TY - JOUR
T1 - Relativity in a rock field
T2 - A study of physics learning with a computer game
AU - Carr, David
AU - Bossomaier, Terence
N1 - Imported on 12 Apr 2017 - DigiTool details were: Journal title (773t) = Australasian Journal of Educational Technology. ISSNs: 1449-5554;
PY - 2011
Y1 - 2011
N2 - The Theory of Special Relativity is widely regarded as a difficult topic for learners in physics to grasp, as it reformulates fundamental conceptions of space, time and motion, and predominantly deals with situations outside of everyday experience. In this paper, we describe embedding the physics of relativity into a computer game, and present the results of a study on its effectiveness for learning. The game, which is based on Asteroids, enables learners to interact with the physics, and observe and contrast their effect with Newtonian mechanics. The principal relativistic effects of length contraction, mass dilation and time dilation are each portrayed, and key with the learning outcomes of the Australian Higher School Certificate (HSC) high school physics course. Key findings from the study conducted with both students studying HSC physics, and participants without physics training, show that the game on its own serves as a powerful introduction for building up accurate qualitative descriptions of relativistic physics effects; in addition, learners generally reported finding the game accessible and interesting. However, establishing deeper understanding of the physics requires further reflection on the part of the learners than the game itself tends to facilitate. We conclude by discussing implications for design and integration of game-based learning with traditional teaching in relation to the topic of special relativity.
AB - The Theory of Special Relativity is widely regarded as a difficult topic for learners in physics to grasp, as it reformulates fundamental conceptions of space, time and motion, and predominantly deals with situations outside of everyday experience. In this paper, we describe embedding the physics of relativity into a computer game, and present the results of a study on its effectiveness for learning. The game, which is based on Asteroids, enables learners to interact with the physics, and observe and contrast their effect with Newtonian mechanics. The principal relativistic effects of length contraction, mass dilation and time dilation are each portrayed, and key with the learning outcomes of the Australian Higher School Certificate (HSC) high school physics course. Key findings from the study conducted with both students studying HSC physics, and participants without physics training, show that the game on its own serves as a powerful introduction for building up accurate qualitative descriptions of relativistic physics effects; in addition, learners generally reported finding the game accessible and interesting. However, establishing deeper understanding of the physics requires further reflection on the part of the learners than the game itself tends to facilitate. We conclude by discussing implications for design and integration of game-based learning with traditional teaching in relation to the topic of special relativity.
KW - Open access version available
KW - Computer games
KW - HSC physics
KW - Learning physics
KW - Relativistic physics
KW - Relativity
KW - Serious games
M3 - Article
SN - 1449-5554
VL - 27
SP - 1042
EP - 1067
JO - Australasian Journal of Educational Technology
JF - Australasian Journal of Educational Technology
IS - 6
ER -