Multiple aspects in the design and evaluation of a teaching sequence on friction: didactical reconstruction, cognitive paths and explicative models, teachers' training

We have developed and evaluated a teaching sequence on friction, starting from a preliminary study involving: analysis of didactic research on the topic, overview of the usual approaches, critical analysis of the scientific content, considered also in its historical development. We found that usual presentations generally do not show the complexity of friction as it stems from scientific research, may reinforce some pupils’ wrong ideas and favour a limited vision of friction phenomena. The sequence is designed as an open source structure, with a core of contents, conceptual correlations and methodological choices, and a cloud of elements that can be re-designed by teachers. It has been tested in teacher education and in high school with positive results in overcoming typical students’ difficulties and in activating new richer reasoning. Positive elements have emerged on the reproducibility in a real school context.