Table 1 - available via license: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
Content may be subject to copyright.
Summary of the sample size (N) and sample distribution according to group, high school, gender and elective, where Bio means Biology and Tech means Technical Drawing, for each group of students.
Source publication
The science learning process improves when the contents are connected to students' lives. Particle physics has had a great impact in our society in the last years and has changed the theoretical picture about matter fundamental dynamics. Thus, we think that academic contents about matter components and interactions should be updated. With this stud...
Similar publications
We report to which extent elementary particles and the nucleons can be described by an Ansatz that is alternative to the established standard model, and can still yield predicted results that reproduce the observed ones, without using the formalism of quantum mechanics. The different Ansatz is motivated by the attempt to explain known properties of...
Citations
... Το συμπέρασμα της εργασίας έδειξε ότι τα πειράματα βοήθησαν τους μαθητές να δείξουν θετική μαθησιακή πρόοδο. Αυτό που είναι γενικά αποδεκτό είναι ότι η ΣΦ αποτελεί την παρούσα στιγμή μια ενότητα που ενδιαφέρει τους μαθητές μιας και είναι επίκαιρη στην επιστημονική κοινότητα (Tuzón & Solbes, 2016). ...
Η σωματιδιακή φυσική αποτελεί γνωστικό περιεχόμενο που ενδιαφέρει τους μαθητές, μιας και είναι πειραματικά ενεργή και επίκαιρη στην επιστημονική κοινότητα. Το ελληνικό πρόγραμμα σπουδών εμπεριέχει αποσπασματικά έννοιες σωματιδιακής φυσικής χωρίς να υπάρχει ωστόσο ειδικό κεφάλαιο. Η παρούσα εργασία παρουσιάζει το εισαγωγικό στάδιο του σχεδιασμού μιας διδακτικής μαθησιακής ακολουθίας (ΔΜΑ) σε θέματα σωματιδιακής φυσικής: διερευνήθηκαν εναλλακτικές αντιλήψεις των μαθητών, όπως αυτές αναφέρονται στη βιβλιογραφία, αναπτύχθηκαν δραστηριότητες που διαχειρίζονται το εννοιολογικό περιεχόμενο και εισάγουν τον πειραματισμό με στόχο να βοηθηθούν οι μαθητές να διαχειριστούν τις δυσκολίες αυτές.
... Finding answers to the fundamental questions of nature can positively influence students' attitudes toward physics. The call for particle physics in high school education has since been replicated several times (e.g., [4][5][6]). Despite these calls, particle physics only rarely makes it into the curricula and subsequently into the teacher training courses at university. ...
... So far, few studies have been conducted to systematically investigate students' understanding of particle physics or the impact of specific interventions in the field [6,16,17]. ...
Particle physics is an exciting subject for high school students, and there have been various approaches on how to introduce the topic in the classroom. Feynman diagrams (FDs) are an often-used form of representation in particle physics and could play an important role in such an introduction. However, their potential educational value has not yet been investigated. To this end, we interviewed four experts in the field of particle physics education on the opportunities and challenges Feynman diagrams could pose for high school students. We analyzed their answers using a thematic analysis framework, categorizing them into five themes. The results of these interviews show that there are two challenges (FDs elicit and perpetuate inadequate conceptions about particle physics, and FDs can only be treated superficially in school) and three opportunities (FDs can link particle physics and other physics topics in high school education, FDs offer an opportunity for different particle physics topics to be taught, and FDs offer a connection to current research). The results of this expert interview study lead to several suggestions on how to design learning environments that incorporate Feynman diagrams.
... Various particle physics applications are present in everyday lives (e.g., medical imaging or radiation therapy). As such, particle physics shows a recent image of physics, which can help students to increase their knowledge of the nature of science made over the past few decades [2][3][4][5][6][7]. For example, one prominent call for including particle physics in more curricula comes directly from the latest European Strategy for Particle Physics Update, the cornerstone of the decision-making process in Europe for the long-term future of the field of particle physics, which states that: "The particle physics community should work with educators and relevant authorities to explore the adoption of basic knowledge of elementary particles and their interactions in the regular school curriculum." ...
