Verso una teoria locale dell'appropriazione nell'insegnamento/apprendimento della fisica

The research is framed within the scientific area of physics education and analyses implementations of a teaching proposal on thermodynamics in classes of a scientifically-oriented secondary school (grade 12). After a detailed review of research literature on teaching/learning thermodynamics, the thesis includes the description of the paths and of the materials used in the classes. The paths have been designed to create a learning environment rich enough to enable each student to integrate content knowledge into her/his broader path of personal and social growth. This has been possible because the material have been designed to exploit productive forms of complexity that take into account both the intrinsic complexity of the scientific thought and the complexity of learning processes. The main part of thesis concerns the systematic analysis of the data collected during the implementations. The analysis, together with careful methodological considerations, was carried out to capture and understand what happened in class and, as a result, it led to define and operazionalize the concept of appropriation. The analysis, then, moved toward building an humble theory of appropriation (how, when and why the appropriation occurs) by means of focal analyses on the classroom dynamics, both collective and individual. The last part of the thesis deals with the issues of transfer and reproducibility of a teaching experience.