Abstract (eng)
Elementary particle physics is a fundamental topic in science, and in particular in science education. However, in most countries, the chapter of particle physics is not necessarily fully integrated in the physics curriculum. Indeed, current physics education research is faced with the important question of how best to introduce elementary particle physics in the classroom early on. To investigate the feasibility of such an approach, a doctoral research project was set up and its results are presented in this dissertation.
First, a learning unit on the subatomic structure of matter was developed, which aims to introduce 12-year-olds to elementary particles and fundamental interactions (Wiener et al., 2015). This unit was iteratively developed by means of a design-based research project and the technique of probing acceptance was used in one-on-one interview sessions to evaluate different adaptions of the unit. All interviews were filmed, transcribed in full, and a category-based content analysis was applied to the transcripts. After several iterations, which were tested with a total of 20 grade-6 students, the final version of the learning unit proved to be plausible for all students. Moreover, the promising results showed the unit’s key ideas and main concepts to be appropriate for evaluation in the physics classroom. In addition, the development of the learning unit gave rise to a detailed description of CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC) as a prime example for the introduction of particle physics in the classroom (Wiener et al., 2016), and also led to the formulation of an alternative proposal for the graphical representation of anticolour charge (Wiener et al., accepted). Next, the research focus was shifted towards the perspective of teachers to further explore the didactical feasibility of the learning unit. In doing so, a follow-up study was designed to again probe acceptance of the learning unit with a set of 17 grade-6 students (Wiener et al., submitted1). This time, however, the research was conducted by instructed physics teachers to also document their evaluation of the unit’s key ideas. Here, the findings of the follow-up study validated the results from the initial study, as all students evaluated the learning unit to be plausible and meaningful, while demonstrating substantial understanding of the unit’s key ideas. Furthermore, the teachers’ feedback was very positive and showed the learning unit to be well well-suited for use in the classroom. Thus, the development of the learning unit was concluded successfully and to support its dissemination among teachers, a detailed summary of the unit’s key ideas and main concepts was created (Wiener et al., submitted2).
Last, the focus of the doctoral research project was shifted one more time to investigate the potential of the technique of probing acceptance as an effective tool for teachers’ professional development. Indeed, during the follow-up study, the teachers’ feedback hinted at influences of their pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) about elementary particle physics. Hence, an explorative study was set up to examine the effect on teachers’ PCK when preparing and executing interview sessions based on the technique of probing acceptance (Wiener et al., submitted3). Here, promising findings could be documented as well, hinting especially at influences of teachers’ knowledge of learners and knowledge of instructional strategies. Thus, the results of the explorative study strongly suggested that the transformation of the technique of probing acceptance into a tool for teacher training merits further research.
Overall, the doctoral research project led to successful results and showed the topic of elementary particle physics to be a viable candidate for introducing modern physics in the classroom. Furthermore, thanks to the design-based research methodology, the respective findings have implications for both physics education and physics education research, which are discussed in the final chapter of this dissertation.