OTA_project_Methodology_EN

45 During the learning process, teachers’ aim is to cover the intensive school curriculum and learners are mainly active listeners to the educator's lesson. Even science teaching remains a telling instruction rather than doing (Jacobson 2010). In Slovenia in 2014 an extended upgrade for teaching natural subjects was written with didactic materials and examples for learning lessons which is promoting the use of hands-on activities and experiential learning. Authors are focusing mainly on chemistry, biology and physics and are emphasising an active role of pupils during the lesson. They are encouraging teachers to switch from traditional education to more contemporary and pupil-centred (Moravec et al., 2014). This shows that there are tendencies to encourage Slovenian teachers to adopt more contemporary approaches and methods but it also shows the awareness of the presence of more traditional teaching and that there are guidelines needed to introduce new approaches and possibilities to teachers. In Italy the separation between humanities and science remains significantly stronger than elsewhere: there is a high humanistic tradition and the scientific subjects are perceived as a world separate from the rest of the educational curriculum. While the humanities are generally felt to be part of widespread general culture, the scientific disciplines are often seen as a subject reserved for insiders (Vincenzo Smaldore, 2022). The challenge is to contaminate interdisciplinary approaches, developing a teaching method that enhances, alongside the analytical rigour of science, the creativity and curiosity of students. In the Italian pedagogical field, this has led to an idea of secondary schooling whereby laboratories are not fully accredited as places where discipline is manifested. It is the lectio that prevails; the word prevails over experience, over procedure. Doing, problem solving, governing processes is secondary to the word (Marco Rossi-Doria, 2022). Of course, most teachers also lack experience and skills in teaching with innovative methodology or technology. Some teachers at all grade levels do not feel confident teaching some of the science material they are expected to cover (Viadero et al., 2021). Most teachers are not familiar with the appropriate pedagogical framework of teaching science (creative problem solving, hands-on learning, resource-based learning, experiential learning, the connection of a problem or phenomenon to students’ lives). They do not use inquiry-based teaching approaches in their classrooms to engage students in real-world experiences. (Crawford 2012). A core element of teaching science is the “learning by doing principle”: placing students at the heart of learning, giving them the opportunity to experiment by themselves via hands-on methods, make observations, connect phenomena with the social environment and discover creative solutions (Salmi et al., 2020). Science teachers need training on these methods (Crawford, 2012; Anderman et al., 2012). Teachers are also not so familiar with combining science with other subjects that might help students use their prior knowledge and better understand phenomena. Teachers need to develop both skills and attitudes toward interdisciplinary teaching (Al Salami

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