The Impact of Student-Curated Exhibitions about Socio-Scientific Issues on Students’ Perceptions Regarding Their Competences and the Science Classes

The IRRESISTIBLE Project (FP7, Grant 612367) had the aim of involving teachers, students, and the public in the discussion on Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI), promoting both the construction of knowledge on cutting-edge (and controversial) research topics and the discussion about the criteria that these research/innovation processes should respect in order to be considered as responsible. These criteria also represent a strong contribution to a more sustainable future for all. This quantitative research evaluates the impact of IRRESISTIBLE’s student-curated exhibitions–about the RRI dimensions of cutting-edge research topics (socio-scientific issues)–on students’ perceptions regarding their scientific competences and the science classes. A pre- and post-test questionnaire was developed, validated, and applied to students from 10 countries. The overall results of the statistical analysis indicate that students improved their perceptions regarding their competences in developing exhibitions in science classes as a way of creating awareness on topics relating to science, technology, and society. This activity reinforced students’ perceptions that in science classes they: (a) discuss current issues and how they impact their lives; (b) develop socially relevant projects; and (c) learn how to influence other citizens’ decisions about social issues related to science, technology, and the environment with the aim of assuring a more sustainable future.


Introduction
The IRRESISTIBLE Project (FP7-SCIENCE-IN-SOCIETY-2013-1, ACTIVITY 5.2.2; Grant agreement no. 612367; more details at http://www.irresistible-project.eu/index.php/en/) had the aim of involving teachers, students and the public in the process of Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI), promoting both the construction of knowledge on cutting-edge (and controversial) research topics and the discussion about the criteria that these research and innovation processes should respect in order to be considered as responsible [1]. Nowadays, humankind face many serious problems such as climate change, pollution caused by plastic waste, oceans' acidification and food security, all of which can be dealt with responsible manufacturing processes [2].
Each of the twelve partners (from ten different countries) developed a Learning Communityincluding science teachers, teacher educators, research scientists in selected scientific areas and specialists from science centres and museums -with the aim of supporting students and teachers through an Inquiry Based Science Education (IBSE) strategy centred on a cutting-edge socio-scientific issue. These IBSE strategies -organized accordingly to the 5E teaching model [3]: Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate -allowed students to identify the controversial dimensions of each issues [9] -a major dimension of scientific literacy [18,37]; f) moving assessment from a product to a process [9,38].
During the last twenty-years, several studies have focused on how to develop socio-scientific issues based exhibitions, suggesting some design guidelines or principles such as raising curiosity, presenting an interesting narrative, challenging the visitors and stimulating their participation [15,26,27,39,40]. Within the IRRESISTIBLE project, and having in mind the novelty of exhibition development for the majority of the partners, a guide was developed through a design-based research approach. This methodology was used with the aim of developing a tool that could help improving educational practices, through iterative analysis, design, development, and implementation, based on collaboration among researchers and practitioners -the project members -in real-world settings [41]. Along this process, a sequence of several iterations -literature analysis; testing and evaluation of the different interactive scenarios proposed in the guide's prototype during a workshop with science educators, science teachers and science museum experts from the different countries involved in the project; testing and evaluation of the guide's prototype by all the IRRESISTIBLE partners -led from a prototype to the final version of the guide [42]. Each iteration allowed to gather feedback and suggestions of improvement. The final version -made available in several formats: pdf, electronic magazine and e-book -was organized around the following sections: 1) The potential of studentcurated exhibits about Responsible Research and Innovation; 2) Different stages in developing an exhibition; 3) Characteristics of an interactive exhibition and of an interactive object; 4) Possible interactivity scenarios for exhibits; 5) General guidelines for all scenarios; 6) How to evaluate the impact of IRRESISTIBLE exhibitions on teachers, students and visitors.
The concept of interactivity used in this project does not, necessarily, require the presence of technology, but, instead, does certainly require the interaction between the visitors within the exhibit and between them and the objects that are being exhibited [43][44][45]. This interaction does not require any physical movement -the interaction between the visitor and the object exists even if the visitor is only thinking and reflecting on the stimulus from the object [46,47].

