Proposta per a l'ensenyament i aprenentatge de la física quàntica en 2n de batxillerat

This thesis addresses the following issues: What difficulties have physics students from 2nd year in understanding the fundamentals of quantum physics?, what are the main gaps in the teaching of quantum physics that hinder understanding of these students? and, finally, is it possible to design a methodological approach to the teaching of quantum physics in high school that exceeds to a considerable degree the difficulties of student learning? As a possible solution to the problem suggest the following hypothesis: The first is that the introduction of the main concepts involved in conventional teaching of quantum physics is done regardless of the results of educational research on the difficulties of students and new models of teaching and learning, and this will not be conducive to high school students understanding of quantum physics. The 2nd is that it is possible to overcome these difficulties the students, through a proposal for the issue of quantum physics that take 2nd year teaching and research about new models of learning. This will improve the understanding of quantum. The instruments designed to test the first hypothesis are: a network analysis for major textbooks 2nd high school physics used (N = 10); A questionnaire for students of 2nd year physics (control group, N = 78 7 groups, highlighting the difficulty of educational research in the subject of physics in 2nd year, due to the small number of students that choose it) and questionnaires for teachers in service (N = 34). To test the second hypothesis, it was designed a didactic unit for the teaching of quantum physics that takes into account the difficulties of the students identified in the first part and the new models of teaching and learning of science. This unit has been used for 2 teachers in 8 groups for 4 years, a total of N = 83, dedicating about 16 hours a year and working in small groups. We assessed learning teaching unit for pupils through a pre-post interviews questionnaire (same as control) and passing the pre at the end of the matter wave and the post at the end of this issue, that is, with more than one quarter each. Also, we evaluated the teaching unit by teachers in active (n = 36). The results obtained show that books and teachers, taken together, quantum concepts introduced improperly, and not conducive to proper learning of quantum physics, especially in terms of ontological change because they do not have electrons, protons, neutrons, photons, etc. as objects of new type, that is, other than classical particles and waves. At the epistemological level, some books and teaching associate the Heisenberg uncertainty to the measurement process. Meanwhile, students, following the teaching received, show deficiencies especially in terms of ontological change, in the sense that the students displayed electrons and photons as the classic models of particle and wave, and not objects new type. At the epistemological level, a small percentage of students (less than 16%) properly understand the meaning of the Heisenberg uncertainty relations. In addition, a significant percentage (41%) of the students have the idea that quantum physics is applicable only in the microscopic world, and very few students (9%) are able to point two correct differences between classical and quantum physics or to give three examples of technological implications of quantum (none gives examples of social implications). The results indicate that the educational intervention has worked quite well, both as regards the ontological change, where the ideas of electron and photon have improved significantly, and the epistemological change, as evidenced by the fact that the questions related to indeterminacy and the probabilistic interpretation have considerably raised the number of correct answers. On the other hand, many more students have been able to name two differences between classical and quantum physics (65%) and indicate three correct technological implications (80%). Moreover, in interviews, students not only have successfully cleared the doubts that remained of their responses in most cases, they have also been able to complete these responses, to rectify their mistakes, or find ways to remember phenomena and concepts. And all thanks to the activities carried out throughout the teaching unit. The opinions of teachers are also on this line, and emphasizing that this is a teaching unit with consistency in structure and that helps clarify student's ideas.Also, they highlight the fact that quantum physics is showed as a new physics, which overcomes the limitations of classical physics, and that comes from a crisis in classical physics precisely because of these limitations. Therefore, much of the faculty considered this proposal quite essential for secondary education .