Good Practices

Background: The first Cyprus TPD course took place from October 2015 to June 2016, for a total of 42 contact hours of collaborative meetings, plus time spent for individual design work, preparation of the implementations in the classroom, and actual implementations with students.

The exemplar presented here took place during the first two face-to-face meetings of the Teacher Professional Development Program in Cyprus.  During these meetings the in-service science teachers had the opportunity to investigate the controversial topic of antibiotics in livestock, using two online learning environments specifically designed for this task by the local PARRISE team. The online environments provided teachers with the opportunities to investigate and define the pillars of the SSIBL framework (scientific inquiry, socio-scientific issues, critical citizenship, situated within an RRI topic and contributing to responsible research and innovation).

The activity was divided in two parts. During the first part, teachers were asked to become “learners”, and engage in the activity to develop an evidence-based argument about the issue of antibiotics in livestock. During the second part of the activity teachers were asked to act as “reflective practitioners” and examine the environment from the perspective of the teacher, reflecting on students’ needs and how they could scaffold them in investigating the topic themselves.

In the first part of the activity teachers were presented with the web-based environment and were asked to provide an evidence-based response to the driving question: “Should the antibiotics in livestock be banned?” This topic is controversial, and the different stakeholders involved have varied interests which complicate a simple answer to the matter. Teachers were divided in eight groups representing the stakeholders involved in the specific controversy (e.g. farmers, concerned scientists, pharmaceutical companies, etc.). Each group of stakeholders was asked to examine the website presenting the controversy, using the perspective of their  stakeholder group. They were also asked to discuss and develop arguments supporting the stakeholder’s position, in preparation for the debate. Arguments were documented in google docs, to facilitate group work and sharing.

The activity continued with a debate among the different stakeholders. A representative for each stakeholder presented the position of his/her group. Non-participating teachers asked questions, clarifications, provided additional arguments, etc.   The following video, taken from the session with the teachers, shows how the presentation of each stakeholder group unfolded:

The activity concluded with a plenary, reflective discussion, connecting back to the PARRISE approach and goals.

During the second part of the activity, the teachers formed 8 groups and were invited to analyze the web-based learning environment “What type of meat would you buy?” The online environment was based on the first activity (PART A) and was now structured as a learning environment for students, with structured tabs to scaffold their navigation of the online environment. Each group was asked to complete a Google docs and report on the aspects of the SSIBL framework addressed by the learning environment.
The activity was completed with a discussion at the plenary. Teachers were asked to share their critiques, reflect on and discuss the SSIBL-related activities they identified.

The training course was designed for a total of 25 hours: 15 hours corresponding to a set of five, face-to-face, theory-driven and practical classroom sessions and 10 hours of individual, distance learning. During the distance-learning component of the course that followed the first four classroom sessions (representing a total of 12 hours), the participants implemented the activities and resources developed during the face-to-face sessions in their own schools. A final discussion session was organized to gather the participants’ feedback on their individual actions, setting a supportive stage for discussion, reflection, review and sharing of practices.   The following diagram shows the design of the TPD:

The activity was implemented by four 10th grade classes with the main goal to raise awareness among students about the need for prevention, control and reduction of health risks caused by drugs like nicotine and caffeine, as foreseen in the curricular unit “Distribution of matter: transport mechanisms in animals” (Unit 2, 10th grade Biology/Geology Program).

The main goal of this practical activity was to evaluate the toxicity of a selection of substances used by humans in their everyday life, using Daphnia magna as a model organism. Daphnia magna is an excellent subject for studying the effects of caffeine and nicotine due to the translucent exoskeleton and the visibly altered heart rate. They are well tolerant of the stress induced by manipulation and observation under a binocular lens.

By taking advantage of the moti
vational potential of laboratory work it was intended to provide a scientific basis from which to prompt discussion of the effects and risks of drug consumption habits within different societal groups, based on the outcomes gathered through a survey aimed at the school community.