Instructional design is an essential part of teaching practice: both researchers and teachers are engaged in finding strategies to deal with this complex work. We propose the use of storytelling as a skeleton to structure a long-lasting teaching unit, maintaining coherence and giving meaning to its various elements. We refer to an interpretation of storytelling for educational purposes as a role-playing game, drawing inspiration from the Digital Interactive Storytelling in Mathematics framework. Designing a learning unit based on storytelling means integrating every moment of the teaching–learning process within the narrative: the teacher and students are all part of the same story, which motivates every activity carried out in the unit and contextualizes the tasks performed. Moreover, the assessment is also integrated into the narrative flow. In this study, we designed an exemplary Storytelling Learning Unit (SLU) model for the study of light, promoting modelling and argumentation skills in mathematics and physics. This unit, intended for ninth-grade students in an Italian scientific high school, was co-designed by the teacher of the class in which it will be implemented. This work particularly focuses on the design process. From reflection on the specific unit developed, general design principles for creating a SLU were hypothesized.

Despite the growing emphasis on embodied education in mathematics research, it remains unclear how extensively these ideas permeate schools. Through an exploratory survey, we pinpoint common traits and differences in beliefs among a convenience sample of Italian primary and secondary school mathematics teachers, searching for contextual and individual factors that could influence the active, bodily experience mathematics learning (ABM) activities implementation. Teachers refer to the insufficient availability of suitable spaces and resources as the primary obstacle to implementation, while lack of familiarity and guidance is another significant challenge. Secondary school teachers, and in particular those who reported to integrate fewer such activities in the classroom, express concerns about time constraints, leading to diminished belief in the efficacy of ABM activities. Transfer of learning is reported by teachers as the greatest difficulty for students. Providing specific training, along with concrete examples of resources, is hypothesized to be a key supportive strategy. The impact sheet to this article can be accessed at 10.6084/m9.figshare.27151194.

This study focuses on interdisciplinary approaches within mathematics and physics education. Secondary schools, particularly those specialized in scientific curricula, have opportunities to explore common topics between mathematics and physics; however, creating a coherent interdisciplinary educational experience is challenging. Adopting an interdisciplinary perspective when designing learning sequences becomes imperative. The proposed approach harnesses the power of storytelling to engage students, emphasizing the interconnectedness of subjects and humanizing the evolution of scientific ideas. This study investigates the adaptation of the Digital Interactive Storytelling in Mathematics (DIST-M) model for interdisciplinary storytelling learning sequences. It aims to explore how this model, initially developed for mathematics activities in a virtual environment, can be enriched with elements from inquiry-based learning models to integrate the experimental aspects of physics. The research presents a theoretical discussion grounded in the design of a learning sequence centered around the study of light, taking place in a non-virtual environment and approached from an interdisciplinary standpoint. It introduces hypotheses for adapting the DIST-M model to accommodate interdisciplinary storytelling sequences. One involves the incorporation of an additional phase within the DIST-M cycle, dedicated to consolidating, transferring to other contexts, and addressing variations in the concepts explored, proved, and refined in earlier phases.

In questo lavoro vengono introdotti indicatori operativi per monitorare sia l’attivazione sia la realizzazione delle strategie di valutazione formativa, nell’implementazione di attività didattiche volte allo sviluppo del pensiero algebrico e alla promozione della competenza argomentativa, che hanno questa dimensione come elemento cardine della progettazione. Gli indicatori si presentano come un prodotto di ricerca del lavoro nella comunità di ricerca DIVA al DIMA e il loro impiego viene illustrato nell’articolo in riferimento a un caso studio esemplificativo. Tali indicatori, presentati attraverso un caso studio, costituiscono uno strumento per supportare la valutazione e il miglioramento del design delle progettazioni e per promuovere la riflessione critica dei docenti sulle scelte in fase di attuazione didattica, contribuendo al miglioramento delle pratiche educative e alla crescita professionale degli insegnanti.