Programma della conferenza

Achieving an adequate level of scientific knowledge is recognized as an important milestone not only for training future scientists, but above all to enable new generations to possess skills for responsible and critically informed citizenship. Regarding Italy, international comparisons highlight the increasing prevalence of specific critical issues in this area. As for research into educational actions aimed at improving the understanding of physical phenomena, it remains crucial to understand the preconceptions from which students move and the cognitive obstacles they entail. We have developed and validated a questionnaire to highlight the most common critical elements in the explanation of physical phenomena by students aged 11-14. The collected data confirm the presence of widespread misconceptions already reported in the literature, which it is important to bring to the attention of teachers. The questionnaire is complemented by formative feedback intended to provide initial indications for their revision.

Could conversational generative artificial intelligence truly have an impact on the teaching of mathematics and physics? The discussion is open. To address this question, during the academic year 23-24, I experimented with a didactic approach using ChatGPT that involved approximately 100 students from 3rd and 4th year of high school for a total of 8 hours of curriculum. The goal was to integrate ChatGPT into traditional teaching and consider it as a tool for skill development. Students posed verbal, algebraic, and arithmetic math problems to ChatGPT, as well as a questionnaire prepared to assess misconceptions in physics. These were valid examples to encourage metacognitive questioning (asking "why"), interpreting ChatGPT's responses, and guiding the bot to formulate the correct answer after its errors. These metacognitive dialogues shifted students' focus towards reflecting on the meanings of mathematical and physical terms proposed by ChatGPT and the necessity to explain "why" rather than settling for "how." Given the wide availability of chatbots, it will be interesting in the future to implement experimentation using other chatbots (such as Claude2, Bard, and Mistral) to compare responses provided on specific items.

Preliminary literature findings suggest a positive correlation between engagement in musical activities and enhanced metacognition among primary school students. Moreover, qualitative insights reveal an increase in intrinsic motivation, enjoyment, and sense of accomplishment experienced by participants during their involvement in musical endeavors. This pilot study investigates the relationship between engagement in musical activity and the development of metacognition in primary school education. Recognizing the critical role of metacognition in educational development, particularly in the formative years, this research explores the potential of innovative musical activities to nurture creative thinking among young learners. Through the implementation of novel musical activities within the primary school curriculum, this research aims to uncover the potential benefits for fostering metacognition among students. Drawing upon theories of creative pedagogy and experiential learning, the study examines how music stimulates cognitive processes associated with metacognition, such as divergent thinking, problem-solving, and imaginative expression. A cohort of primary school students participates in this study, engaging in a series of carefully designed musical activities tailored to their developmental stage and learning needs. A mixed method of qualitative and quantitative assessments has been adopted before and after the intervention. This pilot study provides valuable insights into the potential of integrating music into primary education as a means of fostering metacognition and cognitive development among young learners. Further research is recommended to explore long-term effects and optimal strategies for incorporating musical experiences into the educational curriculum.

The always more relevant role of the pharmacist brings new challenges and opportunities requiring constantly updated and innovative didactics. Since 2018, this didactic method in Pharmacy course at the University of Pavia favors the acquisition of dispensing and counseling skills, essential in the professional world, through the creation of practical cases at the bench in pharmacy. To this aim, the classes are organized in small groups, composed by patients and/or caregivers, and pharmacists. The teams have an appropriate time to discuss and create a real life-based case starting from pharmaceuticals/medicines provided by the teacher. Then, in half a day and on site, each team plays its own case (alive onsite or online/by recorded video), that is discussed and evaluated by a “jury” composed by pharmacologists, physicians, pharmacists, whose multidisciplinary experiences offers to the students unique and useful opportunity to optimize the dispensation, to improve knowledge in pharmacology (and beyond), to understand the physicians’ choice and prescriptions, and to be aware of the future pharmacy practice.

The aim of this practice exercise is indeed to improve training for both the disease prevention and health of each patient, being aware of peculiar and critical situations (e.g. fragile categories of patients, SALA drugs, generics, drug interactions, low compliance).

The feedback by the students is extremely positive, leading to collaborative learning, engagement of students from other countries and cultures, a more empathic and self-confident attitude of the participants, higher motivation, and even higher scores at the final examination.