2020/2021

2020/2021

DM270

FIS/08 (DIDACTICS AND HISTORY OF PHYSICS)

DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS "FELICE CASORATI"

MATHEMATICS

PERCORSO COMUNE

1°

2nd semester (01/03/2021 - 11/06/2021)

6

48 lesson hours

Italian

ORAL TEST

INTROZZI GIANLUCA (titolare) - 3 ECTS
MALGIERI MASSIMILIANO - 3 ECTS

Basic knowledge of Relativity and Quantum mechanics, as provided by Bachelor degree courses in Physics. Student majoring in Mathematics should also acquire the knowledge of Quantum mechanics, before attending to Didattica della fisica. It is strongly suggested to pass the exam of Fondamenti della fisica in advance.

The course provides an introduction to physics teaching, both as a contribution to the training of future high school teachers, and as training for research in the field of scientific education. Concerning the first item, the goal is to provide future teachers with the tools to evaluate textbooks, and to tailor physics programs using both historical and epistemological knowledge, and recent results on teaching techniques. Regarding the second item, themes and methods of research in the fild of modern physics teaching will be illustrated.

Part 1 - A brief history of the beginnings of the discipline. Studies of the '70s and '80s on students' learning of mechanics and the development of the Force Concept Inventory. Models of conceptual change: the analogy between learning and the historical development of the discipline (model of Posner et al.); the framework theory model (Vosniadou et al.); the model based on the organization into “coordination classes” of phenomenological primitives or p-prims (DiSessa). – Main issues appearing in the teaching of the main areas of physics (mechanics, thermodynamics, electromagnetism, optics): student difficulties, educational reconstructions, teaching strategies. The problem of teaching physics as a discipline endowed with internal consistency: the points of view of Hammer and Viennot. The Knowledge Integration paradigm for testing the degree of coherence in students' disciplinary ideas. –
The formation of teachers; the PCK (Pedagogical Content Knowledge) model and its meaning for the formation of physics teachers. The concept of formative evaluation and its application in the teaching of physics and in particular in the physics laboratory.
In depth perspective on the teaching quantum physics using Feynman's sum over paths approach. (Massimiliano Malgieri)

Part 2 – Teaching Relativity at high school level: alternative approaches. Teaching Quantum Physics at high school level. Research on students’ difficulties and main
teaching proposals. The “conceptual change” perspective in the teaching/learning of Quantum Physics: a proposal. (Gianluca Introzzi)

Lectures.
Some rapid response mini-tests during lectures (using students’ smartphones). Not evaluated for the final grade.

a) Besson U. - Didattica della fisica – Carocci (2015) - b) Besson U., Malgieri M. - Insegnare la fisica moderna – Carocci (2018)

The final test will consist of an oral examination lasting about 45 minutes, in which the student will be asked to discuss the topics covered in the course. Students will be required to display good working knowledge of specific student difficulties and misconceptions related to the different subfields of physics, and of their interpretations in terms of possible reasoning patterns and alternative mental models. The specific teaching-learning sequences presented in the course will also be discussed (path on thermodynamics based on a microscopic approach - introduction of quantum physics based on the Feynman path approach), and finally, the students will be required to analyse the main theoretical reference frameworks of physics education, regarding conceptual change models, inquiry-based teaching, pedagogical content knowledge.

Thus, the exam content will cover the Physics Education areas treated in the course; it is however unavoidable that the discussion may sometimes drift towards the disciplinary topics (physical concepts) themselves, on which a reasonably complete knowledge is expected, at least at the level at which such topics are dealt with in secondary school.

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