... Similarly, Tuzón and Solbes reviewed the knowledge of Spanish high-school students that had no explicit lessons on particle physics before the study [5]. They had also shown some understanding of basic particle physics concepts. ...
... Their description is generally limited to their role in nuclear reactions. Indeed, other studies have found that teachers often mention the concepts of strong interaction and weak interaction as decontextualized and in passing [5,77]. While the introduction of the strong interaction and weak interaction can include a short discussion about the nature of these fundamental interactions (e.g., range and relative strength), it typically avoids the associated charges. ...
This international curricular review provides a structured overview of the particle physics content in 27 state, national, and international high-school physics curricula. The review was based on a coding manual that included 60 concepts that were identified as relevant for high-school particle physics education. Two types of curricula were reviewed, namely curricula with a dedicated particle physics chapter and curricula without a dedicated particle physics chapter. The results of the curricular review show that particle physics concepts are explicitly or implicitly present in all reviewed curricula. However, the number of particle physics concepts that are featured in a curriculum varies greatly across the reviewed curricula. We identified core particle physics concepts that can be found in most curricula. Here, elementary particles, fundamental interactions, and charges were identified as explicit particle physics concepts that are featured in more than half of the reviewed curricula either as content or context. Indeed, theoretical particle physics concepts are more prominent in high-school physics curricula than experimental particle physics concepts. Overall, this international curricular review provides the basis for future curricular development with respect to particle physics and suggests an increased inclusion of experimental particle physics concepts in high-school physics curricula.
... Within this context, both radiation and radioactivity are controversial topics and carry with them an emotional burden that must be taken into account in the teaching of physics (Maharaj-Sharma, 2011). The media has a strong relationship with the youth's view on the subject, not only in the dissemination of inaccurate information but also through films and fictional stories (Tuzón and Solbes, 2016). The difficul ies involved in teaching physics in the classroom, linked to superficial, or incorrect information about a certain phenomenon can favor the development of alternative concepts in students (Thompson and Logue, 2006). ...
... In this context, the discussion on radiation and radioactivity is also inserted, due to the direct interference of these topics in today's society. This relationship between radiation and current events can be evidenced by the way the subject that is presented by the media, in films, series, and the news (De Oliveira et al., 2007 andTuzón andSolbes, 2016). Part of this repercussion is related to the disasters that have occurred in recent decades, often promoting a negative view on the use of radiation (Tomkiv et al., 2016). ...
... In this context, the discussion on radiation and radioactivity is also inserted, due to the direct interference of these topics in today's society. This relationship between radiation and current events can be evidenced by the way the subject that is presented by the media, in films, series, and the news (De Oliveira et al., 2007 andTuzón andSolbes, 2016). Part of this repercussion is related to the disasters that have occurred in recent decades, often promoting a negative view on the use of radiation (Tomkiv et al., 2016). ...
This paper presents a perspective of how the radiation and radioactivity themes have been discussed at the high school level in several locations around the world. In this context, scientific journals, academic journals, theses, dissertations, and media materials were analyzed. Recent research has shown that the concern with the discussion about radiation and radioactivity in basic education is a current and global issue. The discussion on the radiation and radioactivity themes in different contexts in this paper was presented in four parts: (i) the representations used to deal with the themes; (ii) how the high school curriculum deals with the topic; (iii) the common alternative conceptions; and (iv) intervention proposals to address the issues. Based on a literature review, in order to collaborate in the teaching of radiation and radioactivity topics, the main objective of this work is to understand the current scenario on these topics, identify some challenges to understand them and present possible interventions to overcome them.
