LINKING PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS TO A RESEARCH PROJECT ON CLIMATE CHANGE AND CITIZEN SCIENCE WITH PRIMARY STUDENTS

The present study analyses the participation of preservice teachers in a research project. The project EDUMAR – Educate for the Sea (SAICT-POL/23480/2016) aims to educate for the preservation and sustainability of the sea and its resources through citizen science. In a context of climate change it is important to aware the community for the need of maintaining biodiversity and marine species sustainability. Based on the national recognition attributed to the sea many schools ask for activities related to this subject. To respond to these community emerging problems the aim of the research project was to create, implement and evaluate interdisciplinary science activities, focusing on the causes and consequences of climate change on the rocky intertidal zone ecosystems. These activities were directed to children (over 300 students of the 4th and 5th grade), with the participation of 13 pre-service teachers, 16 in-service teachers, and researchers.

Pre-service teachers were involved in all activities, which had a varied format and were designed to be implemented in the classroom and out of school contexts such as, science museums, field work and research laboratories. The activities subject was related to the main theme of the project, with particular incidence on the awareness of students to the importance of monitoring both physical-chemical parameters of sea water and species distribution, involving citizen science through the insertion of data regarding species distribution in an online platform. Preservice teachers created and implemented inquiry experimental activities in the classroom and participated in each activity conducted outdoors, with the support of the research team and in-service teachers. The classroom activity aimed to quantify several physicochemical parameters of water (temperature, pH, colour, turbidity) and preservice teachers produced the pedagogical resources and materials, such as, experimental protocols adapted to the age of the students, videos, presentations, experimental designs.
The methodology applied to evaluate the pre-service teachers’ participation was qualitative and included three instruments: questionnaires, observations of the activities implementation, and document analyses.

Results from the open questionnaires before and after the project research activities revealed the scientific and pedagogical improvements, limitations and reflexions, concerning dimensions such as climate changes, citizen science, science didactics, pedagogical strategies and the importance of participation in research projects. Also, the results of participant observation and document analyses data allowed to gather information on the implementation of the activities, particularly on scientific content and language, and on the selection of educational strategies.

This link between education and research provided a new experience for pre-service teachers and the opportunity to learn scientific contents and to develop strategies and pedagogical resources. It also enabled the implementation of activities both in classroom and outdoor environments with children. Together with support and reflection on their new experiences and practices this experience was relevant for an adequate curricular integration.