Abstract:

This work concerns a scientific research and dissemination initiative on astroparticle physics. The educational learning path has been organised by INFN (National Institute of Nuclear Physics) during school-and-work alternating courses in collaboration with Universities, research institutes and high schools in Campania. The project idea originates from the great potential of information by cosmic ray telescope in the Toledo subway station of Naples and by the availability of data relating to main experiments on cosmic rays.

The National Digital School Plan of the scientific high schools in Italy states “digital technologies set in supporting all transversal competences. But they also fit vertically, as part of present-day literacy and fundamental competences for a full, active and informed citizenship”, as anticipated by the Recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council of Europe and as even better emphasized by framework like 21st Century Skills (Skills for the 21st century), promoted by the "World Economic Forum".

This work describes how the action-research forms an alternative, effective, and motivating approach to the study of Physics with interdisciplinary activities (mathematics, physics, computer science, sciences, English, Italian) enhancing the levels of competence of the students, influencing curricular actions and increasing level skills.

We applied the PBL (Project Based Learning) teaching and learning model approach on a one-year project in Blended Learning with the interaction of traditional teaching approaches coupled with the activities in research laboratories developed using the most modern technologies. The experience of students in cooperative scientific activities (Cooperative Learning) was the core of the project.
Students had significant advantages thanks to the information and the scientific data recorded by the telescopies and transmitted to an accessible web-area. Teachers, researchers, and technicians of INFN were very helpful supporting students in research and analysis activities of reconstruction of extensive air showers (EAS) with computer software.

Thanks to the analysis of real data, students fitted trajectories of cosmic rays, analyzed the distribution of the cosmic shower energies, developed a C++ software that simulates the elaboration of telescopes and published all their works in the digital media for peer-to-peer communications, for scientific events in schools or other cultural institutions.

They were able to tackle advanced mathematics topics such as solid Cartesian geometry, statistical data-analysis, calculation with hexadecimal and binary bases, applying them directly to a research context and thus understanding their actual operational infrastructure.
This experience showed them an alternative captivating educational approach, having experienced the excitement of research.

The success of the educational activity is reflected both in evaluation sheets written by the students themselves and in skills achieved in checks during the experience: they highlighted improvements not only in math, physics and science but also in the transversal skills related to the transmission of information involving English, Italian and history.

At the end of the experience they showed greater self-confidence even in the expositive and dialogic phase.

Keywords:

Astroparticle physics, statistical data analysis, digital technologies, research laboratories, transversal competences, Project Based Learning, Blended Learning.