Deliberating science in Italian high school. The case of the Scienza Attiva project

Abstract

This paper provides an analysis of the implementation and the outcomes of Scienza Attiva, an Italian national project for secondary school students, that makes use of deliberative democracy tools to address socio-scientific issues of great impact. The analysis has required a mixed method including surveys of students' pre-and post-project opinions, focus groups and interviews with students and teachers. The results from this evaluation study provide evidence that the project improves students' understanding of socio-scientific issues, strengthens their awareness of the importance of discussion and positively influences interactions in the classroom. AbstractCitizen science; Public engagement with science and technology; Science education Keywords

Citizen Science, K-12 science education and use of technology: a synthesis of empirical research

“…In addition, in the study of Merlino et al [2015] students managed to master informatics solutions skills and in the study of Zárybnická, Sklenicka and Tryjanowski [2017] the students improved their technical skills (i.e., machining and material processing, how to process project documentation). Last, five studies reported positive behavioral learning outcomes, and specifically an increase in students' engagement in the scientific process [Chen and Cowie, 2013;Condon and Wichowsky, 2018;Herodotou et al, 2018] whilst, one study reported on the benefits that may arise in students' social skills [Cornali, Pomatto and Agnella, 2017] and one study reported on a positive intended behavior of students' towards biodiversity [Kelemen-Finan, Scheuch and Winter, 2018].…”

“…Students' motivational beliefs influence content knowledge and outcome expectations, which in turn can affect their STEM career goals [European Commission, 2016;Rocard et al, 2007]. These results have implications for incorporating authentic fieldwork within a formal school structure as an effective method for supporting students' science learning, for promoting student achievement and STEM career motivation [Wallace and Bodzin, 2017] and towards fostering social skills and competences necessary for citizenship education [Cornali, Pomatto and Agnella, 2017].…”

“…Those packages aimed to promote inspiring science teaching, by facilitating the collaboration between teachers and scientists through joint activities. Moreover, Cornali, Pomatto and Agnella [2017] used a web-platform for the purposes of the Scienza Attiva CS project. The web platform supported the interaction and communication among students and experts and provided space for sharing knowledge.…”