The first year of the “open discovery of stem laboratories” (ODL) project

The Open Discovery of STEM Laboratories (ODL) project, co-funded by the European Community Erasmus+ KA2 program for 30 months, starting from November 2015, involves five countries: Spain, Italy, Greece, Estonia and Lithuania. It aims to implement teacher collaboration in creating and using μMOOCs (very short version of MOOCs-Massive Open Online Courses) for encouraging the use of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) remote/virtual laboratories into lessons. The challenge of the project is to impact on teaching process and inspire pedagogical innovation and modernization by means of open education resources, teaching/learning tools and best practices provided by European e…

MaT²SMC: materials for teaching together: science andmMathematics teachers collaborating for better results

Let us start with an important statement: Mathematics and Science teachers do a good, and often an outstanding, job in teaching young people the basic knowledge of their respective fields! It is not the intent of this book to criticize what they do or how they do it. Keeping that in mind, and noting the fact that the teaching content of these fields intersects and overlaps, we observed – and this took us by surprise – that there is hardly any collaboration or consultancy between mathematics and science teachers (or textbook authors). Mathematics teachers often use science contexts in tasks, and science teachers often use mathematics, however they are usually working independently. Science c…

La distribuzione di Maxwell-Boltzmann: i risultati di una sperimentazione svolta nell'ambito dei corsi di laurea in ingegneria

This paper describes the outcomes of an teaching experiment conducted in the seminar held at the Faculty Engineering of Palermo University. The theme of the seminar focused on undergraduate experiment that yields the velocity distribution of thermionic electrons by analyzing the I-V characteristics of diodes and triodes. By using a simple model, the velocity distribution of thermionic electrons emitted by the vacuum tube cathode can be described by Maxwell's distribution. The experiment allows students to focus on the distribution function more than on difficulties arising from the complexity of thermionic emission. Questo articolo descrive i risultati di una sperimentazione didattica condo…

Un’indagine sperimentale sul ruolo della temperatura am- biente nel processo di riscaldamento/raffreddamento per ir- raggiamento

The process of heating / cooling of an object in vacuum can be studied by the known Stefan's law. Many studies have investigated this phenomenon without inquire the role of the environment and of its temperature. In this paper the author proposes an experimental method through which to study the above process, by monitoring the ambient temperature on the assumption that this can vary with an exponential law. Under this hypothesis, in defined conditions, the temporal evolution of cooling of the object is similar to the case where the con- vection and / or the conduction are the principale phenomenon of energy exchange.

Augmented lectures: Benefits of supporting physics teaching with the theatre

Abstract Young generations are less and less interested in studying STEM subjects. For this reason, numerous studies have strongly suggested a change in the methods scientific knowledge is developed in the learners, through the use of alternative and more creative strategies. In recent decades a strong interaction between scientific subjects and the arts has been established by means of theatre. The objective is to bring science to students and the public in ways that are engaging, instructive, artistic and, always, content-driven: the medium is the arts; the message is the joy of science. When we talk about Physics in a theatre show, are we only making a good dissemination or are we also t…

An approach to the concept of statistical distribution: a pedagogical path based on Guided Inquiry

This paper describes a teaching approach to the concept of distribution that uses a specific activity related to the field of statistical mechanics. The concept of velocity distribution of a particle system is dealt with using an Inquiry Based approach involving an experimental examination of Maxwell’s Distribution. Some outcomes of a teaching experiment are described.

An investigation of environmental temperature effects on energy exchange by thermal radiation

The radiative heating or cooling of a body placed in an environment, whose temperature is considered constant is described by Stefan's law. In this paper, an analysis is made of how a time-dependent environmental temperature influences the heating/cooling process. We compare experimental results for a resistor first heated by the Joule effect inside a glass vacuum tube and then cooled under two different conditions: in a bath at a constant temperature and in air. We also discuss a model that describes how the time-dependent tube temperature influences the radiative resistor cooling by identifying the properties of the environment that make the resistor cooling rate linear.

