This paper aims at defining and exploring design principles in a distance technological setting for an educational activity for mathematics undergraduate students, devoted to the construction of basic concepts in general topology, the promotion of problem-solving processes, the development of metacognitive aspects, and, in general, the development…

The educational project "From Soccerene to Fullerene" (FSTF) was a pioneering interdisciplinary experience accomplished by six pupils who discussed it in the 2013 Italian school-leaving examination. The author illustrated the FSTF in the 2014 national conference of the Italian Physical Society (Pisa) eliciting a genuine interest. Here we…

A modern school should encourage students to deepen the subjects autonomously and beyond the normal curricula. Such aim, requiring both well-disposed pupils and cooperative teachers, was reached by the pioneering interdisciplinary project "From Soccerene to Fullerene" in 2013. The scientific education was noticeably improved, especially…

The objective of this paper is to discuss the didactic potential offered by the use of a Dynamic Geometry System (DGS) in introducing students to theoretical thinking and specifically to the practice of proof. Starting from a discussion about what constitutes the general objective in developing students' sense of proof, the notion of Theorem is…

The key questions are: is it true that persons with Down's syndrome can study mathematics only at a very elementary level? Might it be possible that their difficulties are mainly restricted to some fields, such as numeracy and mental computation, but do not encompass the entire domain of mathematics? Is the use of a calculator recommended? Is…