The Use of Thought Experiments in Teaching Physics to Upper Secondary-Level Students: Two examples from the theory of relativity

Abstract

The present study focuses on the way thought experiments (TEs) can be used as didactical tools in teaching physics to upper secondary-level students. A qualitative study was designed to investigate to what extent the TEs called ‘Einstein's elevator’ and ‘Einstein's train’ can function as tools in teaching basic concepts of the theory of relativity to upper secondary-level students. The above TEs were used in the form they are presented by Einstein himself and by Landau and Rumer in books that popularize theories of physics. The research sample consisted of 40 Greek students, divided into 11 groups of three to four students each. The findings of this study reveal that the use of TEs in teaching the theory of relativity can help students realize situations which refer to a world beyond their everyday experience and develop syllogisms according to the theory. In this way, students can grasp physics laws and principles which demand a high degree of abstract thinking, such as the principle of equivalence and the consequences of the constancy of the speed of light to concepts of time and space.