HOW TO TRANSMIT COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTAL CONCEPTS TO SECONDARY STUDENTS
Pedro MORAIS*, Marta LOPES**, Tiago DOMINGOS***
Instituto Superior Técnico, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal,
*pmorais@malhoa.ist.utl.pt, **mlopes@malhoa.ist.utl.pt , **tiago@malhoa.ist.utl.pt
This paper presents an innovative approach to transmitting complex environmental concepts, for a secondary school science club audience. We follow a three-step method: exploration of a specific system; introduction of problems and concepts based on situations appearing during the exploration; suggestion of practical activities applying the concepts to in other systems. The information is transmitted through a CD-ROM multimedia application. The system chosen is a farm near Covilhã, in Central Portugal. This choice was based on the following reasons: a farm is a complex system where natural and human aspects interact; there are important environmental impacts and services due to this activity; a farm has a wide range of activities that motivate the interest of young people. Concepts are implicitly introduced through the discussion of specific problems in a real world system. We address the concepts of sustainability, mass conser--vation, environmental balance, environmental impact, pollution, environmental services and landscape planning. The assimilation of the concepts is promoted by suggesting simple practical activities which students can carry out by themselves.
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