Final Report Summary - EFSUPS (Exploring the Ground - Fostering Scientific Understanding in Primary Schools)
Soil issues have only low priority in basic education and there is a need to raise the general understanding of soils and issues affecting soils through education and to develop new innovative ways of education. Since the results of the Pisa studies have been published the promotion of scientific understanding in primary schools received more and more attention. The subject 'soil' with its various facets and fields of work therefore presents itself as ideal. The ground conditions in the surroundings of the children are very different: roads - plates - garden soil - fields - sandy soil in the sand box. This leads to different experiences. Children gladly work with sand and earth. Here, they have a far experimentation field that however emerges out of the focus of teaching when they grow up. But a curriculum for kindergartens does not exist yet. Educators are often isolated in questions of conversion of scientific education.
The EFSUPS project aimed at developing and testing specific components for primary school education, which promote the scientific understanding of children in the basic school age and enlarge their skills, expanding its activities to a target group of pupils from 5 to 8 years age, and so covering the different ages of entry to the school system in the different European countries (kindergarten and primary schools).
At the beginning of the project, a discussion group was established at yahoo groups (EFSUPS@yahoogroups.com) for exchanging information and experiences between partners. For Romania and Germany, additional discussion groups at yahoogroups.com were also set up to facilitate the communication between the teachers at national levels. The educators who wished to contact other groups (in other languages) could subscribe to the other discussion group. The group moderators facilitated the dialog between members and give additional information.
The main objective of the project website which was developed, was to disseminate the new teaching tools, to support the teachers and educators activity from different countries, to facilitate the exchange of experience in teaching about soil and to allow contacts between teachers, educators and project partners. The project website was designed by Intermediu Bucharest (Science Shop) and was developed, in the preliminary stage, in English. The general structure was set up during the consortium kick off meeting.
In the design process of the website, two voluntary students were involved, who are members of Intermediu Bucharest. Another voluntary student participated at training activities as photographer. The website is the result of a team work, each partner contributed with suggestions and texts, and was designed to be accessible and user friendly. The EFSUPS website now gives an overview of the progress of the project since August 2007, and offers a forum for dialogue between participating kindergartens and primary schools as well as for the exchange of experiences and project results: http://www.teaching-soil.eu(si apre in una nuova finestra) and http://www.exploring-the-ground.eu(si apre in una nuova finestra). The prepared teaching material is accessible through the webpage. The website offers different language versions: English, Romanian, Hungarian, German, French and Spanish. A chart of the teaching tools gives a clearer view on the connections between the teaching modules, worksheets and technical instructions.
An evaluation report on the experiences of teachers and pupils who took part in the advanced trainings and seminars aimed at analysing the effects of the curriculum and understanding how the stated goals of the teaching material were accomplished. More specifically, it was reviewed how the curriculum was planned and implemented by the teachers and how it was experienced by the children, what were the potential problems or deficiencies, or the success or failure factors of using 'Dig and learn'. The predefined key themes explored in this evaluation include gender balance, scientific understanding, experimental learning and problem-orientation (didactics), education for sustainable development, feasibility and manageability of the curriculum.
In Romania, teachers considered this type of curriculum more like an important step to a new way of teaching on nature issues (for example more hands on activities), rather than a teaching material fostering scientific understanding of kids. One possible solution to this problem would be to develop a series of activities dedicated to science education of primary school teachers on other nature issues.
In Hungary, teachers reacted positively to the theme-based approach to learning. They found the teaching material understandable and well structured which initiates personal development, learning with mind and body; using different senses for making sense of the world through group work and field work.
In Germany, teachers reacted differently. Some of them were already used to environmental education while others learned about this specific kind of education during the testing and spent a lot of time with preparation. In the future, they intend to do more of such experiments and excursions, especially in cooperation with the university, because they experienced that preteen kids can be promoted and supported in many different ways. They also asked for more worksheets with detailed tasks for the children.
One of the weak points that was not considered by the project is that early childhood educators and primary school teachers sometimes have low professional status, and are not trained for science teaching, and lack the sufficient knowledge on soil issues. The testing of the teaching material gained positive feedback and enthusiasm from kids. Soil is an important and easy to experience part of preteen life and so the topic was especially welcomed. Scientific understanding was implemented through experiments which were developed in a way that indicates in itself if the pupils understood the topic.
