Magdalena Kersting

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
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Spring 2020: NATDID4001 - Natural Sciences, Research, and Schools (Naturfagene, forskning og skole)
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Autumn 2020: PPU3210 - Instruction and Learning Progression - Science Education (Undervisning og læringsforløp - naturfagenes didaktikk)
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Spring 2018: FYS4160 - General Relativity
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Spring 2017: FYS4160 - General Relativity
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Autumn 2016: FYS1120 - Electromagnetism
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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:
Publications
- 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
- 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.
- 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
- 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
- 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.