LEARNING OUTCOMES

The teaching of Physics Didactics addresses general problems of the teaching of Physics, stimulating a critical review of various theoretical, methodological and experimental aspects in reference to secondary school. The course aims to develop professional skills related to the planning and evaluation of learning of topics provided for in the national guidelines for the secondary school curriculum, or to promote the planning of educational paths aimed at making students familiar with the methods. specific investigation of Physics.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course provides theoretical knowledge and offers various examples of laboratory activities to frame the teaching processes and learning methods specific to Physics.

Students will use the knowledge acquired in the disciplinary field to outline and critically evaluate teaching proposals and related tools (textbooks, online simulation platforms, experimental equipment, etc.). They will also acquire the technical language typical of the discipline to communicate without ambiguity with specialists and non-specialist people.

PREREQUISITES

The contents of the bachelor's degree in mathematics.

TEACHING METHODS

The course is composed of two parts:

- the first, theoretical, with lectures, including moments of discussion and work in small groups;

- the second, laboratory, with lectures on how to organize, conduct and evaluate laboratory experiences.

For both parts, the content will be provided by using different modalities through and demonstrations on the blackboard, the use of power point and/or video presentation, simulation (Matlab, Algodo, Java applet). For instant evaluation of the class's learning level, "clickers,” like Socrative and Wooclap, will be used.

During the course, the student will face the study of some of the teaching methodologies proposed by the teachers, for example, discussions vs. blackboard lessons, microteaching activities, co-planning, peer-to-peer evaluation, and cooperative learning activities.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

The course faces some of the topics reported in the national guidelines for upper secondary school, such as classical mechanics, electromagnetism in a vacuum, thermodynamics, and optics. These topics will be addressed by referring to the problems related to teaching. The counterintuitive aspects associated with teaching these issues will also be underlined. We will start from the centrality of the scientific method to propose didactic paths aimed at familiarizing with the process that leads to the formulation of physical laws. The importance of the schematization of physical reality will be emphasized to arrive at a quantitative description of the same. Attention will be paid to the concept of approximation and error to study physical phenomena.

The course will stimulate students to think about the critical concept of measurement in Physics. The importance of the qualitative and quantitative description of physical phenomena will be highlighted.

The student will be guided to think about the difficulties associated with simplifying complex physical phenomena and describing them with the concepts and laws proposed during the Physics course in secondary school.

The student will be able to design teaching activities considering the parallelism between formal and applicative aspects to describe physical reality.

The theme of interdisciplinarity between Physics and mathematics will be emphasized.

During the course, analyses of various types of texts (chapters of textbooks, research articles, historical-epistemological critical essays) will be proposed to make students aware of the different levels of the didactic approach in Physics: conceptual/disciplinary, cognitive, epistemological, pedagogical/didactic.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Teaching materials will be uploaded on a shared folder and made available on the Aulaweb page the course.

The materials include slides and presentations, research articles and other materials for study (e.g.: tutorials, guides for group activities, research tools, students' protocols, etc.).