Creating young scientists through community science projects

Abstract

This research aimed to develop an STS-based learning unit on biological control to enhance scientific inquiry capability of secondary school students through community science projects. It was framed by the science-technology- society (STS) teaching approach, and focused on collaboration between individual students, peers, teachers, agriculturists, and local experts. Students were assessed for their scientific inquiry ability at the beginning and the end of the learning process using five instruments: experimental skill test, students' laboratory reports, students' science projects, semi-structured interview and classroom observation. The results showed that the STS-based learning unit on biological control helped students gain significant improvement in scientific inquiry. They were able to apply and integrate the scientific knowledge learned in both classroom and field studies to help solve agricultural problems in their own communities. Moreover, this learning unit encouraged students' skills in solving problems in other situations. © 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd.