Scientific argumentation in public physics lectures: bringing contemporary physics into high-school teaching

Abstract

This article presents an approach to integrating public e-lectures on contemporary physics into a traditional high-school syllabus. This approach was used in a long-distance professional development course for in-service physics teachers. Each lecture was related to a specific obligatory syllabus chapter, and was accompanied by learner-centred activities. We provide a detailed description of an activity that explicates the scientific arguments that were presented in the lectures. Teachers appreciated the approach and reported that the lectures and activities updated and broadened their knowledge of physics and contributed to their understanding of the nature of science (NOS).

A proposal to introduce a topic of contemporary physics into high-school teaching

“…In 2002, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to John Bennett Fenn [14] for the 1 Electronvolt (eV) is a convenient unit for electronic energies and is defined as the energy acquired by an electron accelerated through a potential difference of 1 volt (V). Since e = 1.6 × 10 −19 C and 1 Joule (…”

“…(2) where V 0 is the electric potential difference across the length L 1 , u is the final velocity of the particle and v is the initial velocity obtained by equation (1). In figure 1 the electric potential V 0 is approximately equal to 10 kV.…”

“…As we have mentioned, the desorbed ions have kinetic energies approximately equal to 10 eV. Thus, considering equation (1) we may neglect the initial velocity v in equation (2).…”

“…For a long time there has been worldwide concern about introducing the study of modern science, in particular contemporary physics, into secondary schools [1][2][3][4]. For instance, the introduction of modern science in Japan dates back to the second half of the nineteenth century.…”

Scientists suggest insertion of nanoscience and technology into middle school physics

“…This expertise may be essential for finding connections between the physics curriculum and the NST concepts. The physics curriculum is characterized as hierarchical in nature [10], whereby the curriculum emphasizes basic physics of the distant past. In all secondary physics curricula surveyed for this work, NST was not formally presented to students at any stage of their education.…”