GIREP Thematic Groups (GTG) are focused communities of GIREP members interested in contributing their expertise in particular facets of physics education, from working with children, through undergraduate work, to teacher training. This expertise is likely to be strong if they are research or development active in the area: doing work that yields insight or supports the development of practice. The aim of the GTG is to stay in touch as critical friends, exchanging thoughts, materials, and findings from the varied contexts in which we work and contribute to GIREP activities on the topic of GTG. The leader of a GTG takes responsibility for involving and organising the participation of active colleagues in the GTG in the conferences: offering an activity (workshop or poster-symposium, symposium) in each Conference or Seminar of GIREP. These bring the work back to the wider community, as well as being valuable times to discuss, refine expertise, research results and suggestions. The characteristics and focus of the work in each GTG are presented in the GTG proposal that a GIREP member submit to the GIREP committee for approval.

GTGs come into existence when someone offers to run one, and write to the GIREP committee. They look at this proposal, and try to offer advice so that it can run well, if that’s needed. If the negotiations go well the GTG is announced in the newsletter. Since the newsletters are on the GIREP web site, you can always find out who is running GTGs and which ones are running by reading the newsletters.

Each GTG has a convenor, who will organise and coordinate activities amongst the members. You apply to be a member by contacting the convenor. To retain an active membership the idea is that you will be a member for a single year, which you can then renew. The success of the group will depend on the convenor and on the active participation of the members: but it’s always been like that!

Interested parties can find out what each GTG is doing by means of regular reports from the convenor in the newsletter. The central aim of the GTGs is to continue focused conversations on the topics specified in the GTG proposal between conferences, and to bring the results to conferences.