Abstract
The paper contains progress reports supported by data about two short activities aimed at introducing physics themes in primary school. The first is a formal storytelling intervention named “Mommy Comet” carried out in first- and fifth-grade classes and concerning motion in the absence of forces in the Solar System broad context. The second is an informal work with third-, fourth- and fifth-degree students to investigate what physics is about. The results obtained by analyzing questionnaires and conducting interviews show how these narrative tools can offer wide potentialities and prove great effectiveness in introducing young students to physics.
Highlights
An essential prerequisite for any physics learning is motivation, which is a favorable attitude or a disposition of mind interested in approaching the discipline
Students who initially choose scientific studies often distance themselves from physics
An inquiry process that starts from the complex and general, as we have suggested, cannot help but highlight the modeling character of physics, and it is indispensable at school, but it is important in informal contexts that can help physics become integrated into one’s weltanschauung [8]
Summary
An essential prerequisite for any physics learning is motivation, which is a favorable attitude or a disposition of mind interested in approaching the discipline. Suitable methods to increase people’s motivation are fundamental tools for teaching physics and, more generally, sciences. “In relation to the problems of motivation the average student is willing to learn what s/he considers useful, for her/his daily life and for what s/he believes her/his professional future may be, but, in a cost/benefit balance, the same student opposes a clear emotional refusal to study concepts, methods, analytical tools that involve great effort of understanding and whose usefulness are very little evident.” [1]. Most students consider physics as an important resource for society [3], they usually consider it more linked to technology than to general culture [4]. Students who initially choose scientific studies often distance themselves from physics
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