Strategies for Active Learning to Improve Student Learning and Attitudes Towards Physics

Over the last several years, active learning methods and strategies have received considerable attention from the educational community and are commonly presented in the related literature as a credible solution to the reported lack of efficacy of more “traditional” educative approaches. Research has shown that a possible factor is the strongly contextualized nature of active learning that focuses on the interdependence of situation and cognition. In this paper, we report the results of a Symposium with different contributions in the field of research on active learning. We start with a system analysis of the mental processes involved in learning physics which explains how active learning i…

A Study on Engineering Freshman Conceptual Understanding of Newtonian Mechanics

Force concept inventory is a multiple-choice questionnaire commonly used to assess students’ conceptual understanding of Newtonian mechanics. We here show that a cluster analysis method can be used to study student answers to the force concept inventory to investigate their understanding of Newtonian mechanics and provide new insights into the use of the force concept inventory. We identi- fied groups of students characterized by similar correct answers as well as by non- correct answers to the questionnaire, whose analysis allowed us to highlight student misconceptions/non-normative conceptions. Such an analysis of student answers gave us insights into the relationships between the student…

Two experiments to approach the Boltzmann factor: chemical reaction and viscous flow

In this paper we discuss a pedagogical approach aimed at pointing out the role played by the Boltzmann factor in describing phenomena usually perceived as regulated by different mechanisms of functioning. Experimental results regarding some aspects of a chemical reaction and of the viscous flow of some liquids are analysed and described in terms of macroscopic variables whose temperature dependence is proportional to the Boltzmann factor. A description of a workshop implementing the approach in the framework of an undergraduate course for engineering education and some preliminary results about its pedagogical relevance are then reported.

An Inquiry-Based Approach to the Distribution Concept in Statistical Mechanics

A mesoscopic mechanical model of the surface tension and some simulation results

Abstract Drops of mercury do not spread on a surface. A metal paper clip can float on water. These phenomena are macroscopic manifestations of molecular interactions and can be explained in terms of surface tension. In this study, we discuss a simple mesoscopic mechanical model of the surface tension and the results of numerical fluid dynamics simulations implemented on the basis of it. We study the droplet formation without and with gravity when it can drop from a narrow hole like a trickling tap and finally the behaviour of free surface liquid in a vessel. Teachers and students can be able to study the surface tension by using the computer simulation as a “tool” for analysing and discussi…

Computer simulations to approach surface tension by means of a simple mesoscopic mechanical model

A small insect can stand or walk on water surface, drops of mercury do not spread on a solid surface, and a meniscus is formed at the free surface of a liquid contained in a thin vessel. These phenomena can be seen as macroscopic manifestations of molecular interactions and can be explained macroscopically in terms of surface tension. In this study, we deal with an approach to surface tension from a mechanical point of view, presenting a simple mesoscopic mechanical model of surface tension and the results of its implementation in numerical fluid dynamics simulations. Particularly, phenomena like droplet formation without gravity and with gravity when it can drop from a narrow hole like a t…

2D simulation of wave-particle coupling inspired by walking droplets

In recent years, a fluid dynamics phenomenon has been observed that shows interesting analogies with several quantum mechanical ones. Under specific experimental conditions, a liquid droplet released on a vibrating liquid persists in jumping, forming a localized wave-particle, and its behaviour resembles that of a de Broglie wave-particle. In this paper we discuss a simplified model for this phenomenon and the results of numerical fluid dynamics simulations implemented on the basis of the model. In spite of the relevant simplifying assumptions of our approach, we observe that a wave-droplet coupling is obtained and the droplet travels at nearly constant velocity, as it is observed in experi…

An inquiry-based approach to Maxwell distribution: a case study with engineering students

The concept of distribution is a fundamental component of statistical thinking. This paper describes a teaching approach for it that uses a specific activity related to the field of statistical mechanics. The concept of the velocity distribution of a particle system is dealt with using an inquiry-based approach involving an experimental examination of Maxwell’s distribution. Some outcomes of a teaching experiment held at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Palermo, Italy are described.

