Can a short intervention focused on gravitational waves and quantum physics improve students' understanding and attitude?

TL;DR

A one-day educational intervention using modern physics concepts like gravitational waves and quantum physics can enhance student understanding and attitudes, regardless of age or prior knowledge, but may not cover complex derived concepts.

Contribution

This study demonstrates the effectiveness of short, engaging physics interventions in improving student understanding and attitudes towards modern physics concepts.

Findings

Short interventions improve understanding of core Einsteinian physics concepts.

Prior knowledge and age do not significantly affect learning outcomes.

Longer interventions are needed for understanding complex derived concepts.

Abstract

The decline in student interest in science and technology is a major concern in the western world. One approach to reversing this decline is to introduce modern physics concepts much earlier in the school curriculum. We have used the context of the recent discoveries of gravitational waves to test benefits of one-day interventions, in which students are introduced to the ongoing nature of scientific discovery, as well as the fundamental concepts of quantum physics and gravitation, which underpin these discoveries. Our innovative approach combines role-playing, model demonstrations, single photon interference and gravitational wave detection, plus simple experiments designed to emphasize the quantum interpretation of interference. We compare understanding and attitudes through pre and post testing on four age groups (school years 7, 8, 9 and 10), and compare results with those of longer interventions with Year 9. Results indicate that neither prior knowledge nor age are significant factors in student understanding of the core concepts of Einsteinian physics. However we find that the short interventions are insufficient to enable students to comprehend more derived concepts.