From light polarization to the basic ideas of Quantum Mechanics. Experience carried out in a Technical Institute in Scampia (Naples)

The article focuses on teaching/learning Quantum Mechanics (QM) in secondary schools and involves two fundamental aspects: teacher training and experimentation in the classroom, carefully reflecting on the content and highlighting innovation in the teaching methodology. The experience of training took place within a second level post-graduate Master course for Physics teachers (The II level post-graduate Master course in Didactic Innovation in Physics and Guidance (Innovazione Didattica in Fisica e Orientamento IDIFO) http://www.fisica.uniud.it/ URDF/laurea/index.htm) is directed by M. Michelini. The University of Udine organizes the course with the collaboration of the Physiscs Education Research Groups of eighteen Italian Universities, and is a part of a training project addressed to physics teachers focused on modern physics. IDIFO is part of a national plan of the Ministry of Education, Research and University for the Scientific Degrees project (Piano Lauree Scientifiche)), based on a module dedicated to teaching/learning QM according to the fundamental concepts of Dirac theory. The teacher achieved formation attending three e-learning courses about teaching/learning quantum mechanics in secondary schools, researching and discussing research materials of physics education, planning an intervention module and experimenting in a real classroom the planned innovative path for a situated formation. The experimentation, carried out in a fifth class of a Technical Institute at Scampia (Naples), made the conclusive phase and gave data concerning the thinking ways of the students about some basic concepts of QM collected and evaluated. In particular, average students focused more the functional/applicative aspects of formal and conceptual constructs rather than on their physical meanings.