Cap. 13 – Orientation activities for high school students: propaedeutic test and open-ended Physics lab

As part of the project of Italian Ministry of University and Research related to active orientation from school to university, among the courses proposed by the Politecnico di Milano was the one titled “Methodological Introduction to Engineering Test Preparation”. The aim of this course was to provide methodological tools for studying Physics and Mathematics topics and developing logical-mathematical skills, scientific methods, modeling and problem-solving. The course was structured into modules covering motivational aspects, Mathematics and Physics. The latter consisted of an introductory online lesson on learning aspects, followed by an in-person laboratory activity. During the introductory session, students completed a multiple-choice questionnaire, aiming to highlight gaps or misconceptions that typically make the Engineering Test challenging. The laboratory activity was designed following an open-ended lab model. Students were encouraged to explore, with maximum autonomy, the physical quantities related to a certain phenomenon and discover the relationships between them. The research activity reported here focuses on validating the preparatory questionnaire.