Hosted by , contributed by Kyriaki_Vakkou on 13 December 2022
Student field trips to science centres and science museums have long been part of the educational programmes of all schools across Europe, with many exhibitions of science centres and museums developed with school students and their families as their main target audience. This very powerful interaction between the formal and informal education sectors has recently been hit by the COVID‐19 crisis. Hence, a challenge has arisen to continue schools’ access to services and learning resources provided by science centres and science museums, as well as to develop effective methods and technological tools that can facilitate fruitful interactions between visitors and exhibitions.
New digital technologies can provide the transformative opportunity to support the development of solutions that enhance the digital presence of science centres and science museums in student learning. The VIRTUAL PATHWAYS approach is based on the Open Schooling concept that promotes the collaboration of schools with non‐formal and informal education providers, enterprises, and civil society to ensure relevant and meaningful engagement of all societal actors with science and increase the uptake of science studies and science‐based careers, employability and competitiveness. By combining expertise from innovative interventions in schools and informal science learning settings, the project can bring real‐life projects to the classroom and engage students with projects and activities that simulate the real scientific work by building on the strengths of both formal and informal science pedagogy.
In detail, the VIRTUAL PATHWAYS methodology describes the pedagogical principles for the design of a virtual pathway, the guiding principles to achieve positive learning outcomes for the students, the strategies to introduce innovation and openness at schools, the parameters for successful implementation and the template for the design of a virtual pathway. The activities in a pathway are structured in three phases (pre-visit, visit and post visit) and are strongly correlate with the 5E system of inquiry-based science education, which are Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate and Evaluate.
The VIRTUAL PATHWAYS project provides opportunities for schools and museums to work together through small‐scale experimental projects that apply agile and user-friendly digital technologies to a selected area of activities, such as the first scientific revolution in 1600, the current Nobel Prize‐winning discoveries, and more.
The proposed methodology and tools of the VIRTUAL PATHWAYS, which can be impactful and resilient to unpredictable disruptions such as the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, can support the development of students’ 21st century skills and interest in careers related to science. In addition, the project can facilitate the creation of resilient connections between schools, science museums and science centres by incorporating digital technologies into everyday school activities. The project demonstrates the development of solutions that enhance the digital presence of science museums and science centres in student learning through online field trips enriched with 3D digitization and AR/VR applications that tap in the creative potential of technology to offer transformative experiences for schools.