A New Approach to Investigate Students’ Behavior by Using Cluster Analysis as an Unsupervised Methodology in the Field of Education

The problem of taking a set of data and separating it into subgroups where the ele- ments of each subgroup are more similar to each other than they are to elements not in the subgroup has been extensively studied through the statistical method of cluster analysis. In this paper we want to discuss the application of this method to the field of education: particularly, we want to present the use of cluster analysis to separate students into groups that can be recognized and characterized by common traits in their answers to a questionnaire, without any prior knowledge of what form those groups would take (unsupervised classification). We start from a detailed study of the data processing need…

Exploring Historical Scientific Instruments by Using Mobile Media Devices

We describe an educational activity that can be completed with mobile media devices in order to understand the working principle of a pair of tuning forks, from the Historical Collection of Physics Instruments of the University of Palermo, and how they were used to explain acoustic interference and beats with the Lissajous optical method. This approach can be used with any tuning fork and it is a valuable teaching strategy that does not require specific laboratory equipment.

Conceptual Understanding of Newtonian Mechanics Through Cluster Analysis of FCI Student Answers

The Force Concept Inventory is a multiple-choice test and is one of the most popular and most analyzed concept inventories. It is used to investigate student understanding of Newtonian mechanics. A structured approach to data analysis can transform it in a “diagnostic” instrument that can validate inferences about student thinking. In this paper, we show how cluster analysis methods can be used to investigate patterns of student conceptual understanding and supply useful details about the relationships among student concepts and misconceptions. The answers given to the FCI questionnaire by a sample of freshman engineering have been analyzed. The analysis takes into account the decomposition…

K-means Clustering to Study How Student Reasoning Lines Can Be Modified by a Learning Activity Based on Feynman’s Unifying Approach

Background:Research in Science Education has shown that often students need to learn how to identify differences and similarities between descriptive and explicative models. The development and use of explicative skills in the field of thermal science has always been a difficult objective to reach. A way to develop analogical reasoning is to use in Science Education unifying conceptual frameworks.Material and methods:A questionnaire containing six open-ended questions on thermally activated phenomena was administered to the students before instruction. A second one, similar but focused on different physical content was administered after instruction. Responses were analysed using k-means Cl…

Investigating the quality of mental models deployed by undergraduate engineering students in creating explanations: The case of thermally activated phenomena

This paper describes a method aimed at pointing out the quality of the mental models undergraduate engineering students deploy when asked to create explanations for phenomena or processes and/or use a given model in the same context. Student responses to a specially designed written questionnaire are quantitatively analyzed using researcher-generated categories of reasoning, based on the physics education research literature on student understanding of the relevant physics content. The use of statistical implicative analysis tools allows us to successfully identify clusters of students with respect to the similarity to the reasoning categories, defined as ``practical or everyday,'' ``descri…

Quantitative and qualitative analysis of the mental models deployed by undergraduate students in explaining thermally activated phenomena

In this contribution we describe a research aimed at pointing out the quality of mental models undergraduate engineering students deploy when asked to create explanations for phenomena/processes and/or use a given model in the same context. Student responses to a specially designed written questionnaire are initially analyzed using researcher-generated categories of reasoning, based on the Physics Education Research literature on student understanding of the relevant physics content. The inferred students’ mental models about the analyzed phenomena are categorized as practical, descriptive, or explanatory, based on an analysis of student responses to the questionnaire. A qualitative analysi…

Unsupervised quantitative methods to analyze student reasoning lines: Theoretical aspects and examples

[This paper is part of the Focused Collection on Quantitative Methods in PER: A Critical Examination.] A relevant aim of research in education is to find and study the reasoning lines that students deploy when dealing with problematic situations. This can be done through an analysis of the answers students give to a questionnaire. In this paper, we discuss some methodological aspects involved in the quantitative analysis of a questionnaire by means of two different clustering methods, a hierarchical one and a nonhierarchical one. We start from the coding procedures needed to obtain analyzable data from the questionnaire and from a definition of a correlation coefficient suitable for measuri…

A quantitative method to analyse an open-ended questionnaire: A case study about the Boltzmann Factor

his paper describes a quantitative method to analyse an open- ended questionnaire. Student responses to a specially designed written questionnaire are quantitatively analysed by not hierarchical clustering called k-means method. Through this we can characterise behaviour students with respect their expertise to formulate explanations for phenomena or processes and/or use a given model in the different context. The physics topic is about the Boltzmann Factor, which allows the students to have a unifying view of different phenomena in different contexts