... Uluslararası çalışmalarda parçacık fiziği eğitiminde ilköğretim ve lise öğrencilerine yönelik etkinlik geliştirme çalışmalarının sayısının ise oldukça fazla olduğu görülmektedir (Andrews ve Nikolopoulos, 2018;Csörgő, 2012;2016;Gourlay, 2016;Kontokostas ve Kalkanis, 2013;McGinness, Dührkoop, Woithe ve Jansky, 2019;Nikolopoulos ve Pardalaki, 2020;Pascolini ve Pietroni, 2002;Pavlidou ve Lazzeroni, 2016a;2016b;Takai, t.y.;Thunyaniti, Toedtanya ve Wuttiprom, 2017;Wiener, Schmeling & Hopf, 2015;. Uluslararası çalışmalarda öğrencilerin ve fizik öğretmenlerinin parçacık fiziği alan bilgisine ilişkin veriler ise oldukça azdır (Barlow, 2000;Fischler ve Lichtfeldt, 1992;Moreira ve Ostermann, 2000;Tuzón ve Solbes, 2016). ...
In this study, the Particle Physics Achievement Test, which was developed by the researchers based on the achievements related to particle physics in the secondary school physics curriculum, was applied as a pretest and posttest to determine the change in the subject area knowledge of physics teachers. In order to provide physics teachers with information about particle physics, activities developed based on each outcome were applied. In the pretest, it was determined that the traces seen as a result of the Stern-Gerlach experiment, the prediction of the particle groups given the charge and spin properties, and the lack of preliminary information about the fundamental subatomic particles in the nucleus. In the posttest made after the application, however, positive changes could not be obtained about the prediction of the particle groups given the charge and spin properties and the fundamental subatomic particles in the nucleus.
... The confusion caused by the microscopic composition of matter can be clearly appreciated in the response distributions of the pairs 'divisible-indivisible' and 'corpuscularwavy'. They show the most varied responses in this group, bringing to light the lack of familiarity with the aspects of Modern Physics (Fischler & Lichtfeldt, 1992;Gil & Solbes, 1993;Tuzon & Solbes, 2016). In both cases, the correct answer ['(a) and (b)'] holds a small percentage for the two pairs of adjectives in secondary education. ...
The teaching of the phenomenon of radioactivity is considered a key ingredient in the path towards developing critical thinking skills in many secondary science education curricula. Despite being one of the basic concepts in general physics courses, the scientific teaching literature of the last 40 years reports a great deal of misconceptions and conceptual errors related to radioactivity that seemingly appear regardless of the educational level and context. This study reports the first cross-sectional diagnostic study in Spain to secondary education students and pre-service teachers. Data were collected in the year 2019 through a questionnaire adapted from a previously validated one to explore the main misconceptions, attitudes, and knowledge status on the topic on a sample of 191 secondary school students and 29 Physics-and-Chemistry trainee teachers in the Spanish region of Valencia. Open and closed questions were used to categorize the entity itself, its properties, and the main misconceptions related to radioactivity. The responses were analysed using conventional statistical methods. The results indicate an evolution from a widespread dissenting notion on the phenomenon, which is staunchly related to danger, hazard, and destruction in the lowest educational levels, towards a more rational, relative, and multidimensional perspective in the highest ones. On the other hand, the ideas, emotions, and attitudes of the inquired individuals are in good agreement with the main misconceptions reported in the literature.
... Not long after, the inclusion of particle physics in more curricula was discussed at the first conference on teaching modern physics in high schools (Aubrecht, 1986). Similar calls for particle physics inclusion were often repeated throughout the years (e.g., Chatterjee, 2002;Hanley, 2000;Kobel, 2003;Tuzón & Solbes, 2016). Now, several high-school physics curricula include particle physics (Gourlay, 2017;Mullis et al., 2016). ...
... This literature review identified two studies that investigated students' understanding of particle physics directly. First, Tuzón and Solbes (2016) investigated Spanish second-to-lastyear high-school students' understanding of particle physics. The study revealed that students had some knowledge about particle physics, although particle physics was not an explicit chapter in their curriculum. ...
... Overall, students expressed interest in including particle physics in the curriculum in various ways. Here, Tuzón and Solbes (2016) suggested including particle physics in the curriculum implicitly by connecting it to other curricular topics rather than as an explicit chapter. Many suggestions on connecting particle physics to other parts of the curricula were given also in other publications (e.g., Barradas-Solas, 2007;Cid-Vidal & Cid, 2018;Wiener et al., 2016). ...
