DIDATTICA DELLA FISICA NUCLEARE NELLA SCUOLA SECONDARIA DI SECONDO GRADO: PROGETTAZIONE, ESPERIENZE SUL CAMPO, CONTENUTI TRANSDISCIPLINARI E RECEPIMENTO NORMATIVO.

An analysis of the current state of nuclear physics teaching in Italy and a survey of interest in this branch of physics among students who have graduated or recently enrolled in STEM degree courses were the starting points for the design of a course of nuclear physics lessons for high school students. The course, based on a pragmatic approach and the IBL (Inquiry Based Learning) methodology, has promoted innovative, inclusive and effective teaching in the various classes in which it has been developed. The initiative has had positive results in terms of satisfaction and the acquisition of nuclear physics skills by the students it was aimed at. This experience formed the basis for a thirty-hour training course for Italian high school teachers, divided into three parts. The first part covered the fundamentals of nuclear physics, while the second part focused on the main civil applications. The third module of the course, which was also attended by final-year students from the scientific high school, presented topics from physics, history and civic education in a cross-disciplinary manner. Using materials from the course ‘Nuclear Weapons, Disarmament and Nuclear Proliferation’ by Prof. Paolo Cotta-Ramusino of the University of Milan, which were specifically updated as part of this project and made available on the website disnuc.fisica.unimi.it created for this research activity, the events that led to the construction of the atomic bomb and its consequences were retraced with a view to promoting a culture of disarmament and active citizenship. Based on the results obtained in all these nuclear physics teaching activities in high schools, collaborations were established with organisations and institutions, in particular with the ministry of the environment's National Platform for Sustainable Nuclear Energy (MASE), providing material that was partly incorporated into the Italian government's enabling law “Sustainable Nuclear Energy” of 28 February 2025.