Search

This article presents research designed along one scholar course with first-year pre-schoolers in Spain. A coherent sequence of learning activities, that combined classroom work with working outside the classroom (in the school garden), was designed in order to analyse if the first-year-preschool children were able to apply scientific tools, including the magnifying glass and dichotomous key to observe, compare, classify and identify small animals within their surroundings. The results obtained show that using a magnifying glass, pupils learned to observe in an intentional way to, by means of counting the number of wings and legs and the colour of small animals, compare small animals. The comparison criteria they established based on this observation and comparison, were used to classify and identify other animals by using a dichotomous key. The results show that the students struggled to use keys; thus, help from the teacher was necessary to develop scientific skills as observe, compare, classify and identify.

The present work was carried out with students of compulsory secondary education. The research was prompted by the idea that scientific vocation among young people is shrinking and that this has a significant impact on our society. Consequently, a science project based on the students' interests was proposed. They were able to work as a single group and design the methodology to achieve the goal they set: 'understanding how fish function and knowing all the organs they need to live underwater'. As this objective involves considering fish within a broader system, it seems their research work inspired system thinking. Nevertheless, during the experiment session, they tried to link their comments to a traditional evaluation. Their research questions were completely conditioned by what they thought they would be assessed on under usual conditions. On this basis, they only chose to know the name of the parts and their practical uses. Therefore, although they initially considered the environment as a part to study to learn how fish function, evaluation limited their research to finalist questions. Other results, such as observation of the peer learning process, are also shown.

Augmented reality is gaining presence in the classroom because it allows to combine the physical environment and digital information in real time. An implementation of augmented reality that is attracting great attention are quick response codes because they can be read immediately in smartphones and tablets using free apps. A teaching field where it is beneficial to provide a prompt access to supplementary materials are laboratory sessions in scientific–technical disciplines. There, students realize complex measurement tasks using specific instrumentation, and so it is convenient to access technical documentation and explanations of the measurement process during the session. This work describes how quick response codes can be introduced in laboratory sessions to provide links to specifically designed supporting resources. Thanks to this strategy, an improvement in the acquisition of experimental skills has been observed as well as a better and quicker realization of the practical sessions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]