Understanding Science Teachers’ Integration of Active Methodologies in Club Settings: An Exploratory Study

Abstract

This study analyses if school science clubs may serve as a resource to facilitate the introduction of active methodologies into science classrooms. Focusing on science clubs in Portuguese schools, this study aims to determine whether the teachers who coordinate and direct these clubs promote activities that incorporate aspects of problem-based learning and project-based learning methodologies. In order to do so, a series of semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 teachers, and their responses were analysed using content analysis strategies. The results show that although they do not explicitly refer to the use of these methodologies, teachers do propose the implementation of projects within clubs, and they incorporate aspects of these strategies in the activities they conduct. In this sense, teachers appreciate the role of clubs in promoting these types of strategies (PBL y PjBL) and the facilities they offer for their implementation. Additionally, teachers believe that one can only learn how to do projects through practise, i.e., doing projects with their students, and they think that clubs offer an opportunity to develop PBL and PjBL methodologies in a context free from the responsibilities and constraints of the classroom.