Search results for "PHYSICS EDUCATION"
showing 10 items of 101 documents
In-service and pre-service physics teacher education and pedagogical content knowledge construction
2010
Effects of emergency remote instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic on university physics students in Italy
2021
We surveyed a convenience sample of 362 Italian university physics students, asking them to retrospectively assess their experience of emergency remote instruction due to the COVID-19 outbreak. We looked at their psychological well being, motivation for physics, academic orientation, attitude towards physics and physicists, and tried to link these factors to their overall perception of the online instruction. Our results show a general appreciation for the organization and effectiveness of online courses. However, online teaching negatively impacted on engagement and interaction between peers and with the instructors. Only 22% of students in our sample complained of the psychological distre…
'School adopts an experiment': the magnetic levitation of superconductors
2010
The event 'School adopts an experiment' is an event targeted at high schools and secondary schools. It is based on a tight and direct collaboration between researchers and school students and teachers. Several schools were involved in the event by 'adopting' an experiment in physics research laboratories. Groups of selected students were first trained by university researchers, then they demonstrated the experiments to other students and teachers during the event. Students who adopted an experiment acquired knowledge of the subjects connected with the experiment in a most impressive way compared with the usual didactics at school. Further positive points were: (i) to establish a close and d…
A mechanical model of the smartphone’s accelerometer
2015
To increase the attention of students, several physics experiments can be performed at school, as well at home, by using the smartphone as laboratory tools. In the paper we describe a mechanical model of the smartphone's accelerometer, which can be used in classroom to allow students to better understand the principle of the accelerometer even by students at the beginning of the study in physics.
Conduction as a prerequisite to superconductivity
2012
As the number of high school students interested in modern physics is always increasing, the University of Milan is developing a project on superconductivity in which experiments and theory are proposed to students. The present paper is divided into two main parts. The first analyzes the basic concepts necessary to understand superconductivity. For a start we propose the first step of a designbased research were students learn the London phenomenological approach. In this way students’ can get the explanation of experiments easy to obtain in the lab-room, such as Meissner effect and the measure of the critical temperature of a type II superconductor. The second part analyzes the results obt…
The nature of teacher discourse during practical work in lower secondary physics education
2014
Tämä Pro Gradu-tutkielma käsittelee opettajan puhetta kokeellisen työskentelyn aikana suomalaisissa yläkouluissa. Työn tavoite on esitellä tilanne kouluissa sellaisena kuin sen on nyt ja siten toivottavasti innostaa opettajia tarkkailemaan, pohtimaan ja muuntelemaan omaa puhettaan kokeellisia töitä ohjatessa. Työn analyysiosuudessa tehtiin kvalitatiivinen sisällönanalyysi kahdeksalle videoidulle oppitunnille. Tuntien aiheita olivat sähköteho, sähköenergia ja sähkön hinta. Opettajan puheen sisältöä tutkittiin yhtäältä havaintojen ja käsinkosketeltavien asioiden ja toisaalta fysiikan abstraktien teorioiden ja mallien kannalta. Opettaja puhe luokiteltiin kuuluvaksi joko ideoiden piiriin I, esi…
'School adopts an experiment': the photoluminescence in extra-virgin olive oil and in tonic water
2011
We report a laboratory activity, carried out along with high- and secondary-school students, that can be done to increase the interest of the young in scientific studies. Groups of selected students ‘adopted’ experiments at physics research laboratories, under the guidance of university researchers. Subsequently, the students demonstrated the experiments to the public at large during the annual science festival organized in Palermo by the association PalermoScienza, in collaboration with the University of Palermo. Experiments on the magnetic levitation of superconductors and on the photoluminescence of several substances were proposed. We discuss the experiment on photoluminescence as a cas…
The Boltzmann Probability as a Unifying Approach to Different Phenomena
2010
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.
Themes of nanoscience for the introductory physics course
2009
We present three experimental themes and one discussion theme that proved to be suitable for introducing nanoscience through topics that can be integrated into the existing introductory physics or teacher training courses. The experimental themes include two teaching models of an atomic force microscope (AFM) and an experiment with an elastic optical grating. They are all based on simple experiments that give also quantitative results and can be explained using basic physics theory.
3D-Printable Model of a Particle Trap: Development and Use in the Physics Classroom
2019
Quadrupole ion traps are modern and versatile research tools used in mass spectrometers, in atomic frequency and time standards, in trapped ion quantum computing research, and for trapping anti-hydrogen ions at CERN. Despite their educational potential, quadrupole ion traps are seldom introduced into the physics classroom not least because commercial quadrupole ion traps appropriate for classroom use are expensive and difficult to set up. We present an open hardware 3D-printable quadrupole ion trap suitable for the classroom, which is capable of trapping lycopodium spores. We also provide student worksheets developed in an iterative design process, which can guide students while discovering…