The pilot phase was completed in high schools in the Veneto region gained success overall. Participating teachers recounted high levels of pupil engagement with the inquiry activities available on the online platform. One teacher in particular revealed that pupils showed interest and enthusiasm throughout the inquiry learning process, and that the activities gave “greater independence” during learning time. Another teacher commented that “making connections to Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) practices allows pupils to think about science topics beyond the context of the science classroom”.

During the implementation of the pilot phase, 16 activities involved chemistry content, 11 activities involved physics topics, and 6 activities covered biology content. A total of 33 of the selected 38 activities were carried out in a classroom setting (87%) and 5 out of 38 of the selected activities were completed off of school grounds in real-world settings like grocery stores and forested areas (13%). The top 5 activities selected by teachers from the online platform were: Build an Atom; Which Soap is the Best?; Carbon detective in Transport; Sinking and Floating; and, Where does food come from?. All of the pupils that completed the activities were 11 years of age or older, and 81% of the Ark of Inquiry activities implemented during the pilot phase were catered towards pupils aged 13 to 16 (31 out of the 38 total implemented activities).

At the end of the pilot phase survey and during face-to-face meetings, participating teachers commented that the inquiry activities allowed pupils to apply their scientific knowledge to problems facing the world today; pupils did this by using communication, teamwork and problem-solving skills. Teachers all agreed that the development of these skills is essential for pupils’ success in higher education settings and in their daily lives.

All 14 participating educators conveyed positive feedback about the project. Each of them completed at least 30 hours of work on the project, and most chose to complete more than one activity with their classes. The preparation beforehand, which included the teacher training course, helped them to better understand the reasoning for using inquiry-based activities in the science classroom. Attending the trainings and meetings in-person was helpful for their own class preparation, with one teacher commenting that the meetings were, “interesting and useful thanks to a fruitful discussion and also … a good opportunity to review my teaching skills”.

The success of the pilot phase in Italy was ensured through the dedication of the participating teachers.  The full pilot phase report, with descriptive statistics and images of the activities being implemented in classrooms can be accessed from the right menu.

Teachers and educators interested in joining the implementation phase of the project or who would like more information should join the Ark of Inquiry Project Community .

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“Ark of Inquiry: Inquiry Awards for Youth over Europe” is a research and development project on teacher training, oriented towards raising science awareness, particularly that of youth aged 7 to 18, to Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI). Funded by the European Commission and involving 13 project partners from 12 countries, the project started in 2014 and has a duration of 4 years.”

“UNESCO with the support of its Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe, Venice (Italy), is involved in a large number of Work Packages (WP). It is leader of WP7 (Dissemination), and it plays a contributing role to WP2 (Collection of inquiry activities and environments), WP3 (Supporting community), WP4 (Training), WP5 (Evaluation) and WP6 (Implementation).”