Elementary particle physics is a contemporary topic in science that is slowly being integrated into high-school education. These new implementations are challenging teachers’ professional knowledge worldwide. Therefore, physics education research is faced with two important questions, namely, how can particle physics be integrated in high-school physics curricula and how best to support teachers in enhancing their professional knowledge on particle physics. This doctoral research project set up to provide better guidelines for answering these two questions by conducting three studies on high-school particle physics education. First, an expert concept mapping study was conducted to elicit experts’ expectations on what high-school students should learn about particle physics. Overall, 13 experts in particle physics, computing, and physics education participated in 9 concept mapping rounds. The broad knowledge base of the experts ensured that the final expert concept map covers all major particle physics aspects. Specifically, the final expert concept map includes 180 concepts and examples, connected with 266 links and crosslinks. Among them are also several links to students’ prior knowledge in topics such as mechanics and thermodynamics. The high interconnectedness of the concepts shows possible opportunities for including particle physics as a context for other curricular topics. As such, the resulting expert concept map is showcased as a well-suited tool for teachers to scaffold their instructional practice. Second, a review of 27 high-school physics curricula was conducted. The review uncovered which concepts related to particle physics can be identified in most curricula. Each curriculum was reviewed by two reviewers that followed a codebook with 60 concepts related to particle physics. The analysis showed that most curricula mention cosmology, elementary particles, and charges, all of which are considered theoretical particle physics concepts. None of the experimental particle physics concepts appeared in more than half of the reviewed curricula. Additional analysis was done on two curricular subsets, namely curricula with and curricula without an explicit particle physics chapter. Curricula with an explicit particle physics chapter mention several additional explicit particle physics concepts, namely the Standard Model of particle physics, fundamental interactions, antimatter research, and particle accelerators. The latter is an example of experimental particle physics concepts. Additionally, the analysis revealed that, overall, most curricula include Nature of Science and history of physics, albeit both are typically used as context or as a tool for teaching, respectively. Third, a Delphi study was conducted to investigate stakeholders’ expectations regarding what teachers should learn in particle physics professional development programmes. Over 100 stakeholders from 41 countries represented four stakeholder groups, namely physics education researchers, research scientists, government representatives, and high-school teachers. The study resulted in a ranked list of the 13 most important topics to be included in particle physics professional development programmes. The highest-ranked topics are cosmology, the Standard Model, and real-life applications of particle physics. All stakeholder groups agreed on the overall ranking of the topics. While the highest-ranked topics are again more theoretical, stakeholders also expect teachers to learn about experimental particle physics topics, which are ranked as medium importance topics. The three studies addressed two research aims of this doctoral project. The first research aim was to explore to what extent particle physics is featured in high-school physics curricula. The comparison of the outcomes of the curricular review and the expert concept map showed that curricula cover significantly less than what experts expect high-school students to learn about particle physics. For example, most curricula do not include concepts that could be classified as experimental particle physics. However, the strong connections between the different concept show that experimental particle physics can be used as context for theoretical particle physics concepts, Nature of Science, and other curricular topics. In doing so, particle physics can be introduced in classrooms even though it is not (yet) explicitly mentioned in the respective curriculum. The second research aim was to identify which aspects of content knowledge teachers are expected to learn about particle physics. The comparison of the Delphi study results to the outcomes of the curricular review and the expert concept map showed that stakeholders generally expect teachers to enhance their school knowledge as defined by the curricula. Furthermore, teachers are also expected to enhance their deeper school knowledge by learning how to connect concepts from their school knowledge to other concepts in particle physics and beyond. As such, professional development programmes that focus on enhancing teachers’ school knowledge and deeper school knowledge best support teachers in building relevant context in their instruction. Overall, this doctoral research project reviewed the current state of high-school particle physics education and provided guidelines for future enhancements of the particle physics content in high-school student and teacher education. The outcomes of the project support further implementations of particle physics in high-school education both as explicit content and as context for other curricular topics. Furthermore, the mixed-methods approach and the outcomes of this research project lead to several implications for professional development programmes and science education research, that are discussed in the final chapters of this dissertation.
