Ark of Inquiry

Our work programme

In order to achieve its objectives the Ark of Inquiry consortium has designed a work plan that will be realised in 48 months.

The work is organised into 8 work packages (WP) that can be divided into two main lines of action: the pedagogical approach and the implementation. 

In this work package we develop a pedagogical framework that is challenging for learners and can be implemented with the support of teachers and teacher trainers, science and teacher education students, researchers, and science centres. In addition, we foresee that the pupils’ improvement towards the ability to conduct responsible research and innovation should be evaluated in order to ensure progress. Therefore, we also develop instruments for evaluating inquiry skills and experiences independently from cultural or national characteristics.

WP1 is coordinated by HAN University of Applied Sciences, Netherlands

In this work package we collect existing successful inquiry-based activities and environments from various national and international projects. We will develop pedagogical inquiry scenarios that help guide teachers to implement the inquiry-based activities and re-use them in new contexts (e.g. different age and skill levels). We will also translate inquiry-based activities and pedagogical inquiry scenarios to various European languages; and make the inquiry-based activities, environments and scenarios available to all European schools through the Ark of Inquiry platform.

WP2 is coordinated by University of Turku (UTU), Finland

In this work package we will establish a community of research institutions, science centres, and museums involved in developing and supporting inquiry-based activities of Ark of Inquiry. We will also establish a community of teachers who motivate and support learners’ inquiry-based activities and their training.

WP3 is coordinated by Ellinogermaniki Agogi (EA), Greece

This WP will provide guidance to teacher educators/researchers, teachers, students, and parents on how to support pupil engagement in inquiry-based challenges. In order to do that, we will develop supportive web-based materials for all community supporters working with the Ark of Inquiry activities and provide face-to-face training for teachers.

WP4 is coordinated by University of Cyprus (UCY), Cyprus

In this work package we ensure that the pedagogical framework designed in WP1 and the collection of inquiry-based activities and environments developed in WP2, and all support by the communities of teachers, researchers, and science centres is working in improving youth awareness towards responsible research and innovation. For that aim, we will develop instruments and collect data for evaluating the success and efficacy of the project.

WP5 is coordinated by University of Tartu (UT), Estonia

In this work package, we will implement the Ark of Inquiry. The implementation is planned to be laid out in two phases, the piloting phase and the large-scale implementation phase.

WP6 is coordinated by Ellinogermaniki Agogi (EA), Greece 

The aim of the work in this work package is the dissemination of the results of the Ark of Inquiry in schools, universities, science centres, and curriculum developers. We will also develop dissemination activities to ensure sustainable application of Ark of Inquiry beyond the end of the project and the partner countries involved into the project.

WP7 is coordinated by UNESCO Venice Office, Italy

This work package facilitates the overall management and coordination of the Ark of Inquiry project.

WP8 is coordinated by University of Tartu (UT), Estonia