Developing and Implementing a Low-Cost, Portable Pedagogical Kit to Foster Students' Water Quality Awareness and Engagement by Sampling Coastal Waters and Analyzing Physicochemical Properties

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2020

Authors

Araujo, JL (Author) Other; Carla Morais (Author) FCUP; João Paiva (Author) FCUP

Journal

Title: Journal of Chemical Education

Vol. 97 No. 8

Pages: 3697-3701

ISSN: 0021-9584

Publisher: American Chemical Society

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 13 Citations

Scopus - 13 Citations

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-00S-N44

DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.0c00333

Abstract (EN): Contextualized and socially relevant hands-on activities are an effective way to promote students' involvement in the construction of knowledge. Considering the UN's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the preservation of water resources is crucial for the sustainable development of a country. Therefore, the PVC project was implemented in the context of water quality monitoring. There were 440 students and 9 chemistry teachers involved. A low-cost portable pedagogical kit was developed in order to determine the temperature, turbidity, pH, concentration of nitrates and nitrites, percentage of dissolved oxygen, salinity, and presence of microplastics in coastal water samples. The results indicate that the hands-on activities have contributed to the learning of chemical contents related to water quality parameters. Finally, the commitment, motivation, and autonomy of the participating students should be highlighted.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 5