On Teaching Quantum Physics at High School

Athens Institute for Education & Research. 8 Valaoritou Street, Kolonaki, Athens 10671, Greece. e-mail: [email protected]; Web site: https://www.athensjournals.gr/aje

Y

17

Mechanics (Physics); Quantum Mechanics; High Schools; Secondary School Science; Foreign Countries; Science Instruction; Educational Objectives; Course Descriptions; Science Teachers; Secondary School Teachers; Science Tests; Barriers; Educational Improvement; High School Students; Student Attitudes

2407-9898

In the Italian education system, secondary students (ages 14-19) are confronted with the foundations of quantum physics during the final term of scientific high school (pre-university year). The Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research (acronym MIUR) has remarked its importance in the syllabus to address the high school exit examination (30% of the 5th year physics course) but, due to limited learning time and intrinsic difficulty, this branch of physics is neither assimilated nor appreciated as it should. We wish to illustrate six didactic suggestions focused on learning motivation, emerged during a 17-year long teaching experience, which could help to tackle the main problems found. The key references are two peer-reviewed talks given, respectively, in 2018 at the 6th Annual International Conference on Physics by the Athens Institute for Education and Research and in 2013 at the 2nd Rome workshop "Science Perception" by the Roma Tre University together with a concise and evocative poster outlining the history of quanta (Figure 1). Other useful resources are a 2015 conceptual diagram (Figure 2) and four invited lectures held in the years 2010-2017.

As Provided

2020

EJ1256758