Peer instruction to address alternative conceptions in Einstein's special relativity

Abstract In education, decades have been spent investigating what kind of beliefs and attitudes students may have in relation to learning. The relevance of these lies on the implications that it brings concerning students' alternative conceptions. This research focuses on the inclusion of Peer Instruction (PI) as a methodology to address the alternative conceptions in Einstein's special relativity. PI was selected since there is evidence that it has an impact on the academic performance of the students, however, concerning the topic of relativity, it has not been previously proposed. Alternative Conception Einstein's Special Relativity Test (ACESRT) is proposed to determine students' alternative conceptions. The sample for this study consisted of 25 high school students from Ecuador. In none of this level, students study Einstein's special relativity, nevertheless, in the current year a special course with senior students (picked randomly) was open in which the topic was considered in their academic curriculum. In the first lecture, the students filled a survey to get a notion of their beliefs and attitudes. Then a pre-test (ACESRT) take place, with a view getting information of alternative conceptions that students may have. Later, lectures following PI were given. At the end, to measure PI impact on students' attitudes, beliefs and alternative conceptions the students filled again a survey, followed by post-test (ACESRT). The results were statistically analyzed, and they reveal that PI has a strong impact on students' beliefs and attitudes. Furthermore, the methodology has the potential to address the alternative conception in concepts related to the topic Einstein's special relativity.