The social dimension of chemistry is relevant and present in numerous socio-scientific issues, for example, the use of plastics. These issues can be covered at school by implementing strategies such as role-playing, which allow different perspectives to be understood, thereby helping to promote changes in attitude. This paper presents a pilot-study about the design and results obtained in the role-playing game “Should we ban single-use plastics?”, which covers the problem of plastics in a secondary school chemistry class by way of argumentation and decision making. Role-playing allows students to represent the viewpoints of different important actors in this area both in favor of a ban on their use (fisherman, environmental scientist, teenager, biodegradable material manufacturer) and against (manufacturer of disposable surgical products, teenager, worker in a plastic cutlery factory, director of an oil company). This role-playing was implemented virtually for a class of grade-8 school students (secondary schoolers in Spain). The main findings include the promotion of learning about the chemical aspects of plastics and the change in attitude of some students regarding this issue after preparing and using arguments and counterarguments based on scientific evidence in a debate. Role-playing is well received by students and helps them to experience positive emotions. Students were found to be very critical of the issue addressed, and the COVID-19 pandemic appeared to affect their decisions.
Socio-scientific issues demonstrate the relationship between science, technology, and society by considering currently unresolved questions. The problem of plastics and their pollution is just one example with important implications for the planet. The aim of this paper is to revisit socio-scientific issues and see them as a way of developing citizens’ critical thinking skills through chemistry education. In light of the problems posed by plastics, we present evidence tested with Spanish grade-8 students of how critical thinking skills can be developed through chemistry education in terms of the vision of chemistry, understanding acquisition, a holistic approach to problems, critical analysis of information, argumentation, decision making, personal autonomy, and communication. This study also presents some examples of how progress in the development of critical thinking by students has been evaluated.
La contaminación por plásticos supone un reto social y educativo con una necesidad urgente de respuesta. La práctica científica de indagación se muestra como un enfoque adecuado para afrontar este problema en la educación secundaria al permitir desarrollar destrezas de investigación y actitudes hacia la química. Este trabajo presenta una indagación sobre la degradación de plásticos en el medio natural llevada a cabo con estudiantes españoles de secundaria (14-15 años), donde aprenden sobre sus posibles transformaciones físicas y químicas, y sus consecuencias para el medio ambiente
Resumen En la enseñanza-aprendizaje de la biología es imprescindible que el alumnado de secundaria adquiera la capacidad de tomar decisiones en su vida diaria fundamentadas en cuestiones científicas. Para ello, este artículo presenta el juego educativo GeneticsHome que persigue promover el aprendizaje de las leyes de la herencia, la trasmisión de los genes polialélicos codificantes de los grupos sanguíneos (sistema ABO) y sus probabilidades, aplicándolos a un caso real, empleando la gamificación para despertar la motivación y el interés de los estudiantes. Este juego se ha puesto en práctica con un grupo piloto de 15 estudiantes españoles de 16 años de educación secundaria obligatoria del colegio Gibraljaire (Málaga). Los resultados de las percepciones del alumnado, evaluadas a través de dos cuestionarios, muestran que GeneticsHome promueve el aprendizaje de estos contenidos y mejora el interés, la motivación y la participación del alumnado. Además, contribuye a adquirir unos conocimientos como base de un aprendizaje razonado, con aplicación en la vida cotidiana.
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