10.1 Introduction
Innovation in Physics curricula in Secondary School is a need for many different
reasons and aspects: (1) methodological aspects and strategies related to the need of
student’s active learning promotion (McDermott 1993, 2008; Başer 2006; Mazur
2009; Deslauriers et al. 2011; Maloney 2011; Pizzolato et al. 2014), (2) multimedia
role and relative contribution in learning process: it can be a simple support in
teaching/learning in many ways integrated in school activities as learning tools
(Wagner et al. 2006; Hennessy et al. 2006; Debowska et al. 2013), (3) experimental
explorations or lab experiments to be integrated in an active learning process
(Sokolowska and Michelini 2018), as well as (4) work activities integrated in the
curriculum (Buongiorno et al. 2017) and (5) new contents to update curriculum
contents (Constantinou and Papadouris 2008; Pavlin et al. 2013; Michelini et al.
2014a, b, c, d, e, f).
In the last 30 years, one of the main discussed content area is those of Modern
Physics (Aubrecht 1989; Gil and Solbes 1993; Hake 2000; Ostermann and Moreira
2000; Silva 2015; Michelini et al. 2017). Modern Physics is now a chapter in the
secondary school textbooks of many countries in the world, but it appears often as a
final topic, added to the usual contents of a physics manual. Related contents are
often organized in a traditional way, treated as information on the main ideas and
research results eventually accompanied by a story telling of the main steps in the
discoveries. The main topics treated are special relativity and physics of quanta
story.
The different research areas aren’t clearly identified.
The frontiers of fundamental physics topics are proposed in informative way as
structured notions, in a static framework, without an in-depth discussion of the new
concepts and of the problematic issue. There is a lack of discussion of the crucial
aspects, of the formal aspects, of the motivated theoretical choices, and of evidencebased results.
Material science physics, for example, find some role in the proposed interpretative models of electrical and thermal conduction, but updated research topics,
research questions, methods, and characteristics of the research do not appear.
High energy physics, when not omitted, is treated in even more reductionist and
informative way. Cosmology is sometimes introduced in narrative way.
Additional available resources for teachers are the materials prepared for outreach
or the presentation of research projects for popularization goals, which do not
contain proper examples for educational approaches. For not expert in the specific
field is very difficult to adapt this material in formative way for secondary students,
so the episodic informative style remains the prevalent employ.
Physics Education Research literature offers studies on specific topics for what
concern learning difficulties and new approaches. Special thematic issues on the
main global topics under discussion as quantum physics and special relativity are
published by some Journal (i.e., Am J Phys 2002, Special Issues 70(3) and Phys
Educ 2000, Special Issues 35(6)). Each contribution is focused on a specific
102
M. Michelini
Innovation in Physics curricula in Secondary School is a need for many different
reasons and aspects: (1) methodological aspects and strategies related to the need of
student’s active learning promotion (McDermott 1993, 2008; Başer 2006; Mazur
2009; Deslauriers et al. 2011; Maloney 2011; Pizzolato et al. 2014), (2) multimedia
role and relative contribution in learning process: it can be a simple support in
teaching/learning in many ways integrated in school activities as learning tools
(Wagner et al. 2006; Hennessy et al. 2006; Debowska et al. 2013), (3) experimental
explorations or lab experiments to be integrated in an active learning process
(Sokolowska and Michelini 2018), as well as (4) work activities integrated in the
curriculum (Buongiorno et al. 2017) and (5) new contents to update curriculum
contents (Constantinou and Papadouris 2008; Pavlin et al. 2013; Michelini et al.
2014a, b, c, d, e, f).
In the last 30 years, one of the main discussed content area is those of Modern
Physics (Aubrecht 1989; Gil and Solbes 1993; Hake 2000; Ostermann and Moreira
2000; Silva 2015; Michelini et al. 2017). Modern Physics is now a chapter in the
secondary school textbooks of many countries in the world, but it appears often as a
final topic, added to the usual contents of a physics manual. Related contents are
often organized in a traditional way, treated as information on the main ideas and
research results eventually accompanied by a story telling of the main steps in the
discoveries. The main topics treated are special relativity and physics of quanta
story.
The different research areas aren’t clearly identified.
The frontiers of fundamental physics topics are proposed in informative way as
structured notions, in a static framework, without an in-depth discussion of the new
concepts and of the problematic issue. There is a lack of discussion of the crucial
aspects, of the formal aspects, of the motivated theoretical choices, and of evidencebased results.
Material science physics, for example, find some role in the proposed interpretative models of electrical and thermal conduction, but updated research topics,
research questions, methods, and characteristics of the research do not appear.
High energy physics, when not omitted, is treated in even more reductionist and
informative way. Cosmology is sometimes introduced in narrative way.
Additional available resources for teachers are the materials prepared for outreach
or the presentation of research projects for popularization goals, which do not
contain proper examples for educational approaches. For not expert in the specific
field is very difficult to adapt this material in formative way for secondary students,
so the episodic informative style remains the prevalent employ.
Physics Education Research literature offers studies on specific topics for what
concern learning difficulties and new approaches. Special thematic issues on the
main global topics under discussion as quantum physics and special relativity are
published by some Journal (i.e., Am J Phys 2002, Special Issues 70(3) and Phys
Educ 2000, Special Issues 35(6)). Each contribution is focused on a specific
102
M. Michelini