In search of lost elements: a game as a tool to developed a learning path

This paper reports an educational activity regarding the periodic table. This activity consists of a structured game path, known as an Escape room, in which first-year students of technical schools are divided into groups and asked to solve puzzle games, each related to the other, in order to lead them to a common aim. The importance of the various phases, including student involvement, debriefing and restitution, are discussed. The activity can be used both as consolidation of previous knowledge and as a catalyst for knowledge development in the discipline.Nel contributo si esemplifica un’attività didattica dedicata alla scoperta della Tavola periodica degli elementi, indirizzata agli studenti della classe prima degli Istituti tecnici. Trattasi di un percorso di gioco strutturato, conosciuto come Escape room, in cui i ragazzi vengono suddivisi in gruppi e attraverso la risoluzione di una serie di enigmi tra loro collegati vengono condotti verso un obiettivo comune. Si discute dell’effetto del coinvolgimento dello studente, delle fasi di debriefing e di restituzione che conferiscono valenza didattica all’attività, da utilizzare sia come un momento di consolidamento delle conoscenze pregresse sia come catalizzatore per lo sviluppo di nuove conoscenze della disciplina

Use and abuse of plastic: from production to plastiglomerates passing through microplastics. A laboratory on environmental issues, useful for promoting the well-being at school

This contribution presents an educational activity carried out in a civics course, concerning the use of plastic, plastic and microplastic pollution and their effects on the environment. Particular attention is given to the relationship between the topic and the contents of the first-year chemistry topics covered in secondary school. The group work methodology used is identified as a key element to strengthen cohesion and the group identity, to improve the group environment and, consequently, to improve well-being at school.Nel contributo viene presentata un’attività didattica svolta nell’ambito dell’Educazione civica, riguardante l’utilizzo della plastica, l’inquinamento da plastica e microplastica e gli effetti che provocano all’ambiente. Particolare attenzione viene fornita all’interconnessione della tematica con alcuni argomenti del curricolo di chimica trattati nel primo anno di Scuola secondaria di secondo grado. La metodologia proposta, che valorizza il lavoro di gruppo, viene individuata come elemento chiave per rafforzare la coesione e l’appartenenza al gruppo classe, per migliorare l’ambiente di gruppo e di conseguenza il benessere a scuola

QuaderniCIRD n. 26 (2023)

Vedere: https://www.openstarts.units.it/handle/10077/3544

Driven Assembly of Lignin into Microcapsules for Storage and Delivery of Hydrophobic Molecules

Oil-filled microcapsules of kraft lignin were synthe- sized by first creating an oil in water emulsion followed by a high- intensity, ultrasound-assisted cross-linking of lignin at the water/oil interface. The rationale behind our approach is based on promoting documented lignin hydrophobic interactions within the oil phase, followed by locking the resulting spherical microsystems by covalent cross-linking using a high intensity ultrasound treatment. As further evidence in support of our rationale, confocal and optical microscopies demonstrated the uniformly spherical morphology of the created lignin microparticles. The detailed elucidation of the cross-linking processes was carried out using gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and quantitative 31P NMR analyses. The ability of lignin microcapsules to incorporate and release Coumarin-6 was evaluated in detail. In vitro studies and confocal laser scanning microscopy analysis were carried out to assess the internalization of capsules into Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. This part of our work demonstrated that the lignin microcapsules are not cytotoxic and readily incorporated in the CHO cells

An example of a Food Education Laboratory on the theme “From what I eat to what I want to eat: awareness and actions to promote my well-being”

The contribution offers a paradigmatic example of educational research applied to the design of laboratory activities dedicated to food education. The articulated training course proposed enhances the synergistic contribution of scientific and humanistic disciplines in a heuristic perspective and represents an organic systematization of consolidated teaching experiences undertaken in secondary schools. The case studies proposed, which were carefully selected, are intended to promote conscious food choices for a healthy lifestyle in students.Il contributo offre un esempio paradigmatico di ricerca didattica applicata alla progettazione di attività laboratoriali dedicate all’Educazione alimentare. L’articolato percorso formativo proposto valorizza in prospettiva euristica il contributo sinergico offerto dalle discipline scientifiche e umanistiche e rappresenta una sistematizzazione organica di consolidate esperienze didattiche intraprese nelle Scuole secondarie di secondo grado. I casi di studio proposti, opportunamente selezionati, intendono promuovere negli studenti scelte alimentari consapevoli nel quadro di uno stile di vita sano

Methods of preparation of novel composites of poly(epsilon-caprolactone) and a modified Mg/Al hydrotalcite

12-Hydroxydodecanoate (HD) anions were intercalated, via an ionexchange procedure, onto a Mg/Al hydrotalcite-like compound. The obtained intercalate, characterized by chemical and thermal analyses, X-ray powder diffraction, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, with interlayer distance of 2.27 nm. Structural considerations indicated that the charge balancing anions were accommodated in the interlayer region as a monofilm of partially interdigitated alkyl chains in a trans planar conformation and bearing the alcoholic group. The organically modified hydrotalcite was used to prepare novel composites based on poly(e-caprolactone) (PCL) with different procedures: (1) solvent casting, (2) ring-opening polymerization of e-caprolactone, and (3) blending of precursors consisting of a PCL intercalated oligomer with a high-molecular-weight PCL. Microcomposites were obtained by the solvent casting of a mixture of a high-molecular-weight PCL and the modified hydrotalcite. The ring-opening polymerization of e-caprolactone initiated by the hydroxyl groups of the alkyl chains intercalated in the hydrotalcite led to hybrid materials in which a low-molecular-weight PCL was in part intercalated into the modified hydrotalcite. Nanocomposites containing exfoliated hydrotalcite were obtained through the mixing, in different weight ratios, of hybrids consisting of PCL oligomers and modified hydrotalcite with a commercial high-molecular-weight PCL