Abstract:

Inquiry-Based Science Education (IBSE) has been promoted as an inspiring way of learning Science to all ages students.

The pedagogical approach based on Inquiry allows students to develop their understanding of scientific phenomena (Minner, Levy, & Century, 2010) and make them more confident with scientific method. Moreover, pupils develop scientific literacy,an important aspect that must be improved, according to the last results of OCSE PISA in Science in Italian schools.

IBSE has four levels of inquiry, so the approach of students to this learning method can be gradually proposed starting from primary school. Due to COVID-19 pandemic situation, an effective teacher should inspire students to learn Science. Initially the main problem was if it is possible to make laboratory investigation in e-learning.

In this work, students of secondary school have experienced the IBSE method to solvE an actual problem of plastic pollution. The aims of this proposal are the SDGs n.12 and 14 and scientific literacy, together with the developing of key competencies for lifelong learning.

The IBSE approach starts with Engage, an everyday situation about this problem that students can inquiry through questions and brainstorming using web apps. They are involved in the problem of biodegradability and compostability of plastic materials they use in everyday life. The role of teacher is as facilitator and guide during the activity. Using cloud storage and collaboration tools online, students can Explore the project and share ideas about the experimentation. The experiments can be made at home using poor materials, such as plastic wastes, little pots and vegetable waste.

The Explanation phase of IBSE approach can lead students to change their mind thanks to communication and metacognition.

Elaboration phase uses online meetings and cooperative learning to debate about this topic, guided by teacher input for student discussion. All phases have an Evaluation time to a formative and self assessment, done with web tools and online rubrics. The summative evaluation takes into consideration the whole learning process, with a digital portfolio.

This work can be suitable for students of different ages in various local situations and it is useful to be reused in peer education and in future classes.

References:
[1] Minner, D. D., Levy, A. J., & Century, J. (2010), Inquiry-based science instruction-what is it and does it matter? Results from a research synthesis years 1984 to 2002. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 47(4), 474–496.

Keywords:

Bioplastic, biodegradability, compostability, e-learning, ICT, webapp, webtools, debate, IBSE, inquiry.