... Correlating the answers to questions number three (figure 4) and five (figure 6), as pointed out by [22], there are many students with an interest in nuclear physics even though they have not seen it in the curriculum. This can be observed since 47.06% of the answers contemplate the ideas of nuclear fission or nuclear fusion and, 5.88% of the participants commented on particle collision, although in another context. ...
... In an overview of the results, studies have been conducted in different countries, trying to evaluate the knowledge, perceptions and points of view of elementary and high school students about contemporary physics issues [9,[21][22][23]. Students have numerous alternative conceptions of science in general. ...
... The students naturally have some alternative conceptions, since they stem from media, literature or film sources [4,22]. The internet is one of the factors that most contribute to the development of alternative conceptions. ...
This research aimed to investigate the misconceptions on nuclear physics
topics. Misconceptions are defined as ideas whose meaning departs from
what is commonly accepted by scientific consensus. A total of 34 high
school students of the Federal Institute of Education, Science and
Technology of S˜ao Paulo (IFSP), Brazil, answered a questionnaire on atomic
model, radiation and radioactivity themes. The results showed that more than
half of the students used similar representations to the Rutherford model
when they had to draw an atom. In addition, at least 60% of the students had
heard about radiation but could not explain the scientific meaning of the
term. Also, it was noted in the research the influence of knowledge acquired
by students outside the classroom by mentions made on nuclear fission, a
topic not covered in the curriculum, and the frequent use of the Rutherford
atomic model, ideas often conveyed by the media. Thus, there is a need for
further discussion by teachers and teachers in training on the inclusion of
nuclear physics topics in the high school curriculum.
... The confusion caused by the microscopic composition of matter can be clearly appreciated in the response distributions of the pairs 'divisible-indivisible' and 'corpuscular-wavy'. They show the most varied responses in this group, bringing to light the lack of familiarity with the aspects of Modern Physics 51,52,53 . In both cases, the correct answer ['(a) and (b)'] holds a small percentage for the two pairs of adjectives in secondary education. ...
Since its serendipitous discovery in 1896 by Henry Becquerel, radioactivity has called the attention of both the scientific community and the broad audience due to its intriguing nature, its multiple applications and its controversial uses. For this reason, the teaching of the phenomenon is considered a key ingredient in the path towards developing critical-thinking skills in many secondary science education curricula. Despite being one of the basic concepts in general physics courses, the scientific teaching literature of the last 40 years reports a great deal of misconceptions and conceptual errors related to radioactivity that seemingly appear regardless of the context. This study explores, for the first time, the knowledge status on the topic on a sample of N=191 secondary school students and Y=29 Physics-and-Chemistry trainee teachers in the Spanish region of Valencia. To this aim, a revised version of a diagnostic tool developed by Martins \cite{Mar92} has been employed. In general, the results reveal an evolution from a widespread dissenting notion on the phenomenon, which is staunchly related to danger, hazard and destruction in the lowest educational levels, towards a more rational, relative and multidimensional perspective in the highest ones. Furthermore, the great overlap of the ideas, emotions and attitudes of the inquired individuals with the main misconceptions and conceptual mistakes reported in the literature for different educational contexts unveils the urgent need to develop new teaching strategies leading to a meaningful learning of the associated nuclear science concepts.
In this study, we present an investigation of how modeling with embodiment can help to learn about natural phenomena that are far from the human eye. In particular, we analyze this tool to study updated models of matter components and their interactions (particle physics) in high school. We perform a qualitative analysis where we describe the methodological procedure in detail. 71 students are evaluated according to two factors: first, if they are able to build the final scientific model. Second, their degree of autonomy in this process. We also cross-check the qualitative results with a quantitative pre-post analysis, using a test about the general knowledge of particle physics, from classical models to the new models. The results are positive in both the qualitative and the quantitative analysis.
