CULTURAL CONTENT KNOWLEDGE: PROVIDING BIG PICTURE OF PHYSICS TO ITALIAN SCHOOL STUDENTS GIFTED IN SCIENCES

Gifted to science students in Italy can choose to attend an experimental curriculum within a type of school called Liceo Scientifico. There, they are exposed to a broad curriculum including classical and modern physics. Yet, the framework of school and the young age of students, curious and thirsty for knowledge, pose a challenge to their teachers to encourage students' engagement in the course beyond a mere coverage of a longer than usual list of disciplinary contents. Such students if adequately stimulated show to be interested in a big picture of physics knowledge and its philosophical underpinnings. Facing this challenge, we believe that dealing with physics knowledge as a special culture may provide a suitable tool to answer this intellectual challenge. The recently introduced framework of knowledge, discipline-culture (DC) , seemed to us appropriate to engage students in this new to them perspective on physics knowledge, and we decided to perform a pilot study. In two special meetings (lecture and discussion) accompanied with home questionnaires we addressed three classes in two such schools – grades 11, 12, 13 (ages 16, 17, 18 in accordance), N=54. The lectures represented the evolution of knowledge about light (optics) as a diachronic scientific discourse framed in four fundamental theories – rays, particles, waves and photons – each possessing DC structure. Scientific knowledge appeared as a polyphonic dialogue of ideas corresponding to the Cultural Content Knowledge. The reactions of the students to the argument and evidence physicists mounted in history revealed emotional involvement and intellectual resonance in much wider spectrum of topics than expected. Students' veracity of views, nuances and perceptions were documented. We could infer about the high potential of vista-point lectures in science teaching seeking the way of engaging talented, curious and creative students. We will briefly describe the innovative approach and some students' responses.