New Perspectives in Science Education

In this paper we make a re-examination of the messages resulting from the communication products created by pupils of secondary school after participating to learning paths focused on new technologies and raw materials in electronics. The path is inserted in Raw Matter Ambassadors at Schools project (RM@schools) [1] funded by the European Institute for Innovation and Technology (EIT)  with the aim of catching the interest of youngsters towards STEM subject and making careers in raw materials (RM) attractive for youngsters. The project proposes to 10-17-year old pupils an active learning pathway where students, after attending RM-related classes, are asked to become science communicators and to create dissemination products focused on issues related to RM. The starting lesson called “Don’t throw away your mobile” deals with chemical elements applied in emerging technologies, e.g. Gallium in light emitting diode (LED) illumination, Rare Earth Elements in high efficiency permanent magnets, and Indium in flat panel displays and solar cells, etc. All these elements can be found in a mobile phone, a device that is very attractive for youngsters, from here the name of the lesson. More than 20 dissemination products collected along 4 years of activity are examined [2]. Due to the general character of the lesson, the related dissemination products deal with several topics including ethical and geopolitical issues consequent to the exploitation of natural resources, the analysis of the materials composing mobile and recycling strategies, and the researches focused on the substitution of critical materials with environmentally friendly alternatives. In addition to the most used communication tools like didactic videos and power point presentations, the pupils’ creativity elaborated also stories in the form of comics [2], cartoons, a videogame, and interviews about consumer trends. A detailed analysis allows to understand which are the most important RM-related issues for pupils and identify the most promising strategies for an unbiased communication of the topic. 

Keywords: secondary school, critical raw materials, electronics, research, communication.

References:
[1] http://rmschools.isof.cnr.it
[2] https://rmschools.isof.cnr.it/gallery-2016.html