Thermography and Lighting Systems Methodology to Promote Sustainability and Energy Efficiency Awareness

This work presents a system that integrates infrared thermography with two specially designed devices to enhance learning and promote sustainability awareness among 14-year-old secondary school students in Spain. An experimental and a control group were included in an experimental research design. While the control group attended conventional problem-solving classes, the experimental group participated in practical exercises utilizing thermographic cameras and two custom-built devices. Pretests and post-tests were administered to evaluate students’ theoretical and practical understanding of infrared radiation, physics, sustainability, and energy efficiency. A gender-based stratified analysis was conducted to investigate the possible impact of gender on learning outcomes and to obtain information for encouraging female participation in STEM professions to guarantee objective results. The results revealed statistically significant improvements in post-test scores compared to pretest results, demonstrating enhanced learning outcomes. The experimental group outperformed the control group, confirming the effectiveness of the innovative proposed methodology for learning complex scientific concepts. Additionally, students in the experimental group displayed high levels of curiosity, intrinsic motivation, and satisfaction, as observed through participant observation and a perception survey. While the survey indicated favorable responses regarding satisfaction, self-confidence, and learning, scalability received mixed opinions, potentially due to limited student familiarity with thermography’s broader applications. Overall, these findings underscore the potential of thermography as a powerful educational tool to improve scientific literacy and sustainability awareness. Future research should expand on this approach, exploring applications emphasizing critical thinking and problem-solving skills while leveraging thermographic technology to promote interdisciplinary learning.