Students at the Prirodoslovna i grafička škola in Rijeka, Croatia have put equipment provided by YLACES to good use. Dino Bešic and Sarah Butigan conducted an investigation on determining the presence of heavy metals in the air by using several measurement techniques. They submitted their work to the 2016 GLOBE Virtual Science Fair, and won a $2,000 stipend to help defray the costs of attending the GLOBE 2016 Annual Meeting in Estes Park, Colorado, in July and participating in the Student Research Experience that will take place during the meeting.
With access to affordable equipment, the students did environmental science research. They experienced the scientific method and communicated their results. Among the student learning outcomes reported by their teacher Marina Pavlic were the following:
Develop the ability to recognize and ask research questions and hypotheses
Plan and conduct the research and make conclusions based on argumentative results
Plan how to solve problems using adequate methods, tools, and assistance
Monitoring and evaluating the process of solving problems, verifying the steps taken
Critical questioning about conclusions
Distinguish scientific methods from other methods
These are all scientific habits of mind, and inculcating these in the intellectual abilities of students is the ultimate objective of YLACES. Well done!