THE INSTITUTO DE NANOCIENCIA Y MATERIALES DE ARAGÓN PRESENTS THE EDUCATIONAL INNOVATION PROJECT “AGENCIA DE NANOCRÍTIC@S” WITH THE AIM OF ENCOURAGING CRITICAL THINKING IN ARAGONESE SCHOOLCHILDREN
– In the 2020/2021 academic year, Aragonese schoolchildren will be able to take part in the “Agency of nanocritic@s” workshops to encourage critical thinking and decision-making based on scientific evidence.
– Critical thinking is in great demand by teachers and is non-existent in the current educational curriculum.
– The “Agencia de Nanocrític@s” is a project designed by the Instituto de Nanociencia y Materiales de Aragón (INMA) with the collaboration of the Fundación Española para la Ciencia y la Tecnología – Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology – Ministry of Science and Innovation).
Zaragoza, 9 November 2020.
The Instituto de Nanociencia y Materiales de Aragón (INMA), a joint institute of the CSIC and the University of Zaragoza (UNIZAR) presents the educational innovation project “Agencia de NanoCrític@s”, an educational project highly demanded by teachers and non-existent in the current educational curriculum. It is about approaching the scientific method by applying it to a real case where participants can reach a solution elaborated by their own means and reflective reasoning.
The aim of this project is to promote critical thinking and support actions aimed at training primary, secondary and high school students in the process of generating scientific knowledge and providing them with the necessary tools to develop their critical thinking and evidence-based decision-making. It is important to note that in this project there is no one right solution and the same conclusion is not always reached. However, the key to NanoCrític@s Agency is that participants learn to discern between potentially false data and previously contrasted truthful data, discovering the key steps of the scientific method.
According to the survey on the Social Perception of Science carried out by the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology, 51% of citizens believe that it is difficult to understand science. If we add to this that the area that we disseminate from the INMA is nanoscience, a branch that works at such a small scale that can not be seen with the naked eye, this makes its understanding is not very intuitive and can arise pockets of misinformation around it.
On the other hand, nanoscience is a multidisciplinary area that encompasses research in fields as varied as medicine, the environment and food, among others. These areas are exposed to a multitude of information that on many occasions is not contrasted and can give rise to false beliefs, myths or even pseudoscientific theories. For this reason, at our Institute, we consider it essential to disseminate this branch and the advances in this discipline to educational groups in Aragon through the generation of tools, such as this one, which encourage critical thinking.
Our extensive experience in dissemination has shown us that the dissemination of results is as important as the research itself, which is why, in this activity, the students are participants in the scientific method in the first person. This involvement on the part of participants favours the main objective of the project, which is that participants learn to discern between potentially false data and previously contrasted truthful data.
Registration is now open for these workshops called “Agencia de Nanocrític@s” in which all Aragonese schoolchildren in Primary, Secondary and Baccalaureate education in the 2020/2021 academic year who register before 15 November will be able to participate.
Registrations can be made by filling in a form and for more information, please contact ilucas@unizar.es, inmadivulgacion@unizar.es; educacion@esciencia.es or telephone 976762777; 976875237.
The Instituto de Nanociencia y Materiales de Aragón (INMA), aims to carry out, in a collaborative framework, research and technological development activities in the field of Nanoscience, Nanotechnology and Materials Science and Technology and its international projection. To contribute to the progress and increased competitiveness of the productive sector through the national and international dissemination of the knowledge generated and the transfer of its results, improving the living conditions of society. To promote scientific culture by disseminating its activities to society and, in turn, to ensure that the research carried out has an impact on improving university teaching, and vice versa.
Agencia de Nanocrític@s is a project funded by theFundación Española para la Ciencia y la Tecnología – Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación.
