Exploration of students’ ideas about superconductivity

Superconductivity is an important context in order to be introduced in the high school because it involves relevant technological applications and different levels of interpretation. Therefore it can be integrated in ordinary electromagnetism in upper secondary schools programs to renew the school curricula expanding the areas of physics of the twentieth century and rethinking the ordinary curriculum interpreted in a new perspective. An educational approach to superconductivity was designed exploring the magnetic properties of superconductors as a consequence of those of ideal conductors. A research experiment was done with a class of 16 students (18 years old) in Udine. In 10 hours of laboratory activities conducted using IBL stimuli Worksheets and a questionnaire, used as pre and post tests, have been studied how students modelize the process of magnetic levitation.