From the astro to the nano scale: A learning by doing teaching pathway

Abstract

From the nano-world to solar systems length-scales span over several orders of  magnitude. In young student it is therefore hard to fully understand the relative proportions  among different objects even belonging to the same level of complexity. Resizing to humanrelated  distances is an effective way to understand the relative distances in astronomic scales  or the amount of information contained in a single cell. In general, the use of imagination  is essential in educational research as well as the use of different skills in interdisciplinary  works. Some appealing example will be given and the result of a pilot learning by doing  teaching pathway involving hundreds of young students will be presented. Clues will give  indications for future directions in educational research.