An Educational Reconstruction of Special Relativity Theory for Secondary Education

Einstein’s derivation of special relativity theory (SRT), based on hypothetical reasoning and thought experiments, is regarded as a prime example of physics theory development. In secondary education, the introduction of SRT could provide a great opportunity for students to engage in physics theoriz...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inScience & education Vol. 32; no. 1; pp. 57 - 100
Main Authors Kamphorst, Floor, Vollebregt, M. J., Savelsbergh, E. R., van Joolingen, W. R.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01.02.2023
Springer
Springer Nature B.V
Subjects
Education
Electromagnetism
History
Learning
Light
Magnets
Philosophy of Science
Physics
Reasoning
Reconstruction
Relativity
Science Activities
Science Education
Science Experiments
Science Instruction
Science Process Skills
Scientific Concepts
Secondary education
Secondary School Science
Students
Teaching Methods
Theory of relativity
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:Einstein’s derivation of special relativity theory (SRT), based on hypothetical reasoning and thought experiments, is regarded as a prime example of physics theory development. In secondary education, the introduction of SRT could provide a great opportunity for students to engage in physics theorizing, but this opportunity is largely being missed in current teaching practice. One reason could be that secondary students lack some knowledge of electromagnetism that was central to Einstein’s argument. Therefore, we conducted an educational reconstruction to develop a teaching approach that would not rely on advanced understanding of electromagnetism, yet retain the modes of reasoning that were characteristic of Einstein’s approach. In our reconstruction, we identified the light postulate, which is notoriously difficult for students to grasp, as a central concept. We developed a teaching and learning sequence in which students perform relativistic thought experiments and try different interpretations of the light postulate. Through these activities, students experienced how the new concepts meet the requirements for a good theory. Experimental evaluation of the teaching and learning sequence indicates that this can be a fruitful approach to introduce SRT to secondary students.
ISSN:0926-7220
1573-1901
DOI:10.1007/s11191-021-00283-2