Multimedia Interactive Boards as a Teaching and Learning Tool in Environmental Education: A Case-Study with Portuguese Students

Abstract

Multimedia interactive whiteboard (IWB) is a teaching and learning tool which, in spite of recent application, has yielded good results in the instruction and learning process with students of elementary schools, in different countries. In this study, a multimedia interactive whiteboard was used as an e-learning tool in environmental education under a STSE perspective. Two classes of high-school students, aged 13–16 years old, participated in the study, aiming to improve environmental awareness and Natural Sciences scores in an urban public school in northern Portugal. The goal was to understand how efficient the multimedia interactive whiteboard and the ‘Society, Technology, Science-Environment’ (STSE) perspective were in understanding the concepts related to habitat destruction and how they would both contribute to the students’ behavior when taking part in a classroom debate to find the best solutions for an environmental problem. A questionnaire (attitude scale) and a post-test were the research tools used in the educational methodology. There were various benefits of using IWB in class – promotion of environmental awareness and collaborative work, increased test achievement and increased willingness to study Natural Sciences.