Energy exchange by thermal radiation: hints and suggestions for an Inquiry Based lab approach

In this paper we present some laboratory activities developed in the framework of an inquiry-based, context-to-content teaching/learning approach to the study of energy exchange by thermal radiation. These activities have been developed in the context of “Establish”, a FP7 European Project aimed at promoting and developing Inquiry Based Science Education in European Secondary Schools. By starting from real life, meaningful situations, students are engaged in designing and carrying out laboratory activities by collecting, processing and analysing data. Particular attention is paid in building data interpretation by taking into account the effects of parameters like the environmental temperature, that, if not correctly considered, can lead to the application of wrong approximations and to an incomplete understanding of the physics underlying the analyzed situations.