Magdalena Kersting

Postdoctoral Fellow - Department of Teacher Education and School Research

Norwegian version of this page

Email magdalena.kersting@ils.uio.no

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Visiting address Moltke Moes vei 35 Niels Henrik Abels hus 0851 OSLO

Postal address Postboks 1099 Blindern 0317 OSLO

Other affiliations Department of physics

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I am an educational researcher and physics educator with a particular interest in embodied meaning-making processes. In my research, I study how learners experience abstract knowledge in digital and virtual learning environments in formal and informal learning contexts. To understand learning processes in science, I approach my research with curiosity and an openness to theoretical and methodological approaches from other disciplines, among them philosophy, cognitive science, and the learning sciences. This intellectual openness and curiosity across disciplines is one of the reasons I find science education research so exciting.

Currently, I hold a position as a postdoctoral researcher in project LISSI to develop a framework of embodied cognition in science education and to study the quality of instructional practices in science classrooms. Previously, I developed a digital learning environment about Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity as part of project ReleQuant.

Please get in touch or go to my personal homepage for more information.

Research interests

Physics Education Research
- Einsteinian physics education
- sociocultural perspectives & talking physics
Science Education Research
- embodied cognition in science education
- meaning-making processes and conceptual understanding
Technology & Learning
- design of digital learning environments
- virtual reality in (in)formal learning spaces
- computer-supported collaborative learning
History & Philosophy of Science
- history & philosophy of the theory of relativity
- nature of science & teaching science

Research methods

Qualitative research methods
Design-based research
Video and interaction analysis
Focus group and interview methods
Systematic metaphor analysis
Phenomenography

Education

2019: PhD in Physics Education, University of Oslo
2018: Diploma in Public Relations Management, Freie Journalistenschule Berlin
2015: Master of Science in Mathematics, University of Göttingen
2012: Bachelor of Science in Mathematics, University of Göttingen
2011: Bachelor of Science in Physics, University of Göttingen

Research stays

November 2019: Visiting researcher at the Centre of Science, Mathematics and Engineering Education Research, SMEER, Karlstad University, Sweden
May 2019 - June 2019: Visiting research fellow with the ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery (OzGrav) at Swinburne University, Melbourne, Australia
August 2018 - April 2019: Visiting research fellow with the ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery (OzGrav) at the University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia

Honours and awards

2019: Hartle Award for Best Oral Talk by a Student, GR22/Amaldi13
2019: Best Oral Presentation of a Young Researcher in Physics Education, GIREP
2019: Science Studies Colloquium Series Qualification Scholarship
2019: EARLI Mentoring Grant
2018: Norwegian Research Council personal overseas research grant
2018: ESERA Early Career Travel Award
2017: Winner of the Science on Stage National Competition in Norway
2014: DAAD Promos Mobility Stipend
2011: Bachelor of Science with Distinction, University of Göttingen

Professional membership

ESERA, European Science Education Research Association
ASERA, Australasian Science Education Research Association
IOP, Institute of Physics
ISGRG, International Society of General Relativity & Gravitation
PESGB, Philosophy of Education Society of Great Britain

Teaching

Spring 2020: NATDID4001 - Natural Sciences, Research, and Schools (Naturfagene, forskning og skole)
Autumn 2020: PPU3210 - Instruction and Learning Progression - Science Education (Undervisning og læringsforløp - naturfagenes didaktikk)
Spring 2018: FYS4160 - General Relativity
Spring 2017: FYS4160 - General Relativity
Autumn 2016: FYS1120 - Electromagnetism
Teaching assistant and course reader (undergraduate courses in physics and mathematics), Georg-August-Universität Göttingen (2009-2015)

Science communication and public outreach

(selection of articles and interviews)

Navigating Four Dimensions - Feature article in Lateral Magazine
General Relativity - Why high school students should learn about Einstein's most revolutionary idea - Article in Titan Magazine & National Geographic Education's "Read of the Week"
Da geniet Einstein tok feil - Interview with National Geographic (in Norwegian)
Har frisket opp Einstein for dagens skoleelever - Interview with Titan Magazine (in Norwegian)
The first catalogue of cosmic collisions, a joint article with Jens Kube for Einstein-Online
Meet the Scientist - Interview with Wonk!
Grundlagen der Allgemeinen Relativitätstheorie - Public Talk for Faszination Astronomie Online:

Tags: Physics education, Science education, STEM, Technolog-based learning, Design-based research, history and philosophy of science, embodied cognition

