Learning Geo-Edu-Ethics at Junior High School

The project was created to enhance and promote knowledge needed by students to
acquire scientific contents, including specialized ones, through various learning tools.
By doing so, our pupils also had the chance to improve their English language
proficiency as a way of communication in the scientific world.
The idea for this educational activity came after the experience of the Covid 19
pandemic, which shockingly proved how extensive the problem of adults in our
communities is who are unable to trust, understand, discern or judge scientific
information. We realized then how important it is to start working already in Middle
School to provide students with an ability to investigate scientific problems as
scientists do, using logic, experiment and evidence.
Teaching science in school can be a difficult task and there is the risk of making it
boring or hard to understand. So with the 7th graders in the 2021/2022 school year, in
collaboration with the researchers from the University of Tromso, we decided to
close the textbooks and exploit their curiosity towards current environmental issues.
The most interesting and perhaps challenging part of the project was the proposal to
hold a scientific conference open to parents and to the local community.
Using the scientific conference as an "educational pretext" was
fundamental because the kids learned to discuss together and share their "research
or discoveries" just like scientists do in an actual scientific conference.
This helped them to take their accomplishments very seriously.
The project was also enriched thanks to the collaboration of the teachers and
students of a local Science High School, whose students tutored our young pupils. They
helped them to do research and develop ideas for their papers.
In conclusion, collaborating peer to peer as well as with older students and with
researchers overseas, presenting their works in front of an audience in a public
space, have given students the confidence and hope that their contribution is
important and that they can play their part in understanding and managing their
future challenges ahead.