Historical Experiments in Physics Teaching

Abstract

Is it possible to reproduce historical experiments in the classroom? The outcome of our project will be presented-We analyzed what kind of historical experiments are described in our textbooks and if students are interested in historical physics experiments. Are historical experiments really important for understanding science?The project was focused on the problem of historical experiments in teaching physics. In the textbooks, some of them are only briefly described. We studied how important it is to teach our students the history of scientific theories and understand that theories must be checked against experimental measurements. Students have to learn scientific methods in order to find out the basic principles of physics, and it can be demonstrated that the (historical) experiment is the right way of how to do it. We tested the possibility to teach and explain some topics in physics through historical experiments mostly designed with modern equipment or simple tools from everyday life. The important factor is the involvement of students themselves into this activity. Keywords: historical experiments, physics teaching, physics textbook IntroductionScience education cannot exist without history. The advancement in science is a never-ending story. According to Teichman (1991), history of science can play various roles in teaching physics:1. The content of knowledge and its development; 2. Ressource of experiments, observations, and analysis; 3. The function of technology; 4. Influence of the society; 5. Historical development and students' problems and misconceptions; 6. Science today and the further development; 7. Science, technology, and society form an integrated system and it is time dependent. History of science in schools is not a favorite topic among students. The inclusion of information about life of famous scientists and explanation of historical notes are ranked very low both on primary and secondary schools. On the other hand, practical activities needed in students' everyday life got the top ranking (Dvořák, 2008).As shown in the research conducted by Dvořák (2008) from the range of thematic units taught in primary schools, the most interesting topics for students were: energy, sound, light, and universe. Conversely, the least interesting were considered thematic units, such as electricity and magnetism, atoms and molecules. From the perspective of using history in teaching physics, the best represented are thematic units: astronomy and astrophysics, optics and thermodynamics. In textbooks, we can find descriptions of series of experiments that demonstrate historical development of these scientific fields and the exploitation of discoveries, inventions, and devices in everyday life.Molecular Physics is considered to be very attractive not only to students, but also sometimes to their teachers, because it seems to be described as too abstract, providing relatively few opportunities to demonstrate the phenomena in school practice. Therefore, it is necessary to pay more attention to this themat...

Contemporary Active English Language Teaching Methods: Theoretical Review and Practical Assignments

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“…T. Koval explores the application of information technology, which contributes to the real target activity and high motivation of students [2].…”

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