Kosmiska perspektiv : Elevers syn på tid och avstånd i rymden

The study explored upper secondary school students' perceptions of cosmologicalphenomena, particularly their understanding of time, distance, and the developmentof the universe. Two visual tests were employed: one presenting a timeline of theuniverse's history and the other focusing on distances and scales of various cosmicobjects. The resultsshowed thatstudents combined scientific reasoning with personal,cultural, and religious conceptions.Many students had a simplified understanding of the vast time intervals in theuniverse's development and placed events closer together than what is scientificallyaccurate. Furthermore, their responses indicated that cultural and religious referencesare often integrated with scientific theories, which can contribute to theirunderstanding.Regarding distances and scales, students approached the abstract dimensions byrelating them to everyday experiences. Some students applied logical reasoning andcreative strategies that deviated from scientific explanations. These strategiesdemonstrate a willingness to understand but also highlight the need for additionalsupport in teaching to facilitate the transition to a scientific perspective.The study emphasizes the importance of creating teaching strategies that considerstudents' prior knowledge and conceptions. Finally, further research is suggested onyounger students as well as upper secondary students without prior physicsknowledge. This could provide insights into how their conceptions are formed andhow teaching can support a more accurate understanding of cosmological concepts.The study underscores that students' conceptions should not be seen as obstacles butrather as steps toward continued learning.