The Petnica Science Center (PSC) organized the regular Conference ?A Step
into Science?, BOOK AND EVENT REVIEW December 7-12, 2020
online. PSC is an independent, nonprofit organisation for
extracurricular, formal, and informal, science education. For the past 38
years, it has been a place of free thinking and innovative ideas for
students with strong interests in science and the scientific method. PSC
utilizes a peer-to-peer education system, where university students are the
tutors of high school students, providing a more informal learning setting
to foster the development of scientific ideas. Peer to peer education, as an
important aspect of the PSC model is highly beneficial for both young tutors
(university students) and their slightly younger students. The primary
philosophy is to promote scientific literacy and help high school students
to understand the scientific method. By using hands-on approaches to
research and science, students are taught how to read appropriate
literature, trained in basic research methods, and encouraged to develop
their own scientific questions. As students progress through the program,
they engage in training and activities that enable them to create their own
independent research project proposals. After the project proposal is
reviewed and approved, the students have the opportunity to conduct their
own research, analyze the results, and write a final peer-reviewed
manuscript. The selected manuscripts are traditionally presented at the
Petnica annual conference as poster and oral presentations, this time
carried out online with great success. More than 100 participants joined the
daily presentations and joined in lively discussions on the presented works.
The manuscripts are also published in annual proceedings by PSC.
Evaluation of effectiveness of peer education on smoking behavior among high school students