This research systematizes the results of a qualitative investigation, in the form of research-teaching, according to Martins (2009), based on the concept of theory as an expression of practice. It is guided by the collective systematization of knowledge and its general objective is to understand the contributions of students' study practices in this process of teaching high school physics, with a view to raising indicators for teachers' pedagogical practice and for students' study practices. The students taking part in the research worked on their study practices individually and in groups, based on a pre-established theoretical framework in a high school in the city of Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil. The pedagogical activities developed emphasized the voice of the subjects, but their main focus was the experience of the study practices of the participating students. The students analyzed and described their study practices, perceiving themselves in the current method of transmission and assimilation. Understanding the practices and their transformations showed the possibility of new social relations for the secondary school classroom in this subject.