Learning biology while experiencing how scientific knowledge is constructed –that is the essence of We delve into research with BIST, a learning-by-doing project undertaken by the first-year students at Angeleta Ferrer Secondary School.
This project, co-created by Angeleta Ferrer’s teachers and BIST Community outreach professionals, posed the fundamental questions: How is science done? Who does it? And how is it communicated? To seek answers, students visited two BIST Community Centres, IBEC and IRB Barcelona, where they toured specialized labs and observed many researchers in action. But that was just the beginning.
Employing a learning-by-doing methodology, students devised their own scientific research projects working in small groups with the advice of BIST Community researchers. Using the scientific method, they conducted experiments and drew conclusions on how the living organisms feed, relate, and reproduce.
Their results were presented in poster format in a public event held on March 11 at the Barcelona Science Park. The event was attended by their teachers, families, and many of the BIST community researchers and professionals who had supported them throughout their learning journey.
The students prepared posters and explained them to their families in a public event
Fifteen BIST Community members, including PhD students, postdocs and outreach professionals, got involved in this course edition of We delve into research with BIST. Miquel Bosch, a PhD student at the IBEC’s Integrative cell and tissue dynamics research group is one of them:
“I proposed two questions directly related with my research field -the physical forces that determine the cellular and tissue functions- to two student groups. We made analogies between my experiments and some household materials such as elastic bands. In this way, the students were able to measure, analyse, and validate the hypotheses they had formulated.”
Miquel Bosch explains that both student groups were very involved in the research and that they enjoyed each of the steps. One of the experiments they did can be seen in this short video.
Miquel Bosch (left) with one of the students he advised. The students received feedback during their presentations (right).
Getting to know better the researchers was also one of the project’s objectives. To achieve this, students interviewed the researchers, providing an opportunity to practice their English language skills. “I think they were surprised to see that we are very similar, as we share hobbies. After all, it hasn’t been too many years since I was like them,” said Miquel Bosch.
More images from We delve into research with BIST project, can be seen here.
Contributing to society’s scientific literacy
Through the collaboration with the Angeleta Ferrer Secondary School, a centre for innovation in science education and training for teachers in STEAM disciplines, BIST aims to contribute to society’s scientific literacy. With this objective, the BIST Outreach Commission is also leading other initiatives such as the new Investiga’m programme, or the participation of the BIST Community in the STEAMConf Barcelona, which will take place from April 18 to 20th.
