The 15th annual international conference on Hands-on Science, HSCI2018, will be held in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, at the Faculty of Biology of the University of Barcelona, from July 16th to 20th, 2018. This year the main moto of the conference is:

Advancing Science. Improving Education

The Conference will provide the ideal opportunity for presentation of work and in the widest range of perspectives related to Science Education. The Hands-on Science Network is open to all views and approaches on Science Education. However, we advocate an active learning of Sciences through an enlarged use of hands-on experiments in the classroom. The aim of the Conference is to promote friendly and broad exchange of experiences on good practices, syllabus and policy matters, social factors and the learning of science, and other issues related to Science Education and its development.

Proposals are invited for oral or poster presentations, workshops and group discussions, hands-on experiments demonstration sessions, Science Fair booths and exhibitions or science shows/performances.

Conference topics

The HSCI’2018 Conference will cover the largest variety of topics relevant to Science Education and all fields of Science and Technology: Physics, Chemistry, Geography, Biology, Life Sciences, Geology, Zoology, Botanic, Ecology, Archaeology, Astrophysics, Mathematics, Robotics, Computer Science, Sociology, Psychology, Health Sciences, etc.

Main topics

• Science education. New challenges, new perspectives, innovative solutions
• History of Science
• The role of Science in School’ education
• The need for and effective learning of Science and Technology
• Hands-on Science. Teaching and learning
• IBSE (Inquiry Based Science Education)
• Integrated and interdisciplinary approaches in Science Education
• Hands-on active learning of Science
• Developing basic investigative skills and the scientific method
• Teaching and training language and communication skills, maths and reasoning based on Science & Technology issues
• Science and Society
• Perceptions of Science: students, school, society
• Linking students’ life to Science or “where S&T meets our everyday life”
• Communicating S&T research
• Scientific literacy
• The access of women to science
• Life-long learning of science
• Science, citizenship, ethics and social responsibility
• Science and development. Constraints and perspectives
• Introducing Science at kindergarten
• Science education in primary schools
• How is Science learned in secondary schools?
• Science education and technical/vocational studies
• Science fairs and festivals. For motivation and much more…
• Science Museums and in-school science education. Bridging formal and informal learning of science
• The Information Society and Science education
• School’ Science education and scientific research
• Environment and sustainable development
• Hands-on experiments
• Reports on in-classroom hands-on experiences
• Support material for in-school hands-on experiments
• Computer simulations as complement and inducer of hands-on experiments
• Multimedia ICT and virtual tools for school’s science education
• Technologies and Science
• Science and art
• Collaboration projects and positive cooperation experiences in school’s science education

HSCI Network

The Hands-on Science Network (www.hsci.info) is a non-profit international association legally registered in Portugal (NIPC 508050561) and with worldwide intervention.

It was established based on the homonymous project supported by the European Commission (Socrates/Comenius 3 project 110157-CP-1-2003-1-PT-COMENIUS-C3) under the coordination of Prof. Manuel Filipe P. C. M. Costa (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) at the Physics Department of the University of Minho, enrolling initially partners from 10 European countries.

The Hands-on Science Network, stands for promoting the development of science education and scientific literacy in our societies. HSCI embraces a wide membership of teachers and educators in all school levels from pre-school to adult education but also in informal contexts, managers and policy makers, academicians and researchers in virtually all fields of Science, from a large number of countries of the 5 continents. In an open-minded tolerant and friendly atmosphere we support each other’s and join our experiences and efforts towards a better improved and generalized Science Education. With an open and wide understanding of the importance of Science Education and of the ways to effectively implement it as a crucial factor to the sustainable development of our societies and of human kind, we encourage the use of innovative hands-on experimental approaches to science, technology and environment in-school teaching and learning. As well in raising the profile and attractiveness of Science in Education, we also aim to increase the desirability of a career in Science for all.

HSCI: History