Scientific argumentation in public physics lectures: bringing contemporary physics intohigh-school teaching

This article presents an approach to integrating public e-lectures on contemporary physicsinto a traditional high-school syllabus. This approach was used in a long-distanceprofessional development course for in-service physics teachers. Each lecture was related toa specific obligatory syllabus chapter, and was accompanied by learner-centredactivities. We provide a detailed description of an activity that explicates the scientificarguments that were presented in the lectures. Teachers appreciated the approach andreported that the lectures and activities updated and broadened their knowledge ofphysics and contributed to their understanding of the nature of science (NOS).