ACTIVE LEARNING MAKES STUDENTS THINK LIKE PHYSICISTS • Prof. Gorazd Planinšič | Ljubljana

Gorazd Planinšič is a Professor of Physics at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, where he also obtained his PhD in physics. Since 2000 he has led the University Physics Education program, which prepares almost all high school physics teachers in Slovenia. He started his career in MRI physics and later switched to physics education research. During the last 10 years, his work has mostly focused on the research of new experiments and how to use them more productively in teaching and learning physics. Professor Planinšič is a co-author of more than 80 peer-refereed research articles and more than 20 popular science articles; he is a sole author of a university textbook for future physics teachers and a co-author of an algebra-based textbook for introductory physics. He sits on the editorial board of IOP Physics Education. He chaired the National exam committee for high-school physics in Slovenia and the Physics Education Division of the European Physical Society. He represented Slovenia in Commission C14 of IUPAP (ICPE) and served as a secretary of GIREP. He is a co-founder of a Slovenian hands-on science center, called the House of Experiments. In 2013 he received The Science Communicator of the Year award from the Slovenian Science Foundation. In 2018 he was awarded the GIREP medal.

Today we have irrefutable evidence that to learn anything people need to be active participants in the learning process, not passive observers. In addition, society expects us to prepare future generations not only to have basic knowledge of physics but also to learn how to think like a physicist. How do these ideas affect the way we prepare future physics teachers and how do they affect the experimental aspect of teaching and learning physics?In my talk, I will describe how changes in my own views about the role of physics experiments, helped me see new features of experiments. These later allowed me to engage all students in active learning, to teach them to think like physicists.

https://www.fmf.uni-lj.si/~planinsic/

FRONTIERS OF PHYSICS 2019 TEACHERS’ CONFERENCE
WIT
28 September 2019
Camera : Marek Bogacki
Produced by DOCUMENTAVI MMXIX