The final stage of the “New Light in Schools in Sardinia” project, a scientific education initiative promoted by INAF-OAC and co-financed by the Fondazione Banco di Sardegna, will take place on Friday, May 29, 2015 at the new headquarters of the INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Cagliari (INAF-OAC). 2015 is the International Year of Light.
The theme chosen as the main topic of the proposed project (light) is undoubtedly of great importance in the field of astronomy (as astronomy is a science based on the study of information carried by light emitted by various celestial bodies), but it also has a much broader interdisciplinary and cultural significance, recognized by UNESCO, which proclaimed 2015 the “International Year of Light and Light-based Technologies.” The aim is a journey of discovery and knowledge designed to guide students, particularly in their approach to the experimental method and scientific disciplines, leading them to an awareness of the value of scientific research and realities such as the San Basilio Radio Telescope (Sardinia Radio Telescope, SRT).
The idea of bringing a “new LIGHT” to schools refers not only to scientific content but, above all, to the innovation of the teaching methodologies used. The project also has an experimental value in the field of non-formal education: thanks to the work of specialists in the dissemination of scientific and technological culture and professionals in the psychopedagogy of developmental age, mixed teaching methods will be tested, starting from storytelling through play and direct experience, without resorting to formulas and graphemes, but stimulating the emotional and creative aspects of the student, indirectly allowing them to embark on a different cognitive path that could facilitate learning and
self-esteem for students with learning disabilities.
Two institutes are involved in the project: the Deledda Middle School of the Comprehensive Institute No. 3 of Quartu Sant’Elena and the middle school of the Tuveri Randaccio Don Milani Comprehensive Institute of Cagliari, involving a total of 80 students and 11 teachers.
The project developed over five stages, three in the classroom, one at the SRT, and finally the concluding stage at the Cagliari Astronomical Observatory, which will take place on May 29, 2015 and will conclude the project for the students.
However, the project continues throughout June for operators and teachers, who will now move on to the delicate phase of evaluating the results and the effectiveness of the methodologies adopted.
The “New Light for Schools in Sardinia” project was also recently publicly presented to the Italian astronomical community during the LIX Congress of the Italian Astronomical Society, held in Catania from May 18 to 22, 2015.