Implementing the history of science in science education cannot really be labeled a novelty – there have been a number of papers which suggest the significance of historical contents in education. Most of these studies argue that through the history, motivational aspects are addressed and thus students are better motivated to learn physics. However, recently other aspects became emphasized – understanding the nature of science has become a central aim in science education. In this respect, historical studies can be used in science education in order to enable students to experience and reflect procedural aspects of science. Here, historical studies have the advantage of being authentic. Consequently, it can be argued that these studies show how science works. Yet, this is not fully true, but here lies another potential of such an approach: When analyzing historical case studies, it becomes evident that there are differences in the way science was done historically in different periods (and is done nowadays). Consequently, students are able to understand science as a human activity that is changing over time and can therefore be interpreted as a cultural activity.

In order to illustrate how the history of physics can be implemented in education, the StoryTelling approach that is advocated by the Flensburg group approach will be presented and analyzed. In doing so, two particular aspects will be emphasized – the role of the process of telling a story, and the role re-enacted historical experiments can play in this approach.

ReleKvant-prosjektet utvikler digitale, forskningsbaserte undervisningsressurser i generell relativitetsteori og kvantefysikk for fysikkfaget i videregående skole (gymnasieskolan). Praktiserende fysikklærere og lærerstudenter i fysikk trekkes inn i arbeidet gjennom delprosjektet ReleKvant Kompetanse. ReleKvant kombinerer: - utvikling og utprøving av undervisningsressurser - forskning på elevers motivasjon og læringsprosesser i fysikk - forskning på hvordan kompetanse skapes i samarbeidet mellom lærerstudenter, fysikklærere og forskere. http://www.mn.uio.no/fysikk/forskning/prosjekter/relekvant/

(ReleKvant: Web-based materials about relativity about relativity theory and quantum physics for high-school physics)

ReleQuant develops digital, research-based teaching resources in general relativity and quantum physics for upper secondary physics. Practicing physics teachers as well as physics teacher students are included in the project through ReleQuant Competence. ReleQuant combines: - development of digital teaching resources - research on pupils' learning processes and motivation in physics - research on how the collaboration develops competence in the involved practitioner groups: teacher students, teachers and researchers http://www.mn.uio.no/fysikk/english/research/projects/relequant/

To share knowledge in physics we use representations that typically have a great deal of information built into them. What makes this educationally challenging is that, in most cases, important aspects of the information embedded in the disciplinary representations are not directly visible and thus not immediately accessible to newcomers. These aspects are said to be appresent in that they lie behind the immediately visible. This situation arises out of the discipline having “packed” important aspects of the information into the representation in ways that can only be accessed through specific disciplinary ways of seeing. To explore this issue empirically and theoretically we have proposed the idea of educationally viewing representations as having both disciplinary affordances and pedagogical affordances. In this presentation I will describe these two constructs using examples from different levels of physics and illustrate how they can be used to create an unpacking approach that enhances the possibility of students getting to notice the educationally important appresent aspects.

Two fundamental issues related to teaching physics in elementary school are figuring out the level of concepts to be taught and the ways of enhancing student thinking. What needs to be taught is a connected body of concepts and models based on students’ personal experiences. The models targeted for lower grades need to be simpler while constituting the foundation for a more complex understanding in subsequent grades. Research on physics teaching suggests that teachers explore students’ initial ideas about natural phenomena and related reasoning to guide them in constructing scientific knowledge. This guidance involves questioning and scaffolding of student sense-making of their experiences. Such teaching, being different from the typical teacher questioning aimed at evaluating student acquisition of knowledge, needs detailed analysis to gain insights about physics education. In my presentation, I will present an analytical depiction of physics teaching and learning in elementary schools and in preservice teacher education contexts. I will then discuss the implications of these analyses for future endeavors in physics education.