New Perspectives in Science Education
Beyond the Screen: Narrative Framing and Inquiry-Based Hands-On Science in a Regional Virtual Hub
Antonella Sanna, Ministero dell’Istruzione e del Merito – Équipe Formativa Territoriale Sardegna (Italy)
Abstract
This experience-based contribution presents Nuri and Ilia’s Journey into Science, a regional pathway designed by the author within Sardinia’s Territorial Training Team. It addressed a design problem: how to connect dispersed early-years and primary classrooms online while preserving hands-on science inquiry. The six-hour teacher pathway comprised two hours of preparatory training, two hours of individual study and two hours of online laboratory work with classes, facilitated by the author; teachers who missed the live session could implement the activities independently. The preparatory session covered materials, classroom set-up and documentation procedures. A shared narrative [1] framed inquiry across physically separate classrooms, while inquiry-based science education [2] informed an “I think–I observe–I discover” routine for prediction, observation and explanation. Five hands-on activities included a foaming volcano, an embodied representation of states of matter and an optical-illusion device. Experimentation remained local, with teachers adapting grouping and support. A preliminary descriptive review examined titles, labels and written entries from 91 teacher-authored posts on a shared online board. Cases included observations of visible changes, an analogy linking bodily activity to states of matter, a scientifically incomplete explanation calling for teacher mediation, and an unsuccessful practical trial that led the author to recommend changing the container. The evidence concerns implementation and reported pupil thinking, not learning gains or changes in teachers’ practice. The corpus includes live and later independent implementations, not systematically distinguished in the documentation. Selective reporting, repeated contributions from the same groups and the absence of systematic pre/post assessment limit claims about effectiveness. In this design, remote coordination coexisted with local experimentation, while shared documentation captured moments requiring mediation or practical adjustment. These cases suggest a possible focus for future teacher preparation: responding to incomplete explanations and unsuccessful trials.
Keywords: narrative framing; inquiry-based science education; hands-on science; Virtual Hub; early-years education; primary education.
REFERENCES
[1] Avraamidou, L., & Osborne, J. (2009). The role of narrative in communicating science. International Journal of Science Education, 31(12), 1683–1707. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500690802380695
[2] Artigue, M., Dillon, J., Harlen, W., & Léna, P. (2012). Learning through Inquiry. Fibonacci Project. https://fondation-lamap.org/sites/default/files/pdf_res_int/learning_through_inquiry_web.pdf