AN INTRODUCTION TO THE BOLTZMANN FACTOR BY USING INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY TOOLS

We present an experiment and simulations aimed at introducing the Boltzmann factor mathematical expression and at illustrating the fundamental concepts on which it is grounded. The experiment uses an easily available Microcomputer Based Laboratory apparatus. Simulations are developed in the Net-Logo environment that, besides having a friendly user-interface, allows an easy interaction with the algorithm. The approach supplies a pedagogical support for the introduction of the Boltzmann factor at undergraduate level to students without a background in statistical mechanics.

A Phenomenological Study About the Effect of Covid-19 Pandemic on the Use of Teaching Resources in Mathematics

In this contribution, we discuss phenomenological research related to a pilot study carried out by the Consortium of the MaTeK Horizon 2020 project during the 2020–21 academic year. The research aims to analyse the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the use of teaching resources in mathematics in five coun- tries. A questionnaire made of seven questions was administered to a data sample made of teachers of all grades. The answers coming from the questionnaire were quantitatively and qualitatively analysed. Closed-ended questions were analysed by using a clustering methodology called k-means. Open-ended questions were qualitatively analysed. The results show that almost all the teachers are…

Analysing the conceptions on modelling of engineering undergraduate students: A case study using cluster analysis

The problem of taking a set of data and separating it into subgroups where the elements of each subgroup are more similar to each other than they are to elements not in the subgroup has been extensively studied through the statistical method of Cluster Analysis . This method can be conveniently used to separate students into groups that can be recognized and characterized by common traits in their answers, without any prior knowledge of what form those groups would take (unsupervised classification). In the last years many studies examined the consistency of students’ answers in a variety of situations. Some of these papers have tried to develop more detailed models of the consistency of st…

A study on science teaching efficacy beliefs during pre-service elementary training

Two science teaching workshops for students of the elementary teacher education degree course at the University of Palermo, Italy are discussed, one based on inquiry-based methods and the other on "traditional" teaching methods. A questionnaire aimed to understand the teaching styles preferred by students, their reasons for learning/teaching science, and their beliefs about the difficulties a teacher faces when planning and trying out science teaching activities in the class were completed by the students before the first workshop, at its end, and the end of the second workshop. The answers given by the students were studied using cluster analysis methods. The results of the analysis of ans…

A quantitative analysis of Educational Data through the Comparison between Hierarchical and Not-Hierarchical Clustering

Many research papers have studied the problem of taking a set of data and separating it into subgroups through the methods of Cluster Analysis. However, the variables and parameters involved in Cluster Analysis have not always been outlined and criticized, especially in the field of Science Education. Moreover, in the field of Science Education, a comparison between two different Clustering methods is not discussed in the literature. Conceptions of students about modeling in physic are investigated by using an open-ended questionnaire. The questionnaire is analyzed through Clustering methods. The clustering results obtained by using the two methods are compared and show a good coherence bet…

A quantitative analysis of university student reasoning lines in the field of thermally activated phenomena

In this contribution we present a research aimed at studying the effectiveness of two workshops in improving reasoning skills in undergraduate students. Both the workshops are based on the Feynman Unifying Approach. A questionnaire containing six open-ended questions on the temperature dependence of evaporation of a liquid and of a chemical reaction was administered to the students of both groups before instruction. A second one, similar to the first but focused on a physical content different from both the pre-instruction test one and the content dealt with during the workshops, was administered after instruction. The responses to the pre- and post-instruction questionnaires are analyzed b…

Freshman Engineering’ Reasoning Strategies When Answering FCI Questions: A Case Study

Force Concept Inventory (FCI) is a questionnaire commonly used to assess students’ conceptual understanding of Newtonian Mechanics. We show that Cluster Analysis methods can be used to study student answers to FCI by finding their reasoning strategies on Newtonian Mechanics. Our analysis is performed to data obtained by a sample of freshman engineering students just at the beginning of their first General Physics course. The analysis takes into account the decomposition of the force concept into the conceptual dimensions suggested by test authors and successive researches. We identified groups of students with similar answering strategies, characterised by correct answers, as well as by non…

