Statistical Characteristics of the All-Ukrainian Online Tournament “Open Natural Science Demonstration”

Abstract

This article presents the results of a study of the All-Ukrainian Internet Tournament in Natural Sciences “Open Demonstration of Natural Sciences”, which examines its use as a tool for informal science education and the development of gifted students. The results of teams' participation in the tournament between 2015 and 2021 were analysed to identify the subject-specific factors influencing the variability of participants' academic achievements and the role of tournament events in the development of key research and STEM competencies. The research methodology consists of descriptive statistics, variance analysis, and comparative analysis of team results in different categories (prize winners, laureates, and participants without awards). Statistically significant differences in average scores were found depending on the subject area. Physics and chemistry tasks have the greatest impact on the final results of teams, while results in astronomy, biology, and geography are relatively stable in most cases. The study shows that the level of development of physics and mathematics competencies is a key factor in differentiating teams based on tournament results, especially when distinguishing between prize-winning teams and laureate teams. The educational potential of using video, computational and research tasks to develop critical thinking, interdisciplinary integration of knowledge and a culture of research among students in distance and blended learning has been demonstrated. The results obtained can be used to improve the content of informal science education, develop educational competitions for gifted young people, and improve the quality of science teaching in general secondary schools.