Solar Energy and Inquiry-Based Learning: A Pathway to Scientific Competencies in Secondary Education
Jorge Pozuelo-Muñoz 1 , Esther Cascarosa Salillas 1 * , Elena Calvo Zueco 2 , Ester Sánchez Sánchez 1
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1 Department of Specific Didactics, University of Zaragoza, Spain2 International Anfora School, Spain* Corresponding Author

Abstract

The fundamentals of experimental science didactics have proven that compulsory education students need to develop skills such as critical thinking. Guided inquiry is a practical methodology for developing various science skills. Moreover, current legislation establishes a series of specific competencies that students must develop. This work presents research carried out with students aged 13–14 years. A project, based on the problem-based learning methodology, on a real-world topic close to the students was implemented to assess the development of critical thinking and specific competencies outlined in legislation. For this purpose, a teaching-learning sequence was developed, and the students’ outputs were collected through questionnaires and teacher observation sheets. The results show that students can answer each of the problems encountered during the project, posing researchable questions and finding solutions through experimentation. Each of the sessions has demonstrated clear progress in several key areas such as the development of some of the required competencies and overall scientific skills, thereby facilitating overall development.

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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

International Journal of Changes in Education, Volume 3, Issue 4, 2026, 485-492

https://doi.org/10.47852/bonviewIJCE52026132

Publication date: 15 Aug 2026

Online publication date: 05 Nov 2025

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