Energy exchange by thermal radiation: hints and suggestions for an Inquiry Based lab approach

In this paper we present some laboratory activities developed in the framework of an inquiry-based, context-to-content teaching/learning approach to the study of energy exchange by thermal radiation. These activities have been developed in the context of “Establish”, a FP7 European Project aimed at promoting and developing Inquiry Based Science Education in European Secondary Schools. By starting from real life, meaningful situations, students are engaged in designing and carrying out laboratory activities by collecting, processing and analysing data. Particular attention is paid in building data interpretation by taking into account the effects of parameters like the environmental temperat…

The Boltzmann factor through experiments and simulations

The Boltzmann factor is at the basis of a great amount of thermodynamic and statistical physics, both classical and quantum. It describes the behaviour of natural systems that are exchanging energy with the environment. However, why does the expression have this specific form? The Feynman Lectures on Physics justifies it heuristically by reference to the “exponential atmosphere” example. Thermodynamics textbooks usually give a more or less complete explanation that mainly involves the mathematical analysis, where it is hard to see the logic flow. Moreover, the necessary mathematics is not at the level of high school or college students’ preparation. Here we present an experiments and a simu…

An experiment on the velocity distribution of thermionic electrons

This paper describes an undergraduate experiment that yields the velocity distribution of thermionic electrons by analyzing the I-V characteristics of diodes and triodes. The experiment allows students to focus on the distribution function more than on difficulties arising from the complexity of thermionic emission. By using a simple model, the velocity distribution of thermionic electrons emitted by the vacuum tube cathode can be described by Maxwell’s distribution.

The Boltzmann Probability as a Unifying Approach to Different Phenomena

We discuss a pedagogical approach to the role of the Boltzmann probability in describing the temperature dependence of three simple experimental situations. The approach has been experimented in an introductory course on statistical mechanics for undergraduate engineering students at University of Palermo.

Non-Hierarchical Clustering as a method to analyse an open-ended questionnaire on algebraic thinking

The problem of taking a data set and separating it into subgroups, where the members of each subgroup are more similar to each other than they are to members outside the subgroup, has been extensively studied in science and mathematics education research. Student responses to written questions and multiple-choice tests have been characterised and studied using several qualitative and/or quantitative analysis methods. However, there are inherent difficulties in the categorisation of student responses in the case of open-ended questionnaires. Very often, researcher bias means that the categories picked out tend to find the groups of students that the researcher is seeking out. In this paper, …

Different approaches to research and innovation in physics education at college and university

Abstract In this article we report a Symposium organized by GTG-Physics Education Research at University (PERU) with different proposals that includes innovative educational approaches and research on problems of teaching-learning physics at university. In the second section, two research projects are described on teaching specific curriculum topics that present special difficulties for students. In the next section the third project on a work experience in the laboratory that takes into account the characteristics of scientific work, is presented. Finally, the fourth project presents a way to investigate the types of student reasoning. In the discussion, the importance of research projects…

Modelling thermionic emission by using a two Level mechanical system

The Boltzmann factor is at the basis of a great amount of thermodynamic and statistical physics, both classical and quantum. It describes the behaviour of natural systems that exchange energy with the environment. However, why does the expression have that specific form? The Feynman Lectures on Physics justifies it heuristically by referencing to the "exponential atmosphere" example. Thermodynamics textbooks usually give a more or less complete explanation that mainly involves a mathematical analysis, where it is hard to see the logic flow. Moreover, the necessary mathematics is not at the level of high school or college students' preparation. Here we present an experiment and a simulation …

Heating and Cooling: Designing a Low Energy Home

This unit is aimed at engaging students in designing and building an energy-efficient scale model house through the understanding of relevant concepts of energy flow in thermal systems. It is developed into 4 subunits that analyse the different processes of thermal energy transfer (conduction, convection and radiation). The project intends also to introduce pupils to infrared thermography, thermal imaging and thermograms, i.e. infrared imaging science. The content area of the unit is energy and power in thermal systems. The subunits are suitable for 14-16 year old students while the data analysis and more theoretical parts of the unit are suitable for 16-18 year old students. The estimated …

Epistemological Difficulties and Improvement of Conceptual Understanding in the Context of Thermal Sciences: An Open Inquiry Approach with Undergraduate Engineering Students

We provide evidence that these OI experiences contribute positively to improve physics conceptual understanding and increase student abilities in problem solving, by providing the activation of appropriate epistemological resources.

