An inquiry-based learning path to introduce modern physics in high-school

Although Modern Physics (MP) is a scientific field of increasingly interest, due to its mathematical andconceptual difficulty, it was not generally taught in Italian high-schools. Recently, in order to reduce the gapbetween school curricula and modern technology, the Ministry of Education promoted the inclusion of MP inItalian secondary schools. MP hot topics produce interest and enthusiasm in learners at all ages, but to addressthis topic in high school in an effective way it is necessary to translate complex theories and highly-advancedexperiments into an understandable language appreciated by students. In this contribution, we discuss aninquiry-driven learning sequence suitable to introduce MP, that we experienced, as pilot study, with a sampleof about 40 students attending the last year of the scientific high school “Benedetto Croce” of Palermo in theschool year 2015/2016. Our results suggest that an inquiry-based learning path, composed by three phases(frontal lessons + inquiry-based laboratorial activity + cooperative work), can constitute a successfullyteaching approach to effectively engage students into an active learning of the MP, provided the teacher has acrucial role in facilitating the knowledge, activating the questioning process and supporting a valuable reasonedexploration.