Abstract:

As part of the preparation for a scientist or teacher profession, university students focusing on physics have a wide range of courses at their disposal. Thanks to this, they will expand their knowledge from high school, become familiar with various methods used in science and technology, and develop abilities and skills in applying physics phenomena to everyday life, technology, and science. Many courses are compulsory; these create the basic profile of the graduate of the given study program. For some time now, several universities have supported the democratization of education, meaning that students can better profile themselves and adapt their study program according to their interests and goals. In the Slovak context, an increasingly large part of the available courses are called "elective courses" and are trying to fulfill this goal. The author of the presented paper creates educational content for this type of course. Which areas of physics should we cover in a limited-scope course? What practical or exciting applications of physics phenomena should the course participant learn? What methods and forms of education are most appropriate in the elective course? In the article, we will try to answer these and other questions that arose during several years of implementation and innovation of the course "Complementary Classes in Physics." We will also discuss selected non-formal and informal education methods that help develop students' digital competencies (such as creating computer models of physics phenomena). We will also look at the applicability of the described teaching procedures in the training of pre-service physics teachers.

Keywords:

Computer models, physics education, teacher training, non-formal education.