Conference Program

This study mainly aims to investigate which methodology - between “Explicit Instruction” [1] and “Inquiry-Based-Science-Education” (IBSE) [2] is best suited for one neurodiverse physics student at the University of Palermo and whether the modern technology such as ChatGPT can support the execution of four laboratory activities selected by the researchers, namely the study of Ohm’s law, the study of the charging and discharging process of a capacitor, the study of the magnetic field generated by solenoid carrying direct current and the verification of the Faraday-Neumann-Lenz law. It is worth noting that the last experiment was conducted over 43 days to analyze whether the neurodivergent student maintained the ability to use the laboratory instruments and remembered the earlier laboratory activities, as the last aim of the research. To gain a better understanding of the learning processes implemented by the neurodivergent student, the researchers had him experience three different situations in the physics laboratory. One with only one of the researchers acting as a guide, one with a neurotypical group of students (a neurotypical person is an individual whose neurological, cognitive, and behavioral functioning aligns with what is considered typical or standard within the general population) and one where the neurodivergent student worked alone. In all these situations, ChatGPT was available to use as a lab-partner. In the study, qualitative data collection methods, such as participant observation [3] and semi-structured interviews [4], and Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) methods [5, 6, 7] were used to collect and analyze the answers and perceptions of the one neurodivergent student.