Promoting Core Competencies of High School Biology through Citizen Inquiry Technology: A Case of Polluting Microplastics

Abstract

In this paper, we are designing learning activities based on 21st-century learning to help teachers or pre-service teachers to promote essential skills such as biology competencies. Learning activities need to be integrated with appropriate learning strategies with global awareness and environmental issues as core themes like the 21st-learning framework mentioned and combined with the particular technology to support biology competencies. This paper aims to provide the alternatives of learning activities using citizen inquiry and technology to develop biology skills in each activity. In addition, to describe pre-service teacher's understanding of microplastics knowledge and awareness of environmental problems. Based on the results, pre-service teacher's understanding of microplastics and awareness about the environmental issue is pretty good, with average percentages of 81.73% and 75 %, respectively. As described further in the paper, learning activities to promote biology skills can be achieved using citizen inquiry and technology. The finding could be implied in developing technological and pedagogical pre-service teacher's skills in biology education.