@article {1253,
	title = {A DIDACTIC UNIT ON MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE EDUCATION: THE PRINCIPLE OF MATHEMATICAL INDUCTION },
	journal = {Journal of Baltic Science Education},
	volume = {22},
	year = {2023},
	month = {February/2023},
	pages = {Continuous},
	type = {Editorial},
	chapter = {4-9},
	abstract = {Among the mathematical methods which are taught in the last years of almost every high school, the mathematical induction deserves particular attention. It can be used both to define mathematical entities and to prove theorems. The second use is more common at high school level and is easier. Thus, I will basically focus on it, though analysing in depth two definitions by induction. The aim of this contribution is to offer the basic elements for a didact unit which could be developed in six/seven hours of lesson. 
In this editorial a didactic unit has been proposed. Here only the basic elements have been given. The unit might be enriched by tracing the history of the inductive principle, which is interesting and formative from an educational standpoint (see, e.g., Palladino-Bussotti 2002). From an epistemological-methodological perspective, it should be pointed out that mathematical induction is a method of proof, but not a method of discovery. It is not a heuristic procedure. The presentation of an organised set of lessons on the principle of mathematical induction is significant and appropriate in the last years of high school because: 1) it introduces the learners within a method typical of whole numbers; 2) it connects mathematical issues with logical ones; 3) it is useful in order to clarify the difference between the way of reasoning connoting mathematic and that typical of empirical sciences. Hence, it is also useful in a science education context; 4) it can be related to the history of mathematics, so as to show that mathematics is also a humanistic discipline, born from conceptual problems, and not only a technical one; 5) it has also connection with epistemological themes linked to the heuristic of mathematics.  },
	keywords = {educational importance, mathematical induction, science education},
	issn = {1648-3898},
	doi = {https://doi.org/10.33225/jbse/23.22.04 },
	url = {https://oaji.net/articles/2023/987-1676960178.pdf},
	author = {Paolo   Bussotti}
}
@article {962,
	title = {THE CONCEPT OF INERTIA: AN INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACH},
	journal = {Journal of Baltic Science Education},
	volume = {20},
	year = {2021},
	month = {February/2021},
	pages = {Continuous},
	type = {Editorial},
	chapter = {4-9},
	abstract = {{\textquotedblleft}Every body perseveres in its state of rest, or of uniform motion in a right line, unless it is compelled to change that state by forces impressed thereon{\textquotedblright} (p. Newton 1846, p. 83).
This is the famous first axiom or law of motion stated by Newton in his masterpiece The Mathematical principles of natural philosophy (ivi). Everywhere, in the courses of physics at the high school level the inertia principle is the first to be taught. However, there are many doubts that most of learners fully grasp its numerous and fundamental nuances, which are necessary for a satisfying introduction to physics. Therefore, I propose an interdisciplinary approach for the explanation of this principle in which history of science and analysis of the daily experiences are joined to offer a complete comprehension of the concept of inertia. 
},
	keywords = {inertia law, interdisciplinary approach, science education, sensorial experiences},
	issn = {1648-3898},
	doi = {https://doi.org/10.33225/jbse/21.20.04},
	url = {http://oaji.net/articles/2021/987-1611648316.pdf},
	author = {Paolo   Bussotti}
}
@article {806,
	title = {THE CALCULATIONS OF AREAS AND VOLUMES USING THE METHOD OF ARCHIMEDES: SOME DIDACTIC CONSIDERATIONS},
	journal = {Journal of Baltic Science Education},
	volume = {18},
	year = {2019},
	month = {December/2019},
	pages = {Continuous},
	type = {Editorial},
	chapter = {812-815},
	abstract = {An interdisciplinary approach to education is nowadays considered an important aspect to improve the critical skills of the learners so that they can guess how several aspects of the human knowledge are interconnected. A key aspect of interdisciplinary education is represented by the use of the history of a certain subject within the teaching of the subject itself. This is particularly conspicuous in science education. For, the appropriate and not superficial introduction of historical elements within science education allows the pupils to discover the human aspects of science, the problems behind the creation and development of many concepts, which are often presented only in a formal manner. As a matter of fact, after having grasped that some problems are difficult and after having understood and appreciated the efforts that in the course of history the scientists have carried out to solve such problems, the learners will accept the necessity of a formalization and will not consider such a formalization as a sort of abstract doctrine imposed by the teachers for unspecified reasons. Furthermore, history of science has profound relations with history, mathematics, science, philosophy, physique and technique, so that it is a typical interdisciplinary subject which can be exploited in an educative context.},
	keywords = {interdisciplinary approach, interdisciplinary education, science education, science history},
	issn = {1648-3898},
	doi = {https://doi.org/10.33225/jbse/19.18.812},
	url = {http://oaji.net/articles/2019/987-1576224811.pdf},
	author = {Paolo   Bussotti}
}
@article {744,
	title = {THE CONCEPT OF FORM IN GEOMETRY: SOME CONSIDERATIONS CONCERNING SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS EDUCATION},
	journal = {Journal of Baltic Science Education},
	volume = {18},
	year = {2019},
	month = {April/2019},
	pages = {Continuous},
	type = {Editorial},
	chapter = {152-157},
	abstract = {The concept of form is one of the most intuitive within our experience. When we say that two objects of different dimensions have or do not have the same form there is not properly a reflexion behind this claim. Rather, it is, at all appearances, based on our visual faculties, which is perfectly in order in the context of our daily life. This intuitive and visual notion of form is suitable to the necessities of our practical, or also esthetical, experience. However, on second thought, things are not so easy: suppose that I look at an object and I find that it is circular. I claim, hence, that it is a circle and my statement is correct. Another person looks at this object from another point of view and sees that this object is an ellipsis or a hyperbola or a parabola. He is not wrong. This person is not the prey of a dream or of a hallucination. He is observing the world from another point of view, or as usually told in mathematics and physics, from another reference frame. },
	keywords = {Euclidean geometry, Euclidean propositions, mathematics education, science education},
	issn = {1648-3898},
	doi = {https://doi.org/10.33225/jbse/19.18.152},
	url = {http://oaji.net/articles/2019/987-1554359213.pdf},
	author = {Paolo   Bussotti}
}
@article {453,
	title = {THE TEACHING OF HISTORY OF SCIENCE AT THE UNIVERSITY: SOME BRIEF CONSIDERATIONS},
	journal = {Journal of Baltic Science Education},
	volume = {14},
	year = {2015},
	month = {October/2015},
	pages = {Continuous},
	type = {Editorial},
	chapter = {564{\textendash}568 },
	abstract = {I teach history of science at the University of Udine, Italy. My students {\textendash} about 25 {\textendash} frequently the second and the third year at the faculty of Letters and Philosophy (now called {\textquotedblleft}Polo Umanistico{\textquotedblright}). They have to pass a sole proof in history of science. Therefore, in this editorial, I would like to face the problems connected with the teaching of history of science to students who have a scarce knowledge of mathematics and who in their future will have probably few contacts with science and its history. Thus, two problems are particularly difficult in this case: 1) to choose the subject properly; 2) to choose the appropriate educational approach. Obviously, the choice of the subject is always important, but if one teaches history of science in a scientific faculty, the situation is, in a sense, easier: for example, at the faculty of physics, one could select a specific course each year, i.e., history of mechanics in a certain period, history of electromagnetism in the 19th century, the theory of optics as it is developed by an author or a series of authors (Euclid, Witelo, Kepler, Snell, Descartes, and so on), etc. Each subject could be dealt with by facing the particular research of each scholar and entering the specific mathematical arguments. This is not possible in a humanities faculty. Thence, I would like to explain my choice and to trace some general considerations.},
	keywords = {Educational approach, history of astronomy, history of science, level of knowledge},
	issn = {1648-3898},
	doi = {https://doi.org/10.33225/jbse/15.14.564},
	url = {http://oaji.net/articles/2016/987-1479542196.pdf},
	author = {Paolo   Bussotti}
}
@article {328,
	title = {A POSSIBLE ROLE FOR HISTORY OF MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE IN MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE EDUCATION},
	journal = {Journal of Baltic Science Education},
	volume = {12},
	year = {2013},
	month = {December/2013},
	pages = {Continuous},
	type = {Editorial},
	chapter = {712-715},
	abstract = {My research fields are history of mathematics and science, mainly physics and astronomy. I have also published some works on mathematics and physics education (as to these works see Bussotti 2012a; Bussotti 2012b; Pisano-Bussotti, 2012; Bussotti 2013). I have often wondered which role history of science can have inside science education, basically referring to high school and university students. This subject dates back at least at the second half of the 19th century when an important debate took place in Europe as to the most appropriate manner to teach Euclidean geometry. There were various positions: scholars who thought Euclid (fl. 300 BC) had to be completely abandoned, others who believed that the Elements had to be almost literally taught and, between these two opposite extreme opinions, a series of intermediate ones existed (for this problems see Bussotti, 2012a, where a series of references is presented, too). The discussion on the role of history of science/mathematics inside science/mathematics teaching is hence a long period debate and I have no pretension to provide an answer, but only to point out some questions and to develop a reasoning around them.},
	keywords = {high school instruction, history of mathematics and science, mathematics education},
	issn = {1648-3898},
	doi = {https://doi.org/10.33225/jbse/13.12.712},
	url = {http://oaji.net/articles/2015/987-1425811173.pdf},
	author = {Paolo   Bussotti}
}