The teaching material helped learning through gathering observable and measurable evidence and making distinctions (differences in components, colour, smell), to understand logical links between causes and results. 'Dig and learn' creates various occasions to live up to sustainability education by helping the pedagogue to make the most of it. The teaching material brings the world of nature closer to children and teaches them to pay attention to it. Children were aware also that they and their families should make an important contribution to sustainable development. The family education profile is very important: some children were already used to manipulate tools such as magnifying lens, shovels, etc. - for them it was easier to understand the 'scientific' aspects like why the water is flowing faster through gravel than sand and garden soil. EFSUPS activities give opportunities to all children to understand and act positive in the benefit of nature and automatically in their own benefit. They soon realise that our actions have effects on the long run (on soil, water, air).
In general, it seems very easy to implement the teaching material in the local education systems since the local pedagogic cultures are adaptable to the requirements of the curriculum. Teachers found it trouble-free to usefully complete or further develop the materials for their own purposes. From the technical point of view the curriculum is feasible. Almost all equipment can be found in an everyday household or can be made from simple things or even rubbish. All the necessary materials are easy to purchase and so 'Dig and learn" can be used in financially less supported schools as well. But the missing internet access of many schools and kindergartens makes it complicated to get access to the online material. This will be considered when planning further dissemination strategies in each country.
The developed materials are freely accessible on the project website: http://www.teaching-soil.eu(si apre in una nuova finestra) or http://www.exploring-the-ground.eu(si apre in una nuova finestra). All materials can be used in teaching settings in schools and kindergartens. The materials were originally available in English. The texts are translated to Romanian, Hungarian, German, Spanish and French. When using the material a reference quotation is expected.
Teachers and educators can choose and download all or single instructions for teaching units on soil issues in kindergartens or primary schools. The project offers give a clear time frame, as well as objectives for each unit and offers for practical experiments. Instructions for the arrangements of experiments and the construction of special equipment are added.
Dissemination activities for the EFSUPS project were performed on different levels and addressed different audiences. The media and methodologies used have been internet via own project website as well as posting videos and project information on other websites, press releases, poster and flyer, presentations in seminars, workshops and conferences, personal talks and TV and radio broadcast. The audience addressed have been teachers and educators, special interest groups such as teachers associations or 'Wissenschaft im Dialog (WiD)', NGOs, environmental groups etc., students and researchers, other projects such as 'Science on stage', but also the general public. All workshop, seminar and conference activities have been accompanied by press releases.
The EFSUPS project aimed at developing and testing specific components for primary school education, which promote the scientific understanding of children in the basic school age and enlarge their skills, expanding its activities to a target group of pupils from 5 to 8 years age, and so covering the different ages of entry to the school system in the different European countries (kindergarten and primary schools).
At the beginning of the project, a discussion group was established at yahoo groups (EFSUPS@yahoogroups.com) for exchanging information and experiences between partners. For Romania and Germany, additional discussion groups at yahoogroups.com were also set up to facilitate the communication between the teachers at national levels. The educators who wished to contact other groups (in other languages) could subscribe to the other discussion group. The group moderators facilitated the dialog between members and give additional information.
The main objective of the project website which was developed, was to disseminate the new teaching tools, to support the teachers and educators activity from different countries, to facilitate the exchange of experience in teaching about soil and to allow contacts between teachers, educators and project partners. The project website was designed by Intermediu Bucharest (Science Shop) and was developed, in the preliminary stage, in English. The general structure was set up during the consortium kick off meeting.
In the design process of the website, two voluntary students were involved, who are members of Intermediu Bucharest. Another voluntary student participated at training activities as photographer. The website is the result of a team work, each partner contributed with suggestions and texts, and was designed to be accessible and user friendly. The EFSUPS website now gives an overview of the progress of the project since August 2007, and offers a forum for dialogue between participating kindergartens and primary schools as well as for the exchange of experiences and project results: http://www.teaching-soil.eu(si apre in una nuova finestra) and http://www.exploring-the-ground.eu(si apre in una nuova finestra). The prepared teaching material is accessible through the webpage. The website offers different language versions: English, Romanian, Hungarian, German, French and Spanish. A chart of the teaching tools gives a clearer view on the connections between the teaching modules, worksheets and technical instructions.