MASTER IDIFO (INNOVAZIONE DIDATTICA IN FISICA E ORIENTAMENTO): A COMMUNITY OF ITALIAN PHYSICS EDUCATION RESEARCHERS AND TEACHERS AS A MODEL FOR A RESEARCH BASED IN-SERVICE TEACHER DEVELOPMENT IN MODERN PHYSICS.

Since 2005, the Italian Universities have promoted initiatives for school-university cooperation in the framework of a national project (PLS) to face the problems of a substantial scienti c illiteracy in young people and a worrying decreasing interest in physics emerging from OCSE-PISA data. The project PLS is nanced by the Ministry for Education and Universities and coordinates 65 local university projects in mathematics, physics, chemistry and material science. The collaboration of Universities with teachers in the PLS physics section is an important goal realized in different ways. The Italian university Physics Education Research Unit (IPERU), cooperating with national research projects…

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Modelling-Oriented Workshops for Engineering Undergraduates in the Field of Thermally Activated Phenomena

Two 20-h modelling-based workshops focused on the explanation of ther- mally activated phenomena were held at the University of Palermo, Italy, during the Academic Year 2014–2015. One of them was conducted by applying an inquiry-based approach, while the other, still based on laboratory and modelling activities, was not focused on inquiry. Seventy-two students belonging to the Undergraduate Program for Chemical Engineering attended the two workshops. The related content was focused on an à la Feynman unifying approach to thermally activated phenomena. Question- naires were administered to the students of both groups, before and post instruction. Responses were analysed using k-means cluster…

Dynamic measurement of the elastic constant of an helicoidal spring by a smartphone

Abstract We describe an educational activity that can be done by using smartphones to collect data in physics experiments aimed to measure the oscillating period of a spring-mass system and the elastic constant of the helicoidal spring by the dynamic method. Results for the oscillating period and for the elastic constant of the spring agree very well with measurements obtained by different methods. We also discuss the error analysis that can be done in an introductory physics laboratory at undergraduate level.

Smoothed particles hydrodynamics numerical simulations of droplets walking on viscous vibrating liquid

We study the phenomenon of the "walking droplet", by means of numerical fluid dynamics simulations using the Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics numerical method. This phenomenon occurs when a millimetric drop is released on the surface of an oil of the same composition, contained in a tank and subjected to vertical oscillations of frequency and amplitude very close to the Faraday instability threshold. At appropriate values of the parameters of the system under study, the oil droplet jumps permanently on the surface of the vibrating liquid forming a localized wave-particle system, reminding the behaviour of a wave particle quantum system as suggested by de Broglie. In our study, we made releva…

Using cluster analysis to study the modelling abilities of engineering undergraduate students: a case study

In this contribution we discuss the application of a quantitative, non-hierarchical clustering method to make sense of the answers that 120 engineering undergraduates students at the University of Palermo, Italy, gave to four open-ended questions on the meaning of the modeling processes in Science. We will show that the use of non-hierarchical analysis allows us to easily separate students into groups that can be recognized and characterized by common traits in students’ answers without any prior knowledge on the part of the researcher of what form those groups would take (unbiased classification).

