501261 - TEACHING TOOLS AND METHODS

Module prof. Malgieri (1st semester) Based on the results of Physics Education research, students are guided to design and develop lab experiences for high-school students. Methodological approaches to laboratory teaching are discussed, useful for both middle and high school contexts (more or less guided inquiry approaches, ISLE model, predict-observe-explain). Students acquire familiarity with both traditional and new teaching tools, such as Microcomputer Based Laboratory (MBL), video analysis tools (such as Tracker), simulation programs (i.e. Algodoo) and programs for multimedia and concept map construction. The course includes the presentation of a sequence of experiments, realizable with simple materials, which can complement an educational path on the greenhouse effect, with the objective of improving students’ environmental awareness (goal #13 of the 2030 Agenda). Students will be introduced to works and proposals from science education and history of physics research teams, all the while also considering the results of studies on spontaneous mental representations and conceptual change. Experiments are performed on different topics: mechanics, thermodynamics, and electromagnetism and introductory quantum physics. Module prof. Montagna (2nd semester) In the course experiences, didactic approaches, experimental demonstrations are presented, which have been partly proposed in the context of didactic and outreach activities by the "Physics4Teenagers" group (https://fisicapaviaeducational.it/phys4teens). They are on various topics: fluid mechanics, optics, acoustics, nuclear physics and radioactivity, magnetism. All the experiences are suitable to be reproduced in the didactic field with easy and "poor" instrumentation and are introduced by appropriate theoretical considerations and framed in the context of teaching at the high school level.