Building Formal Thinking with Pupils on Magnetic Phenomena in Conceptual Laboratories

Developing formal thinking and building conceptual knowledge as a background for formal interpretation of phenomena is one of the main challenges in teaching and learning physics. In the context of the experimental exploration of the electromagnetic phenomena, pupils\u2019 conceptual referents and representations of the phenomena and their identification and exploration of conditions to produce electro-magnetic interactions are investigated through semi-structured interview in the framework of Conceptual Laboratories of Operative Exploration. The pupils construct global interpretations of phenomena starting from local interpretations of the single experiments and synthetizing them by means of building the formal abstract entities

Metaphors and analogies proposed by perspective primary teachers to support the exploration of magnetic phenomena

Analogies and Metaphors play an important role in primary science education to correlate abstract aspects and lived experiences, providing concrete meanings for pupils. They represent important educational tools that can help young pupils to approach towards abstract physics concepts like those related to magnetic phenomena. In order to improve the competencies of Prospective Primary Teacher (PPT) students related to the use of analogies and metaphors in education, a specific module of formative intervention was developed and propose

La LIM per favorire l\u2019apprendimento: proposte di attivit\ue0 per futuri insegnanti primari sui fenomeni elettrostatici e magnetici,

La lavagna Interattiva Multimediale (LIM) sta diffondendosi nelle scuole e si hanno i primi risultati sul suo impiego in classe, che troppo spesso riguardano il trasferimento in ambiente LIM di attivit\ue0 proprie di altri strumenti multimediali. Serve sviluppare contributi propri della LIM per favorire il processo di apprendimento sia in merito ai metodi dell\u2019attivit\ue0 didattica sia in merito ai contenuti degli specifici campi disciplinari. Il processo di modellizzazione e costruzione del pensiero formale in fisica \ue8 uno di questi. Vengono proposti due esempi di attivit\ue0 su elettrostatica ed elettromagnetismo destinati alla scuola di base, che impiegano semplici strumenti della LIM per stimolare alla formalizzazione anche attraverso la discussione collaborativa delle problematiche. Esse sono state proposte per una prima validazione a futuri insegnanti di scuola primaria

The IWB for the construction of formal thinking: proposals for prospective primary teachers concerning motion, electrical and magnetic phenomena

The Interactive Whiteboard is a multimedia tool that has a continuous increasing diffusion in schools, but, too often, it is used to a simple transposition of activities designed for other multimedia tools. The development of specific designed activities centered on the development of learning process as regards the methods of teaching and the contents of the specific disciplines is needed. In teaching/learning physics, IWB can become a tool for conceptual modeling. In this paper, examples of activities designed for primary school pupils are discussed in relation with motion, electrostatic, magnetism phenomena evidencing the role of simple tools of the IWB to stimulate the formalization and the collaborative discussion between pupils

L'uso dei Clicker per il personale coinvolgimento degli studenti di scienze della formazione nellâ apprendimento della fisica

Le TIC offrono strumenti per realizzare ambienti didattici in cui si attiva il necessario coinvolgimento personale degli studenti per realizzare efficaci percorsi di apprendimento. Nel contesto dei corsi di Didattica della Fisica sono stati realizzati moduli formativi su diverse tematiche di fisica basati sull’integrazione di diversi strumenti multimediali e in particolare utilizzando risponditori automatici personali (Clicker). Se ne discutono le potenzialità generali nella formazione in fisica di base presentando i casi di elettrostatica, elettromagnetismo, fluidi

Hereditary Xerocytosis due to Mutations in PIEZO1 Gene Associated with Heterozygous Pyruvate Kinase Deficiency and Beta-Thalassemia Trait in Two Unrelated Families

Hereditary xerocytosis (HX) is a rare disorder caused by defects of RBC permeability, associated with haemolytic anaemia of variable degree and iron overload. It is sometimes misdiagnosed as hereditary spherocytosis or other congenital haemolytic anaemia. Splenectomy is contraindicated due to increased risk of thromboembolic complications. We report the clinical, haematological, and molecular characteristics of four patients from two unrelated Italian families affected by HX, associated with beta-thalassemia trait and heterozygous pyruvate kinase deficiency, respectively. Two patients had been splenectomised and displayed thrombotic episodes. All patients had iron overload in the absence of transfusion, two of them requiring iron chelation. The diagnosis of HX was confirmed by LoRRca Osmoscan analysis showing a left-shifted curve. PIEZO1 gene sequencing revealed the presence of mutation p.E2496ELE, showing that this is one of the most frequent mutations in this disease. The concomitant defects did not aggravate the clinical phenotype; however, in one patient, the initial diagnosis of pyruvate kinase deficiency delayed the correct diagnosis of HX for many years and resulted in splenectomy followed by thrombotic complications. The study underlines the importance of a precise diagnosis in HX, particularly in view of splenectomy, and the need of a molecular confirmation of suspected RBC enzymopathy

Overhaul and Installation of the ICARUS-T600 Liquid Argon TPC Electronics for the FNAL Short Baseline Neutrino Program

The ICARUS T600 liquid argon (LAr) time projection chamber (TPC) underwent a major overhaul at CERN in 2016-2017 to prepare for the operation at FNAL in the Short Baseline Neutrino (SBN) program. This included a major upgrade of the photo-multiplier system and of the TPC wire read-out electronics. The full TPC wire read-out electronics together with the new wire biasing and interconnection scheme are described. The design of a new signal feed-through flange is also a fundamental piece of this overhaul whose major feature is the integration of all electronics components onto the signal flange. Initial functionality tests of the full TPC electronics chain installed in the T600 detector at FNAL are also described

Construction techniques and performances of a full size prototype Micromegas chamber for the ATLAS muon spectrometer upgrade

A full scale prototype of a Micromegas precision tracking chamber for the upgrade of the ATLAS detector at the LHC Collider has been built between October 2015 and April 2016. This paper describes in detail the procedures used in constructing the single modules of the chamber in various INFN laboratories and the final assembly at the Frascati National Laboratories (LNF). Results of the chamber exposure to the CERN H8 beam line in June 2016 are also presented. The performances achieved in the construction and the results of the test beam are compared with the requirements, which are imposed by the severe environment during the data-taking of the LHC foreseen for the next years

Mathematics as a resource in understanding the peculiar characteristics of magnetic field

Despite that mathematics is the basic language used by physicist to construct formal entities, at high school level sometimes this is poorly implemented, as the case of the na\uefve definitions of important entities like the pseudovector (axial vector) and the limited use of the study of the symmetries for example in the analysis of electromagnetic systems. In this paper two simple experimental contexts are proposed in which students investigate the pseudovectorial nature of electromagnetic field vector and a simple formal explanation of its nature starting from the analysis of its behavior