0000000000535942
AUTHOR
D Persano Adorno
Informal physics teaching for a better society: a mooc-based and context-driven experience on learning radioactivity
Abstract The general objective of teaching physics is to provide the learners with useful knowledge, in terms of both interdisciplinary scientific concepts and practical problem-solving skills. In this work, we report the experimental evidence, collected during a first year physics class in an upper secondary technical school, for the urgent necessity to adopt an informal and inquiry-based strategy to teach physics effectively, in particular to all those students living in degraded socio-economic environments. Within the pedagogical framework of “Learning by Doing” and the paradigm “Learning by Teaching”, we have explored the benefits of the students’ participation to an informal ICT-based …
Design of an open-lab activity for engineering students: A case study
Project- or discovery-based learning activities promote curiosity, enjoyment, and interest deriving from the stimulating context in which students operate. Providing a concrete contextualization of laboratory activities could improve student motivation and learning outcomes. In this contribution, a case study related to a workshop on laboratory activities proposed for Engineering Master students is presented, and designed with the aim of developing practical competencies, increasing problem-solving skills, and providing design abilities. Using the facilities available in the Measurements and Control Laboratory, the students, starting from concept knowledge acquired in basic subjects, such …
Ruolo del rumore ambientale in sistemi complessi di natura biologica
La Fisica dei Sistemi Complessi ha recentemente assunto un ruolo sempre più importante nella descrizione dei sistemi biologici a causa delle interazioni, sia deterministiche sia rumorose o “randomiche”, di tali sistemi con l’ambiente. La presenza del rumore diviene particolarmente rilevante nella trattazione dei sistemi biologici in ambito medico. In questo lavoro vengono presentati due diversi sistemi: i) un modello di dinamica di popolazioni che descrive lo sviluppo delle cellule tumorali responsabili della Leucemia Mieloide Cronica (CML); ii) un modello stocastico che riproduce la crescita di batteri in alimenti di origine animale. Nel primo sistema viene utilizzato un approccio Monte Ca…
Nonlinear relaxation in quantum and mesoscopic systems
The nonlinear relaxation of three mesoscopic and quantum systems are investigated. Specifically we study the nonlinear relaxation in: (i) a long Josephson junction (LJJ) driven by a non-Gaussian Lévy noise current; (ii) a metastable quantum open system driven by an external periodical driving; and (iii) the electron spin relaxation process in n-type GaAs crystals driven by a fluctuating electric field. In the first system the LJJ phase evolution is described by the perturbed sine-Gordon equation. Two well known noise induced effects are found: the noise enhanced stability and resonant activation phenomena. We investigate the mean escape time as a function of the bias current frequency, nois…