Five design tools created to improve the learning of scientific subjects - particularly physics - with the aim of making the discipline more accessible and engaging for students. This is the ‘Design for Physics’ project, a collaboration between the European Institute of Design (IED) in Rome and the Department of Physics of Sapienza University of Rome. The study, published in the journal Physics Education, highlights how the integration of aesthetics and functionality in laboratory instruments can improve the physics learning experience, getting students more involved. The project, coordinated by researchers Giovanni Organtini, professor of experimental physics at the Department of Physics of Sapienza University of Rome, Gianfranco Bombaci, coordinator of the IED Rome School of Design, and Mauro Del Santo, coordinator of the IED Rome Master's  in Design for Children, involved students in the creation of functional and aesthetically pleasing teaching tools.

The equipment designed - including inclined planes, pendulums and springs - is made from low-cost materials and is easy to assemble, allowing schools to equip themselves with laboratory instruments without excessive costs. The CAD models are available free of charge under a Creative Commons licence (CC-BY-NC-SA) so that teachers and students can reproduce and adapt them to suit their needs. These include the Free Fall Apparatus, a tool that helps students understand the laws of gravity in a direct way. In particular, the device allows the precise measurement of the falling time of a ball thanks to a hammer mechanism connected to a smartphone app. Then there is the interactive pendulum, equipped with an adjustable support and a system that projects movement, facilitating the observation of oscillatory phenomena. The roller, on the other hand, is a cylindrical structure into which a smartphone can be inserted, making it possible to study rotational motion and analyse the variation of the moment of inertia. Using different roller configurations and data provided by smartphone sensors, students can explore the dynamics of rotational motion. The set is completed by the Inclined Plane, which uses the smartphone's sensors to analyse the motion of a body on an inclined surface, and the Launcher, a device that can accurately reproduce parabolic trajectories.

' Learning is not just about memorising concepts, it is about giving meaning to what you have learned. The aesthetics of the tools used to learn plays a significant role in the creation of meaning, as it stimulates interest in the discipline through the experience of beauty,' says Giovanni Organtini, professor of Experimental Physics at Sapienza University of Rome and lead author of the study. ‘Moreover, design is not just about giving tools a pleasing appearance: its role is also to study the most effective production process, and to make the way we use them more intuitive. This work will allow us to conduct research in the hitherto almost unexplored field of the role played by aesthetics in teaching effectiveness'.

To assess the effectiveness of the project, the researchers conducted questionnaires among the students and allowed them and a group of teachers to directly test the developed tools. The experience showed several positive effects: students who were actively involved in designing and testing the tools became more familiar with physics concepts and also improved their attitudes towards the subject. The combination of design and practice made learning more concrete and stimulating, strengthening involvement and understanding of scientific phenomena. Even teachers, challenged without prior instruction, found the tools intuitive and suitable to reinforce experimental activity in the classroom. Overall, the project demonstrates how design applied to education can be an opportunity to make science teaching more effective and engaging. ‘One of my main problems was not having practical demonstrations of the theories,’ said one student, ’this project has changed the way I learn ‘.

‘The unusual and colourful shapes of the works are designed to inspire creative associations between art and science disciplines,’ says Mauro Del Santo, coordinator of the IED Rome Master's course in Design for Children and author of the study. ‘Simple geometries and bright colour contrasts recall the radical style that characterised Italian design in the 1960s and 1970s, proposing a provocative and revolutionary vision of design as a tool to stimulate creativity and make people reflect on the relationship between function and symbol, between object and message. The elements are thus not limited to satisfying practical needs, but are transformed into visual manifestos, breaking with the traditional separation between disciplines and inviting us to explore new connections’.

The project has received important awards, including inclusion in the ADI Design Index 2024 and nomination for the prestigious Compasso d'Oro award. In addition, ADI Lazio awarded the project the Excellence in Design in Lazio prize. The creators hope that this research will open up new avenues in the field of science education, promoting further studies on the role of aesthetics in learning.

References:

Giovanni Organtini, Mauro Del Santo, Gianfranco Bombaci, "Design for Physics", in Physics Education (2025). DOI: 10.1088/1361-6552/adba30

Further Information: 

Giovanni Organtini

Department of Physics

giovanni.organtini@uniroma1.it