A unit on deterministic chaos for student teachers

A unit aiming to introduce pre-service teachers of primary education to the limited predictability of deterministic chaotic systems is presented. The unit is based on a commercial chaotic pendulum system connected with a data acquisition interface. The capabilities and difficulties in understanding the notion of limited predictability of 18 pre-service teachers have been investigated, using a teaching experiment design. Our results show that students could be guided to significant insight into the limited predictability of deterministic chaotic systems. © 2013 IOP Publishing Ltd