35 OTA learning methodology, because it is addressing the usage and development of both. Visual and scientific literacy will evolve through tasks and set problems, alongside the awareness of importance/relevance while learners will enter complex thinking using two fields and accepting them as one. With an interdisciplinary teaching mindset of a world functioning as a whole is strengthened rather than thinking of specific subjects as independent units. The element of coexistence of different fields is important for addressing especially in educational systems where subjects are separated in different units. Learners have to realise soon that just because they have scheduled e.g. mathematics and geography separately it does not mean that they don’t have anything in common. With such realisation, also a transfer in real life situations becomes easier for learners especially if they are given the concrete problems to solve that are a combination of several different subjects/fields. For the element of relevance Halbrook and Rannikmäe are suggesting also “that science in school is part of the education provision and any science content is gained so as to enhance that education in the nature of the subject, the personal or the social domains.”(Holbrook & Rannikmäe, 2007, p. 1347-1362). The inclusion of personal and society domains into the learning structure are expected to enhance the relevance of science teaching. This is not an explicit approach and Activity theory is providing a stronger theoretical construct of it. Activity theory as the tool to address that lack of relevance in school science is based on the interlinking of knowledge and social practice through establishing a need (relevant in the eyes of students), identifying the motives (wanting to solve scientific problems and make socio-scientific decisions) leading to activity constituted by actions (learning in school towards becoming a scientifically literate, responsible citizen). Such practices are meant to provide for student needs (as perceived by students insofar as this is possible, otherwise perceived by society as an area of need) in a more or less organised way by making ’products’ or ’decisions’ from ’raw materials’, scientific components, or issues to resolve. The activity can be ’enquiry process’ or ‘debate’. It is a way of educating students how to make proper decisions. The decisions they make through their learning process should take into consideration the needs of all members of the society. An important part in activity theory is also reflection as a way of improvement in practice or making decisions (Holbrook & Rannikmäe, 2007). 2.7.5 INQUIRY-BASED LEARNING As the name refers, inquiry based learning is coming out of methods used by professional scientists. It is a process of discovering by establishing hypotheses and testing them with experiments and/or observations. It is closely connected to a problem solving process as it requires problem solving skills.
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