Advent calendar - December 17th - Luana Silveri

In the Zernike Institute Advent Calendar, we are presenting 24 short spotlights in December. In these specials, we highlight PhD students, postdocs, support staff and technicians of our research groups and team - providing a glimpse in their typical day at work. In Episode 17 meet Luana Silveri, postdoctoral researcher in STEM education at the Centre for Learning and Teaching in the group led by Prof. Lucy Avraamidou and part of the TINKER project with Dr. Dina Maniar.

I joined the University of Groningen as a postdoctoral researcher only a few months ago. I work in STEM education at the Centre for Learning and Teaching in the group led by Prof. Lucy Avraamidou.

Since 2018, I have been working in STEM education with a genuine commitment to sustainability education. My interest in sustainability is rooted in my background as a researcher in Alpine Ecology. Studying ecology, along with my passion for mountaineering, has led me to engage with young people, allowing me to witness firsthand the value of education in building a more sustainable and equitable future.

I am convinced that education is the key to co-designing possible future scenarios where environment, democracy, and civil rights are balanced.

The future of our society is becoming increasingly complex and with several challenges. To cope with those wicked problems requires strong scientific knowledge, but that alone is not enough. It needs ecology, technology, human rights, and ultimately the idea of democracy. Understanding and embracing complexity is crucial to transforming systems, and requires several high skills; systems thinking, critical thinking, future scenario building, and agency. I believe providing young citizens with a wealth of knowledge and skills adequate to understand complex and interconnected problems is essential.

The current state of the world can be scary and discouraging, but I am an optimist. I believe in the potential of young people, and I love challenges. That’s why I am firmly convinced that we must work hard to find new educational approaches and design new and more effective educational tools. In this realm, I want to do my best to participate and have an impact on the future.

How to achieve this?

With board games. Easy!

Well, as an ecologist and a board game addict, I have developed three board games so far. All of them with a cooperative approach and environmental themes. I think games are a powerful tool for science education. By playing you can try different solutions and strategies, you have time to analyze mistakes, and this is a powerful way to learn scientific fundamentals while exercising some key competencies for the future.

Here, at the University of Groningen, I am involved in the TINKER project, which aims to foster digital education in upper primary and lower secondary schools through a comprehensive pedagogical framework. It was conceived as a joint project between the Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials and the Centre for Learning and Teaching, led by Dr. Dina Mainar and supported by Prof. Lucy Avraamidou. This collaboration is a new and exciting synergy that broadens the path to new cross-pollination between scientific and humanistic disciplines.

Together with Dr. Dina Maniar we are training future teachers, and we are developing a comprehensive set of educational materials to promote a more equitable, innovative, and inclusive digital education for all students. Yes, sustainability involves digital education, and I am working to develop game-based learning scenarios to support teachers in implementing a more equitable digital education at school.

As an ecologist, I can say that in my research, I love navigating complexity. I enjoy being in ecotones, that is, in those transition areas between two or more biological communities, where two communities meet and integrate. At the intersection of diversity, anything can happen, and education is by nature a system where many different worlds, like e.g. science, humanities, skills, and diverse people intersect. Researching this complex system is very stimulating for me. Maybe I could even say that I am living in an ecotone. The Centre for Learning and Teaching is a highly diverse group of colleagues and I consider myself lucky to be amidst them: I am working with an intercultural, intersectional, stimulating, and challenging group of people. Therefore, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all my colleagues for who they are and what they are teaching me.

See all Advent Calendar items 2024 here!