About Me

About me

Education is the point at which we decide whether

we love the world enough to assume responsibility for it.

- Hannah Arendt

Magdalena Kersting science education & communication — (Image via Inga Sommer Photographie, All Rights Reserved)

I am an award-winning educational researcher, physics educator & science communicator working to bring great science education to as many as possible.

Educational researcher

As an educational researcher, I study the embodied underpinnings of science cognition. Currently, I am an assistant professor of science education at the Department of Science Education at the University of Copenhagen. I am also a coordinator of the Special Interest Group Languages & Literacies in Science Education of the European Science Education Research Association (ESERA).

Physics educator

As a physics educator, I draw on my background in mathematical physics to modernise the physics curriculum. I am the main editor of Teaching Einsteinian Physics in Schools, and I received the International Astronomical Union PhD Prize for my educational reconstruction of Einstein’s general theory of relativity. I am also affiliated with the ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery (OzGrav) and the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN).

Science communicator

As a science communicator, I try to tie science into our society, and I love to get people excited about modern physics. I am a graduate of journalism school Freie Journalistenschule Berlin, and my work has appeared on The Science Show on ABC, the New Philosopher magazine (where I have been both winner and runner-up of the Writer’s Award), German physics podcast Sag mal, du als Physiker, and Norwegian science magazine Titan.

My story...

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What is space? What is time? What is inside a black hole? I have always been curious about the world and fascinated by science. That's why I studied mathematics and theoretical physics at the University of Göttingen, Germany, and the University of Oslo, Norway. Over the years, I have become equally intrigued by humans and their ability to make meaning of science and the world around them. In my Ph.D. at the University of Oslo, I turned to physics education research to study this meaning perspective and to find better ways of teaching physics. Research stays at the University of Western Australia, Swinburne University of Technology, and Karlstad University and talks at more than 40 conferences have allowed me to build a global network of like-minded scientists, educators, and teachers.

My vision & mission...

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My vision: To make the world a better place through better science education. My mission: As an educational researcher, to advance and enrich our understanding of embodied science cognition and find better ways of teaching science. As a physics educator, to transform, expand, and modernise physics education and lift students up to their potential. As a science communicator, to foster curiosity about modern physics and tie science into our society. As a teacher educator, to guide teachers in training and practice to rethink science education's purpose and potential.