Come funziona davvero la scienza? Un percorso formativo per le scuole superiori.

[Autom. eng. transl.] Today more than ever it is clear that the exercise of a complete and mature democratic citizenship requires solid scientific knowledge. The pandemic crisis that we have just left behind and the crucial challenges that await us, first and foremost the climate crisis, show that political decisions, but also the daily choices of each person, are essentially based on what we know about the functioning of nature and therefore require a deep understanding of the reliability of this knowledge. In this context, an informed and scientifically literate citizenship is essential for the well-being of society. As regards the younger generations, school obviously has a central role in the acquisition of these skills. In current communication scenarios, however, it is supported in this educational and informative task by digital media, and in particular by social networks such as Instagram and TikTok. Platforms and the Internet are precious resources for integrating the knowledge learned at school and for acquiring the scientific and technological knowledge useful for addressing the issues made central by current events. At the same time, however, these communication tools risk exposing their users to imprecise, incomplete or incorrect knowledge. They even risk making them the target of disinformation and political manipulation. Schools are thus called upon to carry out their important task of scientific literacy and education, taking into account the broader media and communication scenario in which children are inserted and equipping them to face it with competence and maturity. To support the school institution in addressing this challenge, thanks to funding from the Cariplo Foundation (grant 2020-1299), the Polytechnic University of Milan and the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart have undertaken a research project in high schools, with the aim of better understanding the relationship of young people with scientific information and disinformation in the media, with particular attention to the class as a social group. The aim of the project was to transfer the knowledge acquired through field research into the didactic experimentation of a training path specifically aimed at addressing the main vulnerabilities that emerged among the participants.