The Science Museum of the University of Navarra has given a training course on Science Didactics for teachers of Primary Education in the Science Building of the University of Navarra on September 18 and 19.

This training, named "Mary Anning, the fossil hunter", consisted in transmitting, through activities around fossils, the dialogic methodology. This pedagogy, supported by years of educational research, promotes a didactic approach based on inquiry and dialogue among students. The result, evidenced in the evaluation interviews conducted, shows a change in the children's attitude towards science and a clear improvement in critical thinking skills.

"This project has focused on participants learning how to search for evidence collaboratively and reason through dialogue to advance knowledge," says Marie-Anne Reynell, director of Development at the scientific institution .

A total of forty teachers from Navarra, the Basque Country, Catalonia, Valencia and Madrid participated. The course has been taught by Stuart Naylor, a leading educator specializing in science education and designer of the primary science curriculum in the UK, and Marianne Cutler, principal investigator of the project led by the UK Association for Science Education. The initiative has been made possible with the support of the Templeton World Charity Foundation.

The materials developed have been translated into Spanish and are available through the Science Museum of the University of Navarra, which also offers advice for their implementation.

The Science Museum of the University of Navarra aims to to bring science closer to society in an inclusive and accessible way.. With this purpose, the scientific institution carries out every year outreach activities, inquiry and training in science for all audiences.