Between 1-2 hours

Forests toolkit #3 – How is the debate on forests portrayed by the media?

The aim of this activity is to enable students’ engagement in meaningful science-society interaction and the development of critical thinking competence in the area of “Forest use vs. Forest Protection”. It enables students to gain insights into the work and considerations of a journalist and highlight core aspects which distinguish journalism from opinion-makers with different agendas. At the same time, students gain insight into local forest-related issues.

Antimicrobial Resistance #1 – What do you think about AMR? Stakeholders’ views

This activity explores AMR from the perspective of different stakeholders in order to document the issue, elaborate on the challenges to be addressed and practice critical thinking. Authentic media items are provided to students, representing the positions of different societal actors. The goal is to raise awareness of the issue and reflect on the credibility of the information using an information literacy test. It is important to note that the activity is introduced after an initial brainstorming to get students familiar with basic facts and knowledge related to bacteria, antibiotics and resistance.

Air pollution #2 – What do we think about clean and polluted air?

The aim of this activity is to develop students’ modelling competence, enabling them to identify their own initial ideas about both clean and polluted air. They are asked to create drawings and written descriptions of how they imagine clean and polluted air, both as seen with the naked eye and in smaller scales.

Air pollution #3 – Building the idea of pollution caused by PM

The aim of this activity is to help students gain an understanding of air pollution that is compatible with its scientific definitions. Specifically, it focuses on the understanding of air pollution as the presence of suspended particulate matter (PM) in the air. Students first analyse which pollutant is usually referred to by the media when describing urban air quality. Then, they carry out a learning lab activity exploring an analogy – they compare the pollution generated by an engine to what happens when a peanut is burned instead.

Air pollution #4 -How is scientific research carried out?

The aim of this activity is to develop students’ critical thinking about what we understand by high-quality research in science. This activity is conducted in two steps: (1) reflecting about different ways of answering a scientific question; and (2) analysing the processes of carrying out research using quality criteria such as: validity, reliability, and usefulness.

Air pollution #7 – Effects of pollution on human health

The aim of this activity is to make students aware of the consequences of air pollution exposure to human health. They also learn about some of the human body’s passive mechanisms that protect us against pollutants suspended in the air. Students analyse how different particles present in the air (such as particulate matter in suspension, dust, CO2…) may penetrate their bodies and which passive mechanisms our bodies use to prevent intrusion.