Teaching Basic Special Relativity in High School: The Role of Classical Kinematics

ARLEGO, M.; OTERO, M. R.

International Journal of Physics and Chemistry Education

Universitat Bremen

Lugar: Polonia; Año: 2018 vol. 9 p. 9 - 12

In this work, we present a possible didactic sequence for the study of basic aspects of Special Relativity (SR) in high school. The sequence re-signifies the role of classical kinematics and Galileo´s relativity principle. It has been implemented in four courses of two secondary schools in Argentina in 2014-2015 and in Colombia in 2016, with students aged 15-16, during 20 school hours, being the teacher a member of our research team. The results are analyzed in terms of the Theory of Conceptual Fields (TCF) by identifying the Operational Invariants and the representation systems of ?in situation? student´s productions to describe the conceptualization process. Our results suggest that a progressive transition from Galileo´s to Einstein´s relativity, based on student?s Operational Invariants oriented by means a sequence of situations, could improve the conceptualization of SR phenomena such as the lack of simultaneity.