Search results for " Didattica."
showing 10 items of 881 documents
An inquiry-based approach to Maxwell distribution: a case study with engineering students
2013
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.
The amazing graphene: an educational bridge connecting different Physics concepts
2017
The purpose of this work is to present a learning workshop covering various physics concepts aimed at strengthening physics/engineering student understanding about the remarkable properties of two dimensional materials, graphene in particular. At the basis of this learning experience is the idea of blending and interconnecting separate pieces of knowledge already acquired by undergraduates in different courses and to help them visualize and link the concepts lying beyond separate chunks of information or equations. Graphene represents an appropriate unifying framework to achieve this task in view of its monatomic structure and various exotic processes peculiar to this and some other two dim…
A quantitative analysis of university student reasoning lines in the field of thermally activated phenomena
2018
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…
Teacher professional development in the context of the “Open Discovery of STEM laboratories” project: Is the MOOC methodology suitable for teaching p…
2020
Abstract The “Open Discovery of STEM Laboratories” (ODL) project, funded by the European Erasmus+ KA2 program, was aimed at introducing the use of MOOCs in school curricula. In particular, it fostered teacher collaboration in creating and using micro-MOOCs for the inclusion of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) online remote or virtual laboratories in the everyday teaching practice. The project focused on teachers, educators and curriculum designers with the aim to strengthen their profile by supporting them to deliver high quality teaching practices and to adopt new methods and tools. Thanks to the project, in service and pre-service teachers had the opportunity to ext…
From led light signboards to the Planck’s constant
2018
Recent studies have highlighted an alarming decline in young people’s interest towards the study of scientific subjects, often considered interesting but not easily understood and appreciated by students. In particular, the introduction of Modern Physics (MP) key-topics at secondary school level is a difficult and complex task because MP involves abstract ideas and requires a strong mathematical background. In this communication we present and discuss the results of an inquiry-based teaching/learning path aimed at surmounting the difficulties of an exclusively theoretical approach to the introduction of MP topics. In particular, we planned and realized an inquiry-driven learning environment…
Energy exchange by thermal radiation: hints and suggestions for an Inquiry Based lab approach
2014
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…
A 5E-Based Learning Workshop on Various Aspects of the Hall Effect
2019
Learning activities in constructivist environments are characterized by active engagement, inquiry, problem solving, and collaboration with peers. The 5E learning cycle is a student-centered instructional model for constructivism, where the students perform five phases of instruction: Engagement, Exploration, Explanation, Elaboration, Evaluation. The purpose of this contribution is to present a 5E-based learning path of advanced physics aimed at strengthening Physics/Engineering student understanding about the quantum Hall effect, a phenomenon observed at low temperatures in a two-dimensional electron gas subject to a strong perpendicular magnetic field. The quantum Hall effect, a rare exam…
Modelling systems of classical/quantum identical particles by focusing on algorithms
2012
A procedure modelling ideal classical and quantum gases is discussed. The proposed approach is mainly based on the idea that modelling and algorithm analysis can provide a deeper understanding of particularly complex physical systems. Appropriate representations and physical models able to mimic possible pseudo-mechanisms of functioning and having predictive validity are developed.
An experiment on the velocity distribution of thermionic electrons
2010
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.
An investigation of environmental temperature effects on energy exchange by thermal radiation
2013
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.