Hughes, Theo & Kersting, Magdalena (2021). The invisibility of time dilation. Physics Education. ISSN 0031-9120. . doi: 10.1088/1361-6552/abce02
Julia, Woithe & Kersting, Magdalena (2021). Bend it like dark matter!. Physics Education. ISSN 0031-9120. . doi: https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6552/abe09c
Kersting, Magdalena (2020). Visualizing Four Dimensions in Special and General Relativity, In Bharath Sriraman (ed.), Handbook of the Mathematics of the Arts and Sciences. Springer Nature. ISBN 978-3-319-70658-0. chapter.
Kersting, Magdalena; Steier, Rolf & Venville, Grady (2020). Exploring participant engagement during an astrophysics virtual reality experience at a science festival. International Journal of Science Education, Part B: Communication and Public Engagement (IJSE). ISSN 2154-8455. . doi: 10.1080/21548455.2020.1857458 Show summary
Virtual reality applications turn abstract concepts into experienceable phenomena and present exciting opportunities to transform science education and public outreach practices. While research has started to look into the affordances of virtual reality (VR) in the formal science education context, the potential of these technologies to enhance public engagement with science is largely unexplored. To improve the way that VR may be used in informal learning and public outreach contexts, the purpose of our study was to undertake evidence-based investigations that shed light onto the relationship between VR and public engagement. Aiming to identify and develop the benefits of VR technologies, we propose a conceptual framework for engagement with VR at a science festival that comprises four aspects of participant activity: immersion, facilitation, collaboration, and visualisation. This framework guided the research design of our exploratory case study of one VR tour at a science festival. Data included visitor surveys, video recordings, VR screen captures, and focus group interviews with outreach and science professionals. Our findings reveal important ways that VR supports visitor engagement at a science festival. More generally, these findings and our framework contribute to the ongoing efforts of engaging the public with science in more diverse informal learning contexts.
Kersting, Magdalena; Toellner, Richard; Blair, David & Burman, Ron (2020). Gravity and warped time – clarifying conceptual confusions in general relativity. Physics Education. ISSN 0031-9120. 55:55 015023, s 1- 13 . doi: 10.1088/1361-6552/ab56d7
Choudhary, Rahul; Kraus, Ute; Kersting, Magdalena; Blair, David; Zahn, Corvin; Zadnik, Marjan & Meagher, Richard (2019). Einsteinian Physics in the Classroom: Integrating Physical and Digital Learning Resources in the Context of an International Research Collaboration. The Physics Educator. ISSN 2661-3409. 1(4) . doi: 10.1142/s2661339519500161
Kersting, Magdalena (2019). Free fall in curved spacetime—how to visualise gravity in general relativity. Physics Education. ISSN 0031-9120. 54(3), s 1- 9 . doi: 10.1088/1361-6552/ab08f5 Full text in Research Archive.
Kersting, Magdalena (2019). Navigating four dimensions – upper secondary students' understanding of movement in spacetime. Journal of Physics: Conference Series (JPCS). ISSN 1742-6588. 1287(1) . doi: 10.1088/1742-6596/1287/1/012007 Full text in Research Archive.
Steier, Rolf & Kersting, Magdalena (2019). Metaimagining and embodied conceptions of spacetime. Cognition and Instruction. ISSN 0737-0008. 37(2), s 145- 168 . doi: 10.1080/07370008.2019.1580711 Full text in Research Archive.
Steier, Rolf; Kersting, Magdalena & Silseth, Kenneth (2019). Imagining with improvised representations in CSCL environments. International Journal of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning. ISSN 1556-1607. 14(1), s 109- 136 . doi: 10.1007/s11412-019-09295-1 Full text in Research Archive.
Kersting, Magdalena; Henriksen, Ellen Karoline; Bøe, Maria Vetleseter & Angell, Carl (2018). General relativity in upper secondary school: Design and evaluation of an online learning environment using the model of educational reconstruction. Physical Review Physics Education Research. ISSN 2469-9896. 14(1) . doi: 10.1103/PhysRevPhysEducRes.14.010130 Full text in Research Archive.
Kersting, Magdalena & Steier, Rolf (2018). Understanding Curved Spacetime: The Role of the Rubber Sheet Analogy in Learning General Relativity. Science & Education. ISSN 0926-7220. 27(7-8), s 593- 623 . doi: 10.1007/s11191-018-9997-4 Full text in Research Archive.

