General Relativity in Secondary School: Research-Based Development of Learning Resources and Analyses of Students’ Conceptual Understanding Using the Model of Educational Reconstruction

Abstract

According to Einstein, common sense is nothing more than a deposit of prejudices laid down in the mind before the age of eighteen. Even though experiments have repeatedly confirmed Einstein’s theories, physics education in schools continues to be dominated by a 19th-century point of view. Consequently, the theory of relativity still contradicts the common sense of many. Aiming to make general relativity a part of the intellectual equipment of young learners, this PhD-thesis contributes to the emerging field of Einsteinian Physics education. Proposing a way of turning general relativity into a subject area that can be taught at the secondary school level, this work presents an educational reconstruction of Einstein’s theory of gravity. The research-based development of a digital learning environment sets the stage for studies of student learning processes in general relativity. The recent birth of gravitational wave astronomy creates a fantastic vision of physics for the future. The findings of this research can help teachers and instructors bring this vision into science classrooms.