Understanding Curved Spacetime: The Role of the Rubber Sheet Analogy in Learning General Relativity

Autor/inn/en	Kersting, Magdalena; Steier, Rolf
Titel	Understanding Curved Spacetime: The Role of the Rubber Sheet Analogy in Learning General Relativity
Quelle	In: Science & Education, 27 (2018) 7-8, S.593-623 (31 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (Kersting, Magdalena)
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0926-7220
DOI	10.1007/s11191-018-9997-4
Schlagwörter	Science Instruction; Teaching Methods; Scientific Concepts; Online Courses; Cooperative Learning; Physics; Foreign Countries; Figurative Language; Concept Formation; Textbooks; Criticism; Secondary School Students; Correlation; Schemata (Cognition); Norway + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Teaching of science; Science education; Natural sciences Lessons; Naturwissenschaftlicher Unterricht; Teaching method; Lehrmethode; Unterrichtsmethode; Online course; Online-Kurs; Kooperatives Lernen; Physik; Ausland; Concept learning; Begriffsbildung; Textbook; Text book; Schulbuch; Lehrbuch; Kritik; Sekundarschüler; Korrelation; Cognition; Schema; Kognition; Norwegen
Abstract	According to general relativity (GR), we live in a four-dimensional curved universe. Since the human mind cannot visualize those four dimensions, a popular analogy compares the universe to a two-dimensional rubber sheet distorted by massive objects. This analogy is often used when teaching GR to upper secondary and undergraduate physics students. However, physicists and physics educators criticize the analogy for being inaccurate and for introducing conceptual conflicts. Addressing these criticisms, we analyze the rubber sheet analogy through systematic metaphor analysis of textbooks and research literature, and present an empirical analysis of upper secondary school students' use and understanding of the analogy. Taking a theoretical perspective of embodied cognition allows us to account for the relationship between the experiential and sensory aspects of the metaphor in relation to the abstract nature of spacetime. We employ methods of metaphor and thematic analysis to study written accounts of small groups of 97 students (18-19 years old) who worked with a collaborative online learning environment as part of their regular physics lessons in five classes in Norway. Students generated conceptual metaphors found in the literature as well as novel ones that led to different conceptions of gravity than those held by experts in the field. Even though most students showed awareness of some limitations of the analogy, we observed a conflict between students' embodied understanding of gravity and the abstract description of GR. This conflict might add to the common perception of GR being counterintuitive. In making explicit strengths and weaknesses of the rubber sheet analogy and learners' conceptual difficulties, our results offer guidance for teaching GR. More generally, these findings contribute to the epistemological implications of employing specific scientific metaphors in classrooms. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01