View all works in Cristin

Ødegaard, Marianne; Kjærnsli, Marit; Karlsen, Solveig; Kersting, Magdalena; Lunde, Mai Lill Suhr; Olufsen, Magne & Sæleset, Johannes (2021). Tett på naturfag i klasserommet (Linking Instruction in Science & Student Impact).
Kamphorst, Floor & Kersting, Magdalena (2019). DESIGN BASED RESEARCH AND THE MODEL OF EDUCATIONAL RECONSTRUCTION – A COMBINED APPROACH TO DESIGN SUCCESSFUL SCIENCE INSTRUCTION.
Kersting, Magdalena (2019). Bringing general relativity to secondary schools: Design and evaluation of a digital learning environment.
Kersting, Magdalena (2019). Curved Spacetime: Investigating Students' Conceptual Understanding in General Relativity.
Kersting, Magdalena (2019). Free Fall in Curved Spacetime.
Kersting, Magdalena (2019). General Relativity in Secondary School -Research-Based Development of Learning Resources and Analyses of Students’ Conceptual Understanding Using the Model of Educational Reconstruction.
Kersting, Magdalena (2019). General Relativity in Secondary School. Research-Based Development of Learning Resources & Analyses of Students' Conceptual Understanding Using the Model of Educational Reconstrucion.
Kersting, Magdalena (2019). SCIENTIFIC CONCEPTS AND THE ROLE OF IMAGINATION IN THE LANGUAGE GAMES OF THE SCIENCE CLASSROOM.
Kersting, Magdalena (2019). THE TRANSFORMATIONAL POWER OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH COLLABORATIONS.
Kersting, Magdalena & Bondell, Jackie (2019). MODERNISING SCIENCE TEACHING: BRINGING THE VIRTUAL UNIVERSE INTO THE CLASSROOM.
Kersting, Magdalena (2018). General Relativity – Why high school students should learn about Einstein’s most revolutionary idea. Titan.uio.no. Show summary
Despite our better knowledge, physics in schools is still taught from an outdated 19th century point of view. This essay argues for introducing general relativity, a cornerstone of modern physics, to physics students at high school.
Kersting, Magdalena (2018). General Relativity in Upper Secondary School.
Kersting, Magdalena (2018). General Relativity in Upper Secondary School: How Philosophy of Science Can Inform Physics Education of the 21st century.
Kersting, Magdalena (2018). Generell relativitetsteori. [www ].
Kersting, Magdalena (2018). How history and philosophy of science can inform teaching and learning of general relativity in upper secondary school.
Kersting, Magdalena (2018). How history and philosophy of science can inform teaching and learning of general relativity in upper secondary school.
Kersting, Magdalena (2018). International perspectives on Einsteinian Physics at upper secondary school level.
Kersting, Magdalena (2018). Modernising Physics Teaching.
Kersting, Magdalena (2018). Navigating Four Dimensions. Lateral Magazine. Show summary
The geometry of a world map is remarkably similar to the geometry of spacetime. Science educators are using maps as models for teaching Einstein’s theory of general relativity.
Kersting, Magdalena (2018). Navigating four dimensions – upper secondary students’ understanding of movement in spacetime.
Kersting, Magdalena (2018). The Role of Imagination in the Language Games of the Science Classroom.
Kersting, Magdalena & Steier, Rolf (2018). Gravity, imagination and embodied conceptions of spacetime.
Steier, Rolf & Kersting, Magdalena (2018). When a sandwich becomes the earth: imagination and creativity with improvised representations..
Kersting, Magdalena (2017). Teaching General Relativity in Upper Secondary Schools: an Educational Reconstruction.
Kersting, Magdalena; Henriksen, Ellen Karoline; Bøe, Maria Vetleseter & Angell, Carl (2017). Educational Reconstruction of General Relativity Through a Collaborative Online Learning Environment.
Kersting, Magdalena & Myhrehagen, Henning Vinjusveen (2017). A Relatively Modern Physics Lesson.
Kersting, Magdalena & Steier, Rolf (2017). GRAVITY, IMAGINATION AND EMBODIED CONCEPTIONS OF SPACETIME.
Kersting, Magdalena; Zadnik, Marjan; Stannard, Warren; Moschilla, John & Blair, David (2017). An International Research Collaboration in the Teaching and Learning of Einsteinian Physics.
Bungum, Berit; Henriksen, Ellen Karoline; Frågåt, Thomas & Kersting, Magdalena (2016). ReleKvant - læring og undervisning i kvantefysikk og relativitetsteori.
Henriksen, Ellen Karoline; Angell, Carl; Bungum, Berit; Bøe, Maria Vetleseter; Tellefsen, Cathrine Wahlstrøm; Frågåt, Thomas & Kersting, Magdalena (2016). ReleKvant - undervisningsopplegg om relativitetsteori og kvantefysikk.
Kersting, Magdalena (2016). Curved space and warped time: Students’ understanding of gravity.
Kersting, Magdalena (2016). General Relativity: Making Einstein’s Theory Teachable.
Kersting, Magdalena; Frågåt, Thomas; Henriksen, Ellen Karoline & Tellefsen, Cathrine Wahlstrøm (2016). Introduction to ReleQuant: Developing online learning resources in modern physics.