Marisa Michelini

Upper secondary students face optical diffraction using simple experiments and on-line measurements

A research-based educational path on diffraction of light was designed for upper secondary schools. Through the experimental exploration of the diffraction pattern produced by a laser beam incident on a single slit, students first analyse the diffraction pattern qualitatively, recognizing the global properties, then measuring with on-line sensors the light intensity vs position, constructing empirical relations between order and position of minimum, order and position of maximum, position and intensity of maximum. Making a wave hypothesis on the nature of light, a computer model based on Huygens principle takes into account the intensity pattern of light. Experiments in school were performed with students, using inquiry based learning tutorial worksheets e pre-test, post-test. Positive learning indications of students emerged concerning the role of diffraction in everyday situations, and the general features of the diffraction pattern. The findings suggests that to produce an effective change in the model of light, students need to reflect extensively in the hypothesis at the base of their prevision and to by involved in deep in a modelling activity.

Frontiers of fundamental physics and physics education research

From the Contents: Astronomy and Astrophysics.- Particle Physics and High Energy Physics.- Gravitation and Cosmology.- Condensed Matter Physics.- Statistical Physics.- Theoretical Physics.- Mathematical Physics.- Computational Physics.- Physics Teaching/Learning and Teachers Formation.- Popularization of Physics.

Conceptual Labs for operative Exploration

In the perspective of the Model of Educational Reconstruction, designing new educational path require to gain new information on how students face the specific subject explored. At the PERG of Udine the main steps of the new educational paths were explored with pupils engaged in Conceptual Laboratory of Operative Exploration (CLOE) in informal learning contexts, where using different monitoring tools student spontaneous ideas as well their learning paths were explored and stimulated. In CLOE pupils discuss everyday life scenarios, recover their everyday and sensorial knowledge, as well as involve them in the challenges of explorations according to an IBL strategies. The CLOE lab are research based proposals of learning where explore how pupils build formal thinking, reflect on phenomena and construct models, reinterpret common everyday knowledge. The research focus is on the reasoning sequence, the ways in which knowledge is structured, the development of interpretative representations. The design characteristic of the CLOE labs are presented exemplifying it in the case of the CLOE on energy.

Teaching modern physics in secondary school

E-mail: lorenzo.santi@uniud.it, alberto.stefanel@uniud.it The physics of the last century is now included in all EU secondary school curricula and textbooks, even if in not organic way. Nevertheless, there are very different positions as concern its introduction and students’ conceptual knots in classical physics are quoted to argue the exclusion of modern physics in secondary school. Aspects discussed in literature are goals, rationale, contents, target students, instruments and methods. Very different goals, i.e. the culture of citizens, popularization, guidance, education, build different perspectives and aspects to treat selection: fundament, technologies and applications. Methods used are story telling of the main results, argumentation of crucial problems, integrated or as a complementary part in the curriculum. Modern physics in secondary school is a challenge, which involves curriculum innovation, teacher education and physics education research to individuate ways that allows the students to face the interpretative problems and manage them in many contexts and in social decisions. In this perspective, modern physics is an integrated content in curricula involving the building of formal thinking. Our research focus on building of formal thinking is on three directions: 1) Learning processes and role of reasoning in operative hands-on and minds-on phenomena interpretation; 2) object models as tools to bridge common sense to physics ideas and ICT contribution focusing on real time labs and modelling; 3) building theoretical way of thinking: a path inspired of Dirac approach to quantum mechanics. We developed four different kind of proposals: 1) the physics of modern research analysis in material science: resistivity and Hall effect for electrical transport properties, Rutherford Backscattering Spectroscopy to look to structure characteristics, Time Resolved Resistivity for epitaxial growth; 2) Explorative approach to superconductivity phenomena (a coherent paths), 3) Discussion of some crucial / transversal concepts both in classical physics and modern physics: state, measure, cross section, 4) foundation of theoretical thinking in quantum mechanics.