Comparative analysis of educational websites to tech Relativistic Dynamics at the high school and university level

OTERO, M. R.; GONZALEZ, R.; ARLEGO, M.

Paris

Conferencia; 17th IARTEM international conference on textbooks and educational media Facing climate and societal change; 2024

Iartem. Laboratoire EDA. Université de Paris Cité.

Textualization plays a pivotal role in the process of didactic transposition (Chevallard, 1985). In our contemporary digital society, educational websites have emerged as a prevalent platform for both students and teachers in the educational journey. However, the phenomena of transposition aren’t always lucid to science communicators across all levels, be they authors of textbooks and websites, or the end users - the teachers and students. Despite considerable efforts to incorporate Relativistic Dynamics into high school curricula, students persistently grapple with comprehending the meaning, origins, and significance of one of Physics most renowned and universally recognized equations, E=mc2. Consequently, this study seeks to address the following research questions:•What foundational knowledge is available for the study of relativistic dynamics on websites accessible to high school and introductory university students?•What differences and correlations can be discerned in the knowledge offered on websites developed by universities and ministries of education, compared to those created by other types of authors?•What parallels and disparities can be identified concerning the knowledge presented on these websites, in contrast to what is provided in textbooks?•What are some pedagogical implications for the instruction of Special Relativity Theory?