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Hani Swirski, Ph.D.

My name is Hani and I live in Yuvalim, Misgav with my husband my son and my daughter. I completed my B.Sc. and M.Ed. in Physics Education at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology.

From 2005 to 2013, I worked at an elementary school in the northern part of Israel, teaching science. During the last two years, I have also trained teachers to use ICT tools in teaching while maximizing their pedagogical value.
In 2013, I began a Ph.D. program in the Faculty of Education in Science & Technology.

My PhD is about students’ interest in science. Using questions that students bring up in a formal (e.g., science class) and informal environments (e.g., Ask-an-expert websites, questions exhibition etc.), I identified common interest in science across different groups of learners and studied its stability over time. In addition, I examined which resource of questions may be useful for teachers and decision makers in order to integrate the student voice into the science curriculum.

Since 2020, I have been serving as the Director of the Citizen Lab, a collaboration between MadaTech — Israel National Museum of Science, Technology, and Space — and the Faculty of Education in Science & Technology at the Technion. The Citizen Lab focuses on fostering connections between academia, science museums, and the public through citizen science and participatory science initiatives, aiming to make science more accessible and engaging for diverse communities.

Contact Details

hanis[-at-]technion.ac.il

Projects

  1. Citizen Lab
  2. An Online Collaborative “Shadow Curriculum”
  3. ‘Sleep – a third of life’ – A Citizen Science project
  4. Thinking outside the lunchbox

Scholarships and Awards

2017 –      Technion – IIT, The Irwin and Joan Jacobs Fellowship for excellent Ph.D. Students.

2016 –      Technion – IIT. Kaplan award for excellent graduate students in science and technology education.

2015 –      Ministry of Science Technology and Space – international conference participation scholarship for Ph.D. students.

2013 –      Technion – IIT. Excellent Teaching assistant award.

2011 –      Technion – IIT. Excellent Teaching assistant award.

Publications

Published papers

Swirski, H., Baram-Tsabari, A. and Yarden, A. (2018). Does interest have an expiration date? An analysis of students’ questions as resources for context-based learning in formal and informal science learning environments, International Journal of Science Education.

Swirski, H. and Baram-Tsabari, A. (2015). “Will a Black Hole Eventually Swallow Earth”? Fifth Grades’ interest in Questions from Textbook, Open Educational Resource and Other Students’ Questions. Special series of Chais Conference 2015 best papers, Interdisciplinary Journal of E-Learning and Learning.
Abstract          PDF

Swirski, H. and Baram-Tsabari, A. (2014). Bridging the Gap between the Science Curriculum and Students’ Questions: Comparing linear vs. hypermedia Online Learning Environments. Special series of Chais Conference 2014 best papers, Interdisciplinary Journal of E-Learning and Learning Objects, 10, 153-175.
Abstract                PDF

Book chapters

Swirski, H. and Baram-Tsabari, A., (2018). Maintaining Homeostasis While Embracing Novelty. In: Stability and Change in Science Education – Meeting Basic Learning Needs. Katz P, Avrammidou, Eds. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill. pp. 183–200

Research reports and other publications

Swirski, H., Hareuveni, R. and Baram-Tsabari, A., 2021. Risk perception and risk communication
in radiological events (Hebrew). Technion

International Conferences

Barel-Ben David, Y., Swirski, H. and Dalyot, K., (2023) Science in and out: Creating common ground for community science events – The Citizen lab model for public engagement [Demonstrations, stories or mini workshops], presented at Public Communication of Science and Technology (PCST) Conference, Rotterdam, Netherlands. (April 2023).

Swirski, H. and Baram-Tsabari, A. (2017). Why can’t I fly? FAQ reveal common interests in science across gender. Poster presented in the 12th Conference of the European Science Education Research Association (ESERA), Dublin, Ireland (August 21-25, 2017).

Swirski, H. and Baram-Tsabari, A. (2017). Science questions for all. Individual talk presented at the annual meeting of the Conference of the European Science Education Research Association (ESERA), Dublin, Ireland (August 21-25, 2017).

Swirski, H., Baram-Tsabari, A. and Yarden, A. (2017). Does Interest Have an Expiration Date? Stability of Students’ Questions as a Resource for Context-based Learning. Individual talk presented at the National Association of Research in Science Teaching (NARST). San Antonio, TX (April 22-25, 2017).

Swirski, H. and Baram-Tsabari, A. (2015). “Will a Black Hole Eventually Swallow Earth?” 5th-Graders’ interest in Science Questions. Individual talk presented at the annual meeting of the European Science Education Research Association (ESERA). Helsinki, Finland, (Aug 31- Sep 04, 2015).
Abstract     ppt

Baram-Tsabari, A. and Swirski H. (2015). Comparing Linear vs. Hypermedia Online Learning Environments to Bridge Curricular Requirements and Students’ Questions. Presented as a talk in the annual meeting of the National Association of Research in Science Teaching (NARST). Chicago, IL (April 11-14, 2015).
ppt

National Conferences (In Hebrew)

Swirski, H. (2016). “Promoting the Perception of Basic Principals of Analytical Geometry among Elementary School Students Through the Learning of Computer Programming. Poster presented in the 11th Chais Conference on Instructional Technologies Research Learning in the Technological Era in Raanana, Israel (Feb 16-17).
PDF

Swirski, H. and Baram-Tsabari, A. (2015). “Will a Black Hole Eventually Swallow Earth?” Fifth Grades’ interest in Questions from Textbook, Open Network Resource and Other Students’ Questions. Presented as a talk in the 10th annual Chais Conference on Instructional Technologies Research Learning in the Technological Era in Raanana, Israel (Feb 10-11). [Shortlisted for the Best Student Paper Award].
PDF ppt

Swirski, H. and Baram-Tsabari, A. (2015). “Will a Black Hole Eventually Swallow Earth?” Fifth Grades’ interest in Questions from Textbook, Open Network Resource and Other Students’ Questions. Presented as a poster in the 2nd annual Israeli Science Learning Conference in the Department of Science Teaching, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel (Feb 1).
PDF

Swirski, H. (2015). Students’ Voice in Science education’s Content and Pedagogy: “Can two walk together without agreeing to meet?”. Presented as a talk in the 11th Technology, Mathematics and Science Education Doctoral Students Seminar, Nir-Ezion, Israel, (Sep 20-21).
PDF

Swirski, H. and Baram-Tsabari, A. (2014). An online learning environment as a tool for fifth graders to bridge the gap between the science curriculum and student questions. Presented as a talk in the 9th annual Chais Conference on Instructional Technologies Research Learning in the Technological Era in Raanana, Israel (Feb 11-12). [Best Student Paper Award].
PDF