Time as a teaching object: beyond the variable t

Abstract

Time is central to physics, yet in physics teaching it is often treated mainly as an operational variable in equations. This article argues that time can also be addressed as a teaching object. It offers physics teachers a practical framework for making different meanings of time explicit in upper secondary and introductory undergraduate contexts. To this end, we analyse time from physical, historical, cultural and philosophical perspectives and present a content-analysis framework organised around conceptual structure, systems of representation and phenomenology. This framework helps teachers identify key meanings of time and is operationalised through short classroom activities that connect physical models, representations and students’ everyday experiences. Rather than adding a new topic to the curriculum, the article proposes brief conceptual windows for discussing models, measurement, irreversibility, lived time and the situated nature of scientific knowledge.