Cultural probes for environmental education: Designing learning materials to engage children and teenagers with local biodiversity

This also begs a new research question: what level of guidance in questioning activities can CP provide in the context of place-based learning in EE? Productive questioning benefits from using question tokens as proposed in our study. Still, we need more data that would allow us to compare different ways of integrating question guidance within a CP toolkit. For example, although tokens facilitated the production of questions and did not significantly constrain par- ticipants, future studies should include testing that assesses the output of questions with and without tokens, along with a participant debrief aimed at exploring participants’ perceptions on the utility of such tokens. Considering "the impact of culture on inquiry" [29], designing a CP toolkit within the con- text of EE would benefit from a more comprehensive integration of IBL within participants’ broader learning experiences, both within and outside the school environment. Lack of studies on the use of IBL in the Portuguese curriculum [45] might not necessarily entail a lack of ques- tioning and inquiry-related experiences on behalf of children and teenagers enrolled in the Portuguese school system. Nonetheless, using a CP toolkit for EE that is grounded in IBL could provide an opportunity through which questioning, and ultimately inquiry, are intro- duced to children and teenagers. In response to RQ2, we can infer that the CP toolkit effectively promoted experiences grounded in sensory, emotional, and aesthetic qualities in a nature-rich environment. None-

theless, and considering the data collected in response to RQ1, we noticed some discrepancies. Activity 3, for example, raised more strategic questions than productive ones. We believe that this could express the general prevalence given to sight or sound in Western culture. Further- more, and aligning with the broader literature, e.g., Stevenson et al. [46], we speculate that as children and teenagers do not often explore smell, this activity raised more strategic than pro- ductive questions. Rather than avoiding working with multiple senses in designing a CP toolkit for EE, we believe the contrary; this information highlights the opportunity to use EE to expose children and teenagers to various sensory experiences in nature-rich environments. A CP toolkit could be an ideal potential technique for achieving this. We further noticed that the experience of the trail, as guided by the CP toolkit designed for this study, was very present in the participants’ awareness of the trail walk. However, there are age differences, with older participants tending to make more assessments, while younger peo- ple focused more on experiencing and describing the external context. We believe this reflects differences in child and teen learning, which are affected by changes in behavior, cognition, and the brain [47], as well as the effects of different types of schooling, which impacts students in different ways [48]. This information feeds back on the type of activities and their suitability for the different age groups. It also begs further research for uncovering how to best use CP in

the context of EE, and when designing for children versus teenagers. Finally, and in response to RQ3, the CP toolkit designed for this study promoted partici- pants’ positive experiences of a nature-rich environment, such as the trail of Miste´rios Negros. We believe that the design of the various station activities influenced this outcome. They pro- vided information regarding different elements, such as the native, endemic, and exotic species that characterize the trail, along with geographical information, such as the lagoon. Station activities also engaged participants through their senses, providing a springboard for imagina- tive exploration, as observed in response to the activities of Stations 11 and 13. We also understand that working with a protected area with pristine nature was paramount to participants’ experience of the CP toolkit. Exposure to nature positively impacts our mood and sense of general well-being [49]. While the FG project focuses on the appreciation of Azor- ean biodiversity, we believe that data obtained in response to RQ3 begs further testing of the CP technique in what Saari and Mullen [50] have termed ’dark places’. Such places require a shift from our view of nature "from pristine, ’natural’ places in place-based pedagogy to PLOS ONE Cultural probes for environmental education PLOS ONE | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0262853 February 10, 2022 25 / 30