IDiverSE, which stand for Islands Diversity for Science Education, aims at addressing the diversity of Islands – from geographic and biological diversity, to cultural heterogeneity and societal challenges.

Diversity is a very important concept. While it provides us with the rich variety of species and habitats we have in our planet, it is the key point in the resilience of the Earth’s ecosystems, including Human life and development. Understanding the differences and similarities among people, places, fauna, flora, geographical features, conditions for life and adaptation to diverse natural, social and cultural environments, among others, is at the very heart of this project.

Students involved in the project will learn how to conduct experiments that will expose them to the collaborative inquiry methodology benefiting their local communities with the findings of their research projects. While discovering the specific cultural, social and natural conditions of their local habitat and comparing it to the specificities of the other islands participating in the project, students will be able to better understand the value of their islands as well as the importance of protecting their cultural and natural heritage. At the same time, they will be realizing the impact of human activities in the local fauna and flora, assessing the behaviour of their local community and acting accordingly in order to raise awareness and bring development to their islands.

Steps of the project

Students will learn how to perform scientific research through a series of already prepared short experiments that involve the contact with their local community and follow the inquiry-based science learning methodology, where they will work together with students from other islands, collecting and sharing relevant data with each other.

After going through these experiments, students will be called into becoming the active leaders of the process and, through the four steps of the design thinking methodology, develop projects that are meaningful and bring an added value to their islands and communities. As such, students will follow the following steps:

• Feel - students will select the topics that are most relevant to their community, and will collect important data regarding those topics, as well as evaluate the level of awareness of their community;

• Imagine – students will look at the data they have collected in the Feel phase, and will brainstorm ideas for possible solutions and how to apply them. Students will discuss among each other and involve community members and other important stakeholders in order to imagine possible solutions for the chosen topics.

• Create – always following the scientific method, students will make experiments to understand if their imagined solutions are applicable and effective, and will create their final solutions (with the collaboration of their community) that should be applicable and practical to target the chosen topics; students will find ways to implement their solutions together with their communities, opening the doors to development;

• Share - students will create physical science trails in their islands, where they will explore means to create awareness among their communities with a series of experiments that will bring knowledge about specific topics to the participants, and provide tips about possible solutions they can adopt, as well as enhance the possible best practices of their own island. The science trail will be co-created in partnership between the school and the local community.