A Problem Based Approach to Sound Propagation in Different Materials

In this paper we present a problem-based approach to the study of sound propagation devoted to pre-service physics teacher education at University of Palermo, Italy. Small groups of trainee teachers are proposed with real life situations and must organize themselves, define objectives, conduct researches, analyze results, and present conclusions. In particular, the problem of wave propagation in different materials is discussed, by starting from the real life situation of soundproofing a house. Examples of experiments performed by the trainee teachers with Real Time Laboratory (RTL) equipment and of interpretative models built and tested by using computer simulation environments are reported, together with considerations on their pedagogical efficacy in shifting pre-service teachers’ attention from the “Concept to Context” educational approach to the “Context to Concept” one.