Open inquiry-based learning experiences: a case study in the context of energy exchange by thermal radiation

An open inquiry (OI)-based teaching/learning experience, regarding a scientific investigation of the process of energy exchange by thermal radiation, is presented. A sample of upper secondary school physics teachers carried out this experience at the University of Palermo, Italy, in the framework of ESTABLISH, a FP7 European Project aimed at promoting and developing inquiry-based science education. The teachers had the opportunity to personally experience an OI-based learning activity, with the aim of exploring the pedagogical potentialities of this teaching approach to promote both the understanding of difficult concepts and a deeper view of scientific practices. The teachers were firstly …

A study of capillarity phenomena by using a computer-based simulation approach

Liquid properties are relevant for the understanding of fundamental and applied sciences. Among these properties, those that can be traced back and explained through the surface tension are particularly interesting to study and reconstruct in educational terms. Traditional educational treatment of surface tension is often obscure or too complex, sometimes superficial or completely neglected. The aim of the research here described is to discuss in detail a mesoscopic model of liquids and show quantitative results obtained by a computer simulation approach. Looking at the educational aspect, the main advantage of this approach is that it allows the student/teacher to control the simulation pa…

Exploring the Coherence of Student Reasoning when Responding to Questionnaires on Thermally Activated Phenomena

Many research results show that students often highlight “mixed-type” reasoning when tackling problematic situations and problems. This reasoning is based on the simultaneous use of common-sense and mere descriptions of facts, perceived as sufficient to build an “explanation” of observed or proposed situations and problems. This fact can be interpreted as a lack of coherence. In this paper, we study the coherence of responses that a sample of undergraduate chemical engineering student give when they are asked to face real-life situations, to create explanations, and to use models in different contexts. We administered open-ended questionnaires before and after a twenty-hour Inquiry-Based wo…

An Inquiry Based Approach to the study of energy exchange by thermal radiation

A teaching-learning sequence regarding the investigation of energy exchange by thermal radiation, conduction and convection is under development within the context of “Establish”, a FP7 European Project aimed at promoting and developing Inquiry Based Science Education in European Secondary Schools. Here we present some relevant laboratory activities of this inquiry-oriented teaching/learning sequence for secondary school level students (or even first-level university ones), aimed at investigating the physics of energy transmission by thermal radiation. In traditional laboratory work, the focus of students activities is mostly dedicated on verifying information previously transferred by the …

Training pre-service and in-service secondary school teachers: Analysis of changes in perceptions about quantum physics concepts and NoS views

In this work we focus on the study of the changes in perceptions about Quantum Physics concepts and Nature of Science (NoS) Views of secondary school teachers attending three different typologies of professional development courses on Modern Physics . An open-ended questionnaire has been properly developed and administered in order to investigate Quantum Mechanics conceptual issues, NoS views and motivational aspects for all involved teachers. The same questionnaire has been submitted to the teachers both prior-to and after the courses. The analysis of teachers’ pre-instruction answers highlights that the majority of them show several difficulties on both conceptual knowledge and epistemolo…

Reconsidering Some Aspects of Inquiry Based Science Education: A Case Study on Model Based Inquiry

Multidimensional Scaling in Cluster Analysis: examples in Science and Mathematics Education

Several researches in STEM education research highlight the advantages of an inte- grated approach to these disciplines that relates knowledge and know-how, design and implementation, theoretical and practical problems [5, 4, 6]. In some researches, the effectiveness of these approaches on students conceptual understanding and motivation and has been studied through the use of quantitative analysis tools such as cluster analysis (CLA) [1, 7]. Through CLA it is possible to characterize students analyzing the strategies they deploy to tackle, for example, questionnaires built so as to investigate the lines of reasoning implemented by them when they are proposed with problematic situations. In…

Fluids in Equilibrium and Hydrodynamics

Teaching fluid mechanics applied to undergraduate and graduate students of STEM disciplines has traditionally been a difficult task for the teacher. It connects to the use of more or less complex mathematics, computer science, and numerical methods. In this chapter, after a brief discussion about the development of pedagogical approaches to introduce students to fluid mechanics from 1950 to today, we discuss some relevant examples of Physics Education Research (PER) literature pieces related to teaching and learning specific aspects of fluid mechanics. The aim is to understand how PER has contributed to our current knowledge in that field, how it has evolved in terms of methodologies used, …

Un esperimento sulla distribuzione di velocità degli elettroni in una valvola termoionica

In questo lavoro è discusso un approccio sperimentale alla distribuzione di Maxwell- Bolzmann. A partire dallo studio delle caratteristiche I-V dei triodi a vuoto, si perviene, utilizzando un semplice modello, alla distribuzione di velocità degli elettroni emessi dal catodo dei dispositivi utilizzati. L’esperimento qui proposto può aiutare gli studenti a focalizzare l’attenzione sul concetto di distribuzione di velocità in un sistema di particelle, senza distrarli dalle difficoltà concettuali connesse alla complessità del fenomeno dell’emissione termoionica.

