"Le Leggi della Natura @ MSN" - Laws of nature as educational tool: HPS relevance for Science Education and Communication

Abstract

How can the discipline of history and philosophy of science improve science teaching? The present thesis tries to answer this question pragmatically, describing the design process and the disciplinary content of Le Leggi della Natura, a guided itinerary active at Venice Natural History Museum. Le Leggi della Natura employs the laws of nature as educational tools, and aims at inquiring different laws pertaining to the realm of mathematics, physics and biology. The concept of laws of nature is inherently transdisciplinary and allows for a coherent infusion of technical and socio-cultural contents: it is therefore an instance of HPS knowledge used in science education. In fact, I will show how this particular concept can map knowledge about the Nature of Science (NOS), a major theme discussed in publications concerning HPS and science education. Furthermore, analyzing audiences’ degree of satisfaction after attending the itinerary, I can quantify whether the itinerary was successful and, consequently, whether laws of nature are a powerful conceptual device for science education.