The Development of Experimental Skills, the Role of Digital Technologies and Multimedia in Physics Teacher Education

Abstract

The role of experimental skills in developing knowledge at secondary school is considered through the contributions presented in the working group. The position adopted here is that each of the natural sciences, physics, chemistry and biology, has slightly different epistemology and approaches to experimental observation. In physics, experiments are purpose-built to observe the phenomenon of interest, and that can only be done with a firm basis in knowledge as well as a range of experimental skills, which increasingly include computation and computer programming. Teaching physics with the use of digital technologies as well as teaching key concepts of digital technologies are among the major challenges for physics teachers and, thus, important topics of research and development in physics teachers’ education. In the working group, different approaches to teacher training were discussed. First, we talked about how digital technologies can improve physics teaching and what needs to be added or changed in the physics curriculum. We also discussed what competencies a physics teacher needs to be able to use digital technologies in physics lessons meaningfully. Then we looked at what activities are necessary and effective in teacher training so that student teachers or teachers in training acquire these competencies. And finally, we looked for ways to assess these competencies. This article intends to summarise the working group’s results and focus on possible research for the following years.