Materials and Methods
This quantitative research was aimed to evaluate the impact of IRRESISTIBLE's student-curated exhibitions -about the RRI dimensions of cutting-edge research topics (socio-scientific issues) -on students' perceptions regarding their scientific competences and the science classes. A pre and postquestionnaire was developed, validated and applied to the students participating in the project [48]. The questionnaire was answered by a total of 3368 students on the pre-test (applied before the development of the student-curated exhibitions) and 2433 on the post-test (applied after the entire process of student-curated exhibitions' development) (see table 1), from a total of 7340 students involved in IRRESISTIBLE. Turkey, Poland and Greece were the most represented countries, but Italy and Portugal also had more than 500 respondents each.  The online pre and post-questionnaire comprised 16 items, to be evaluated by students through a five point Likert scale (ranging from totally agree to totally disagree): 1. I'm capable of planning and constructing a science exhibit about a current and relevant scientific theme 2. Planning and constructing a science exhibit is motivating 3. The development of a science exhibit about a given subject allows me to learn more about that subject 4. The construction of science exhibits improves the relationships amongst students 5. The construction of science exhibits improves the relationship between students and teacher 6. ICTs are great tools to support the development of science exhibits 7. I'm capable of creating science exhibits as a way to raise awareness in the community for current and relevant scientific issues 8. Through the development of science exhibits I can influence the decisions and behaviours of other citizen's related to social issues concerning science, technology and environment 9. In my science classes I discuss about current problems and how they affect my life 10. In my science classes I develop competencies that allow me to have a more active role in society 11. In my science classes I'm encouraged to ask questions 12. In my science classes I carry out projects that I consider important and socially relevant 13. In my science classes I learn to act in a socially responsible way 14. In my science classes I learn to respect my colleagues' opinions 15. In my science classes I learn about ways to influence other people's decisions about social issues related to science, technology and society 16. In my science classes I'm responsible for initiatives that allow me to influence other people's decisions about social issues related to science, technology and society The questionnaire was organized in two sections, each one with eight questions: the first section about the student-curated exhibitions (items 1 to 8); the second section about the students' science classes (items 9 to 16). In order to validate the developed sections, the Cronbach's Alpha Index was calculated for both. The attained values for Cronbach's Alpha on the sections was respectively .853 and .876, indicating that the internal consistency of both topics was high (Cronbach's Alpha larger than .8) and illustrating the reliability of the proposed topics [48].
The overall improvement of the sample was calculated -ANOVA test -in order to detect significant statistical differences between the students' perceptions before and after the participation in the project.

Student-curated exhibitions
Within the three years span of the IRRESISTIBLE project a total of 218 exhibitions were developed by the partners, centred on different cutting-edge (and controversial) research topics: a) Nanotechnology (N=131); b) Plastic Pollution in Oceans (N=32); c) Carbohydrates in breast milk (N=21); d) Climate change (N=13); e) Oceanography (N=7); f) Polar Science (N=7); g) Climate Geoengineering (N=6); h) Extension of Portuguese Continental Shelf (N=1). These exhibitions took place mainly in schools and science centres: a) School (N=139); b) Science Centre/Museum (N=70); c) University (N=3); d) Other (N=5). A total of 7340 students were involved in the development of the exhibitions.
Regarding the type of exhibition, and taking into account also the interactivity scenarios presented in the IRRESISTIBLE Exhibition Development Guide that was used by all partners, a great variety of artefacts were produced. Some exhibitions were more homogeneous concerning the type of artefacts; others more eclectic. Table 3 presents the type of artefacts produced within the 218 developed exhibitions. As we can see from table 3, the prevalence of posters, games, multimedia presentations, models and experiments/demonstrations/simulations as the main types of artefacts presented within the exhibitions is clear. The most frequent type of artefact produced within IRRESISTIBLE exhibitions was the poster (on its physical format -2D and also 3D). When we think of a poster, what comes into our minds is something static, that does not imply manipulation by the reader, full of text, with some images -thinking of a poster as something interactive is, perhaps, a hard task. Nevertheless, with the help of the IRRESISTIBLE Exhibitions Development Guide in combination with students' remarkable creativity, the posters developed within the IRRESISTIBLE exhibitions were, indeed, interactive and fulfilled the goal of actively engaging the visitors. Indeed, these posters assumed several formats and required from the visitor different responses (e.g., write opinions/comments, organize pictures and sentences in groups).
The option for developing physical games was chosen by many students involved in the development of the interactive exhibitions. Indeed, games can be a very powerful strategy for stimulating the participation of visitors, allowing for their interaction and creating an atmosphere where discussion and reflection about important issues can be accomplished in a more playful manner.
Multimedia presentations, such as videos or other presentations were also chosen by many students involved in the project. Although this type of artefacts requires a dispositive (PC screen, tablet or other) for their visualization (and that may not be a valid option for some schools), their development is normally felt by students as a very enjoyable task, contributing for their motivation towards the exhibition production.
The development of models was another popular option for some students especially when their exhibitions focused on physical and chemical concepts and phenomena.