Un approccio alla meccanica statistica attraverso il fattore di Boltzmann

Outcomes of a Teaching Learning Sequence on Modelling Surface Phenomena in Liquids

In this paper we discuss the effects of modelling and computer simulation activities in promoting student use of lines of reasoning useful to explain proposed or observed situations. The activities are part of a structured Teaching/Learning Sequence on surface phenomena in liquids. We outline a model of liquid based on a mesoscopic approach, examples of computer simulations students can use during the activities, and we describe the Teaching/Learning Sequence. During the pedagogical activities, students can simulate the liquid behaviour by controlling many simulation parameters, such as the interaction intensity among liquid and solid particles. The results of the analysis of student answer…

An approach to the Venturi effect by historical instruments

Student understanding of the laws that describe the flow of a fluid is often hampered by a defective knowledge of basic classical mechanics (kinematics, statics, dynamics, and conservation laws) and by wrong common-sense ideas about quantities related to fluids, such as velocity and pressure. A pedagogical discussion about the Venturi effect, based on experiments inspired by historical instruments, may be an effective way to introduce students to these laws. In this paper, we discuss an approach to the understanding of the Venturi effect based on the study of historical instruments and on simple experiments. In particular, after a presentation of the Venturi effect, also from a historical p…

Comparing Traditional Pedagogical Approches in Science to Inquiry Based Ones: A Case Study with Pre-Service Primary School Teachers

In this contribution we discuss a teaching/learning experiment focused on comparing traditional teaching/learning methods to the IBSE approaches in the framework of pre-service primary school teacher education. We discuss the main phases of the pedagogical activities developed during a physics education course in the framework of the undergraduate course for pre-service primary school teacher education at the University of Palermo (Italy). In this course, the students first produced examples of pedagogical paths based on a traditional, pedagogical laboratory-based approach. Then, after a workshop focused on IBSE and on how to plan IBSE-optimized activities, the students were asked to produc…

A pedagogical approach to the Boltzmann factor through experiments and simulations

The Boltzmann factor is the basis of a huge amount of thermodynamic and statistical physics, both classical and quantum. It governs the behaviour of all systems in nature that are exchanging energy with their environment. To understand why the expression has this specific form involves a deep mathematical analysis, whose flow of logic is hard to see and is not at the level of high school or college students' preparation. We here present some experiments and simulations aimed at directly deriving its mathematical expression and illustrating the fundamental concepts on which it is grounded. Experiments use easily available apparatuses, and simulations are developed in the Net-Logo environment…

Sperimentazione di una proposta didattica sulla distribuzione di Maxwell e prospettive di ricerca sul Fattore di Boltzmann

MODELLING THE DISPERSION PROPERTIES OF MASS LINEAR CHAINS: EXPERIMENTS AND SIMULATIONS

We analyze and discuss the results of an experiment with the goal of revealing the phonon-like acoustic dispersion curve. The experimental apparatus consists of a sonometer and an electromagnetic driver connected to a signal generator in order to establish standing waves along a stretched metal string (a guitar string) upon which a set of beads (used normally for fishing) has been fixed. The oscillation amplitude is measured by means of a detector connected to an MBL interface. We detect the resonance frequencies as function of the wave-number and obtain the corresponding dispersion curve. The results show that deviations from linearity occur when the wavelength is comparable with the dista…

Searching for the Maxwell Distribution and the Boltzmann Factor: an Inquiry-Based Approach

We report the development of a Workshop involving experimental and modelling activities aimed at facing two relevant problems currently addressed by the Physics Education Research community. These involve the organization of curricula aimed at showing the unity of physics as a subject and the ways to design affective learning environments.