Scientific initiation in the High School: a model for bringing the basic school closer to the university through the scientific method

Abstract

This article describes the educational program “Scientific Initiation in the High School: a Model for bringing the Basic School closer to the University through the Scientific Method”, developed in the city of Porto Alegre since 1999. In this program, the scientific method was introduced into the high school curriculum in order to improve the future achievement of students in the university. Students, accompanied by teachers from the same school, went to university laboratories on Saturdays to learn about and develop original scientific research. The work continued during the week in the high school. The field of Medical Physiology served as the starting point for launching the scientific investigations carried out by the students. The program is based on the fact that the use of the scientific method to solve contextual reallife problems allows for the creation of universal procedures for the solution of many types of problems. This finding may in part be due to the emotional impact that this approach induces in the brain. Based on the results we have obtained during these years, it seems that the program developed an auto-stimulatory cerebral circuit linked to the reward system of the brain which transforms learning into pleasure, thus promoting an education of high-quality.