Abstract
The article addresses the relevant problem of supporting students’ individual development in mass physics education. It examines the contradiction between the unified organization of classroom instruction and significant individual differences in students’ prior knowledge, learning pace, and motivation. The study analyzes the learning activity of 11th-grade students while studying the “Nuclear Physics” section and explores the potential of a variable organization of the educational process as a means of individualizing learning without disrupting the integrity of whole-class instruction. The theoretical framework includes the concept of the zone of proximal development, principles of developmental and problem-based learning, and modern approaches to formative assessment. The proposed model of organizing learning activities covers five stages of studying “Nuclear Physics” and includes a set of methodological techniques ensuring variability in students’ cognitive activity. These techniques include problem-based questioning, selection of cognitive roles, virtual experiments with different levels of independence, analysis of erroneous statements, and the method of incomplete explanation. Each technique performs specific didactic and diagnostic functions. The results show increased cognitive activity, greater student independence, and improved academic performance. The model can be applied in physics teaching, including work with gifted students