 1h 15m
        Speaker: Shulamit Kapon (Technion - Israel Institute of Technology)
    • 16:30 17:00
      Break 30m
    • 17:00 18:00
      Understanding the Publication Process: Meeting with PRPER and European Journal of Physics Representatives University of Crete

      University of Crete

      Conveners: Cesar Mora, Dr Eric Brewe (Drexel University)
    • 19:30 21:30
      Dinner, Awards, and Games 2h Taverna tou Christou

      Taverna tou Christou

      Odo Kapstan Galianos 21, Gallos 741 50, Greece