2011 Masterclasses Introduction Michael Hauschild - CERN, 28-Feb-2011, page 1 Masterclasses “Skills” Masterclasses “Skills” Some general comments based on experience from previous Masterclasses

2011 Masterclasses Introduction Michael Hauschild - CERN, 28-Feb-2011, page 2 Start the conference Check the communication with the participants one-by-one say “Hello”, ask if they can hear us and can see us in... ask if they could wave their hands... Introduce yourself e.g. “My name is Michael, I'm working at..., one of the 4 large experiments at the LHC collider...” Explain where we are (the moderators) e.g. “We are right now sitting at CERN. CERN is the largest centre for particle physics research in the world and a rather cool place...” Say a few words on what's happening over the next hour answering ANY questions, can be related to physics, life at CERN, whatever discussion of the results of the exercise quiz where you can win T-shirts(?)

2011 Masterclasses Introduction Michael Hauschild - CERN, 28-Feb-2011, page 3 Communication Most of the high school students don't understand and speak English very well speak slowly and clear avoid to use complicated and long sentences use simple words (vocabulary of the students is limited) no acronyms, abbreviations, physics slang, avoid talking “CERNish” Keep explanations short don't try to explain the LHC in 5-minutes... shame on me, I tend to give rather long explanations... Avoid talking too much to your co-moderator a long dialog between the moderators is decoupling the participants handing over from one moderator to the other with a few words is fine e.g. “Uta, this seems a perfect question to be answered by you...”

2011 Masterclasses Introduction Michael Hauschild - CERN, 28-Feb-2011, page 4 Moderation There are (mostly) two moderators running the show both moderators should talk to about equal amounts in case of a (more) senior + (more) young moderator, the senior one should not, e.g. answer all questions if you feel you've talked already too much, hand over to your co- moderator At the quiz read questions by alternating between the two moderators same when going through the quiz answers

2011 Masterclasses Introduction Michael Hauschild - CERN, 28-Feb-2011, page 5 Questions Most difficult part: to encourage the students asking questions at all they are shy, don't want to expose themselves in front of their fellow students it's a video conference with microphone + camera, they are not used to they don't speak English well, sometimes cannot express what they want to ask, don't know the right words (e.g. in physics questions) For them, we (at CERN) are considered as “super-experts” they are even more shy and hesitate to ask “stupid” questions Try to encourage them go through institute by institute and ask if the students have questions give examples: “was the exercise difficult, what was the largest problem, how is life at CERN” e.tc. sometimes teachers (very rarely) or local physicists are asking the questions on behalf of the students