Didactics ans epistemology of science and physics

Teacher(s)

Dias de Carvalho Junior Gabriel;

Language

French

Prerequisites

The knowledge of the discipline to be taught, i.e., the physics content related to the 2nd and 3rd levels of secondary education in general sciences.

Main themes

• Programs and standards
• Science resources (textbooks, digital tools, educational kits)
• The didactic triangle: teaching and learning
• Didactic transposition and desyncretization
• Initial conceptions and epistemological obstacles
• The value and use of experimental activities
• Didactic specificities of a physics teaching sequence at the 2nd level (D2) and the 3rd level (D3)
• Problematization and modeling in D2 and D3
• The epistemology of physics
• Assessment of learning
• Concepts that are challenging to teach in physics at D2 and D3

Content

This teaching unit is designed to equip students to become future physics teachers at the upper secondary levels (D2 and D3). It not only presents the didactic components related to the teaching of physics at these levels but also ensures the transfer and appropriation of these tools by prospective teachers through the preparation and design of lesson plans.

Teaching methods

The teaching activities are those recommended in secondary education: group work, lectures, flipped classrooms, practical work, laboratory sessions, etc. The didactic approach emphasizes co-construction with the students.

Evaluation methods

Students enrolled in the teaching unit LPHYS2320D are assessed as follows:

• Activity 1: Daily activities (Q1) – 15% of the final grade
  
• Activity 2: Individual written examination (January) on concepts addressed in physics didactics and epistemology at the D2 level – 35% of the final grade
  
• Activity 3: Daily activities, including the preparation and delivery of a practical teaching activity – 15% of the final grade
  
• Activity 4: Individual or paired oral examination (June) on transfer, and on concepts in physics didactics and epistemology (design and presentation of an excerpt from a learning sequence in physics at the D3 level) – 35% of the final grade
  

Each of these activities must be passed with a minimum grade of 10/20 in order to successfully complete this teaching unit. The principle of the absorbing grade applies to this unit.
Attendance in this course is compulsory. In accordance with Article 72 of the General Regulations for Studies and Examinations, the course instructor may propose to the examination board that a student who has not attended at least 80% of the sessions be refused registration for the January, June, or September examination session.

Other information

The course LLPHYS2320D [Q1+Q2] is an elective course open to students enrolled in the Master [120] in Education, section 4, and the Master [60] in Education, section 5, in Biology and Chemistry. This course covers subject matter related to the D2 and D3 levels. It does not include the common component shared with LCHM2320A, LBIO2320A, and LPHYS2320A on science didactics (the first 9 hours). It also does not include the “Outdoor Day” (the final 6 hours of LPHYS2320B).

Online resources

On Moodle UCLouvain, course code LPHYS2320.
The platform contains the documents presented and used during the lectures, and it also provides a space for students to submit their assignments.

Bibliography

Des ouvrages et publications scientifiques en relation avec les disciplines enseignées et avec la didactique seront présentés lors des cours.

Faculty or entity

> SC