The scientific pedagogy
Source : Oregon State University - Under Creative Commons license
The development of skills related to scientific culture is a fundamental axis of the Pedagogical Sailboat.
The aim is to develop a strong background to launch citizen science projects with students. The focus now is on the pollution of the seas by microplastics:
Microplastics ?
The Mediterranean Sea is one of the most affected regions in the world by microplastics. According to a scientific literature, the concentration of microplastics in the mediterranean sea is amongst the highest in the world*.
* Suaria, G. et al. The Mediterranean Plastic Soup: synthetic polymers in Mediterranean surface waters. Sci. Rep. 6, 37551; doi: 10.1038/srep37551 (2016).
The students (16+) will explore the scientific research on microplastics through
- a scientific reference article in nature Scientific Reports : "The effect of particle properties on the depth profile of buoyant plastics in the ocean ". According to this study, on average 60% of the buoyant microplastics present in the first 5 m of the water column are overlooked when sampling with manta or neuston nets . We will propose to the students to design a new manta net that tackle this issue within the technical pedagogy.
- a European project on sea pollution by plastic DeFishGear : 7 pays 5M d'Euro.
Scientific support :
Dr Andrej Krzan from the National Institute of Chemistry , who coordinated the European project DeFishGear is providing the scientific support.
Professor Philippe Dubois, rector of the University of Mons, who put us in relation with the researchers of the Laboratory of Polymeric and Composite Materials (LPCM).