Cosmology and general relativity in upper secondary school through new targeted teaching materials: A study on student learning and motivation

Despite its intellectual and philosophical significance, cosmology and general relativity (GR) remain largely inaccessible to high-school physics teaching because of the advanced conceptual and mathematical prerequisites to master these topics. Integrating them into upper secondary physics teaching, outside specialized courses, poses a significant challenge that remains unresolved. While the strong rationale for their inclusion in the curriculum is widely acknowledged, significant obstacles, both practical and conceptual, hinder implementation. Moreover, empirical evidence on successful classroom and curriculum integration of modern physics remains scarce. This contribution reports on an implementation study of a GR and cosmology course developed for upper secondary school students as part of an educational project launched during the centenary of GR in 2015 and tested ever since for several years. The course aimed to expand students’ knowledge to include current physics topics while highlighting their foundations in areas of classical physics such as Newtonian mechanics, electromagnetism, and waves. Targeted teaching and learning materials are focused on conceptual and qualitative understanding, while systematically combined with a mathematical treatment accessible at the upper secondary level, avoiding oversimplification. A key element is an active learning approach, incorporating activities and tasks such as engaging applications related to current research, reflective exercises, thought experiments, and hands-on tasks. The main research objective was to explore whether a conceptually deep and educationally effective GR and cosmology course could be successfully implemented for nonspecialist upper secondary students. A pre-post study assessed both conceptual learning and affective outcomes, including interest, curiosity, self-concept, and perceived relevance of science. Results showed encouraging gains in both learning and motivation, with large to very large effect sizes for conceptual learning of core principles. Additionally, no or small effects of predictors such as gender were observed. We conclude that the integration of GR and cosmology into upper secondary physics teaching, in the form of courses and materials that are engaging, comprehensible, and impactful, is feasible. This can enable learners in nonspecialist courses and with diverse backgrounds to engage with these intellectually and educationally rich and stimulating topics.