Speaker
Description
Special relativity is a challenging topic for secondary school students due to its abstract and counterintuitive nature. Thought experiments are often used to make relativistic effects tangible. Prior research has shown that students often express thought experiments in intuitive operationalisations, rooted in everyday experiences. We developed and evaluated a three-part lesson series focusing on simulation-based inquiry activities to familiarise students with the formalism of spacetime events. We found that the simulation activities helped students to operationalize displacement, relative velocity, and proper time more formally. Moreover, the insights gained from the simulation activities were successfully transferred to post-lesson questions.
| Education level | Age 15-18 (Secondary education) |
|---|---|
| Physics topic | Contemporary and modern physics |
| Research focus | Student conceptions / Preconceptions / Misconceptions |
| Research method | Educational design research (Qualitative research) |
| Organizing preference criteria | Track |