An evaluation report on the experiences of teachers and pupils who took part in the advanced trainings and seminars aimed at analysing the effects of the curriculum and understanding how the stated goals of the teaching material were accomplished. More specifically, it was reviewed how the curriculum was planned and implemented by the teachers and how it was experienced by the children, what were the potential problems or deficiencies, or the success or failure factors of using 'Dig and learn'. The predefined key themes explored in this evaluation include gender balance, scientific understanding, experimental learning and problem-orientation (didactics), education for sustainable development, feasibility and manageability of the curriculum.
In Romania, teachers considered this type of curriculum more like an important step to a new way of teaching on nature issues (for example more hands on activities), rather than a teaching material fostering scientific understanding of kids. One possible solution to this problem would be to develop a series of activities dedicated to science education of primary school teachers on other nature issues.
In Hungary, teachers reacted positively to the theme-based approach to learning. They found the teaching material understandable and well structured which initiates personal development, learning with mind and body; using different senses for making sense of the world through group work and field work.
In Germany, teachers reacted differently. Some of them were already used to environmental education while others learned about this specific kind of education during the testing and spent a lot of time with preparation. In the future, they intend to do more of such experiments and excursions, especially in cooperation with the university, because they experienced that preteen kids can be promoted and supported in many different ways. They also asked for more worksheets with detailed tasks for the children.
One of the weak points that was not considered by the project is that early childhood educators and primary school teachers sometimes have low professional status, and are not trained for science teaching, and lack the sufficient knowledge on soil issues. The testing of the teaching material gained positive feedback and enthusiasm from kids. Soil is an important and easy to experience part of preteen life and so the topic was especially welcomed. Scientific understanding was implemented through experiments which were developed in a way that indicates in itself if the pupils understood the topic.
The teaching material helped learning through gathering observable and measurable evidence and making distinctions (differences in components, colour, smell), to understand logical links between causes and results. 'Dig and learn' creates various occasions to live up to sustainability education by helping the pedagogue to make the most of it. The teaching material brings the world of nature closer to children and teaches them to pay attention to it. Children were aware also that they and their families should make an important contribution to sustainable development. The family education profile is very important: some children were already used to manipulate tools such as magnifying lens, shovels, etc. - for them it was easier to understand the 'scientific' aspects like why the water is flowing faster through gravel than sand and garden soil. EFSUPS activities give opportunities to all children to understand and act positive in the benefit of nature and automatically in their own benefit. They soon realise that our actions have effects on the long run (on soil, water, air).
In general, it seems very easy to implement the teaching material in the local education systems since the local pedagogic cultures are adaptable to the requirements of the curriculum. Teachers found it trouble-free to usefully complete or further develop the materials for their own purposes. From the technical point of view the curriculum is feasible. Almost all equipment can be found in an everyday household or can be made from simple things or even rubbish. All the necessary materials are easy to purchase and so 'Dig and learn" can be used in financially less supported schools as well. But the missing internet access of many schools and kindergartens makes it complicated to get access to the online material. This will be considered when planning further dissemination strategies in each country.
The developed materials are freely accessible on the project website: http://www.teaching-soil.eu(si apre in una nuova finestra) or http://www.exploring-the-ground.eu(si apre in una nuova finestra). All materials can be used in teaching settings in schools and kindergartens. The materials were originally available in English. The texts are translated to Romanian, Hungarian, German, Spanish and French. When using the material a reference quotation is expected.
Teachers and educators can choose and download all or single instructions for teaching units on soil issues in kindergartens or primary schools. The project offers give a clear time frame, as well as objectives for each unit and offers for practical experiments. Instructions for the arrangements of experiments and the construction of special equipment are added.
Dissemination activities for the EFSUPS project were performed on different levels and addressed different audiences. The media and methodologies used have been internet via own project website as well as posting videos and project information on other websites, press releases, poster and flyer, presentations in seminars, workshops and conferences, personal talks and TV and radio broadcast. The audience addressed have been teachers and educators, special interest groups such as teachers associations or 'Wissenschaft im Dialog (WiD)', NGOs, environmental groups etc., students and researchers, other projects such as 'Science on stage', but also the general public. All workshop, seminar and conference activities have been accompanied by press releases.
