Questioning, investigating and problem solving: reconstructing geology scenarios

Abstract

With the expectation to contribute to a more frequently application of Problem Based Learning (PBL) in Science Education, the results from the present work promotes a reflection among students achievements gained from PBL like, for example, questioning, investigating, communication, collaborative work in small groups or even cognitive knowledge. As part of a larger project of “Science Education for Citizenship Through Problem-Based Learning”, the carried out study also intended to reconstruct geology scenarios to increase their potential to promote knowledge for a sustainable development among natural sciences’ students. Results from a quasi-experimental design reveal gains in term of scientific reasoning and acquaintance of scientific processes, being similar the achievements related to cognitive knowledge in both control and experimental groups.

Keywords

• questioning
• investigating
• problem-solving
• geological scenarios