The impact of the exhibitions' development on students' perceptions regarding their competences and the science classes
The impact of the exhibitions' development on students' perceptions regarding their competences and the science classes was calculated comparing students' answers to the pre and posttest.
The overall progression of the sample was calculated. Table 4 shows the average mean score and standard deviation for each of the analysed questions (both pre and post-test), as well as the ANOVA results indicating if there is a significant difference between pre and post-test results. As can be illustrated by this table almost all questions (with the exception of questions number 3 and 6) showed a significant raise in their scores favouring the post-test results (considering p < ,05). The results of items 3 and 6 in the pre and post-test were not statistically different, probably because the average mean score was very high in both tests producing a ceiling effect. In reality, these two items attained the highest average mean scores from all items, showing a very high perception of students regarding: a) the positive impact of the exhibitions' development on their learning about scientific topics; and b) the importance of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) tools in the development of exhibitions. The overall results indicate that students improved their perceptions in what regards: • Their competences for developing exhibitions in science classes as a way of creating awareness on topics relating science-technology-society-environment: at the end of the project, they feel capable of attaining this goal; • The strong motivational impact of student-curated exhibitions; • The positive impact of student-curated exhibitions on the relationships among students and between them and the teachers; • Their competences of influencing other citizens decisions and behaviours about issues related to science, technology and the environment, through the development of scientific exhibits.
Concerning their science classes, the project contributed to students' improved perceptions that in that context:

•
They discuss current issues and how they impact their lives; • They develop important and socially relevant projects; • They are encouraged to ask questions and to respect their colleagues' opinions; • They are empowered to have a more active and responsible role in society, developing initiatives that allow them to influence other citizens' decisions about social issues related to science, technology and the environment.
An analysis per country was also conducted in order to identify possible differences. Table 5 summarizes the ANOVA results for every country identifying the questions where there was a significant difference between pre and post-test (p < ,05). It becomes clear from this analysis by country that participants from different contexts had diverse perceptions regarding the topics covered by the questionnaire. Romania, Israel and Turkey were noticeably the ones were more significant differences were observed (16-14 out of possible 16). Greece, Portugal, Germany and Poland also had several questions with significant differences (9-6). The Netherlands, Italy and Finland were the countries with the least significant differences (1-4).
These results indicate different reactions to the development of scientific exhibitions, suggesting that this kind of activity -in spite of the global positive evaluation by the students -didn't constitute a complete innovation for the students from some countries. Possibly, the impact on students' perceptions was low in those countries were this activity didn't represent a novelty.
From the analysis of table 5 it also becomes clear that questions 1, 7 and 9 were the ones with more significant statistical differences in this group of countries (9-8 out of possible 10). Questions 5, 12, 15 and 16 were also questions with an important number of countries with statistical differences (5-6 out of possible 10). Questions 6 and 11 were the ones with the least amount of differences (only 2 countries each). So, the highest impact shared by IRRESISTIBLE countries was perceived in: a) the competence to plan and develop a scientific exhibit about a current and relevant science topic that can raise the community's awareness regarding that issue; and b) the students' recognition that in science classes they discuss current issues and the ways they impact their lives.

Discussion
With the help of the IRRESISTIBLE Exhibitions Development Guide, students were quite competent in the development of interactive exhibitions that fulfilled the goal of actively engaging the visitors as proposed by literature [47,48]. The student-curated exhibitions developed within IRRESISTIBLE confirmed that interactivity doesn't, necessarily, require the presence of technology. Several artefacts, like physical posters, table-games and models, were quite effective in promoting the interaction between the visitors within the exhibit and between them and the objects that are being exposed [49] -all fundamental aspects of an interactive exhibition proposed by literature [44][45][46].
According to the students involved in IRRESISTIBLE, their participation in the curation of an exhibition on a socio-scientific issue was particularly useful in strengthening: a) their knowledge about those issues and how they impact their lives; b) their relationships with other students and the teachers; and c) their perceptions about the social relevance of science classes, allowing the discussion of important current issues.
Student-curated exhibitions were assumed by students as a strategy of activism, allowing them to have a more active and responsible role in society, influencing other citizens' decisions and behaviours about controversial issues related to science, technology and the environment that are relevant to society. The attained results, support the power of student-curated exhibitions on cuttingedge (and controversial) research topics as a context for students' empowerment as decision-makers and activists regarding the process of Responsible Research and Innovation. Through these exhibitions, students felt more competent in (1) informing other citizens about the socio-scientific issue they have investigated, (2) engaging them in discussion on the necessary conditions to assure responsible research and innovation practices in those areas, and even (3) challenging them to participate in collective action aimed at promoting those responsible practices. This way, the IRRESISTIBLE student-curated exhibitions constituted an opportunity for students to participate in (and to instigate) community action on socio-scientific issues -a major characteristic of exhibitions on controversial issues [16,22,[24][25][26][27] and a major dimension of scientific literacy [11,12,18,37,50,51].
The student-curated exhibitions developed within the IRRESISTIBLE project represent an educational approach adequate for the promotion of sustainable development, enabling students to understand (and to cope with) the complexities and uncertainties of socio-scientific issues [52]. They also contribute to students' reflection on their personal responsibilities regarding a responsible research and innovation, capable of assuring a sustainable development and a sustainable future.