The study by the research group ST2 from the Department of Physics, published in February 2026, is one of the most widely read articles in the journal Argumentation & Advocacy.
The study was authored by Marco Costigliolo, a PhD student, in collaboration with Matteo Bozzi, a research fellow, Roberto Virzi, a PhD student, and Maurizio Zani, an associate professor.
The research analysed the pedagogical effectiveness of structured debate as an active learning strategy in the teaching of physics in secondary schools. The study involved 47 students, who took part in a ten-hour educational programme combining conceptual revision, training in argumentation and a structured debate on the motion: “The European Union should prioritise research into nuclear energy over research into renewable energy”.
The results of tests conducted before and after the programme showed a significant improvement in conceptual understanding of energy. Qualitative observations also demonstrated how debate can foster reflective reasoning, evidence-based argumentation and the application of physics concepts to real-world problems.
The results provide initial support for the use of debate as a teaching methodology in physics, integrating the cognitive, metacognitive and communicative dimensions of learning. The study also suggests that this methodology can promote progress in conceptual understanding even within a limited lesson time, opening up new prospects for its wider application in physics teaching.
The full article is available at the following link.