Periodic Reporting for period 2 - Make it Open (Make it Open)
Période du rapport: 2022-04-01 au 2023-09-30
In the last two decades, educational expectations have risen significantly. While the traditional school day focused on core subjects for 4 to 6 hours, recent years have introduced 21st-century skills like critical thinking, computer science, artificial intelligence, and environmental studies. This has led to a curriculum that is “a mile wide and an inch deep” The challenge extends beyond content overload; it involves transforming how students learn. To address this dual challenge of introducing new subjects and promoting in-depth understanding, a radical educational overhaul is needed. There are not enough hours in the school day to meet these demands, so learning must extend beyond the school building and day. We must create a learning continuum by turning every space into a learning space.
Make it Open aims to establish a sustainable open schooling (OS) infrastructure in Europe, utilising the Maker movement’s approach, pedagogy, content, processes, and tools. The project introduced innovative STEAM activities, fostered new partnerships for science learning, and provided teachers with hands-on tools. This initiative made science more tangible and appealing, enhancing scientific literacy among students and families in 10 European countries.
Make it Open aims to establish a sustainable open schooling (OS) infrastructure in Europe, utilising the Maker movement’s approach, pedagogy, content, processes, and tools. The project introduced innovative STEAM activities, fostered new partnerships for science learning, and provided teachers with hands-on tools. This initiative made science more tangible and appealing, enhancing scientific literacy among students and families in 10 European countries.
The Make it Open consortium started the project with extensive mapping and research into the concept of OS. Using Service Design, a thorough understanding of the context where schools, teachers and learners operate was created. By developing this shared knowledge, some of the apparent obstacles to entry were anticipated and accessible introductory resources were created.
The project has developed 16 modular Learning Scenarios (LS) - lesson plans that have been co-created with teachers on several STEAM topics for elementary and junior high schools. They have been designed in a way that makes it easy for educators to use, adapt or mix them so that they fit into any educational context. These LS were first piloted by 8 schools in 4 different countries and then used in 156 schools across 10 countries. They are modular, and based on methodologies that impart an array of skills.
Another important result of the project is the OS Navigator. It is an online platform, translated into 10 languages, that supports the accessibility of the Make it Open resources. It enables educators to test OS approaches and support them in its long-term uptake. All the materials on the Navigator are licensed under the Creative Commons licence allowing teachers, educators and any stakeholders to copy, redistribute, adapt, and remix the materials for their purposes. The Navigator will continue existing beyond the end of the project, serving its community of educators.
Make it Open formed 10 national hubs in several countries in Europe and beyond – Greece, Hungary, Israel, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden and the UK. The main objective of the hubs was to support schools in their transformation from traditional educational institutions to spaces of community well-being. This was done through and beyond the creation of various partnerships with parents, industry actors, non-formal learning organisations, policymakers and researchers. The hubs provided mentorship to 156 schools, reaching 17,000 students.
The project has been running evaluation and impact assessment activities using the Proof of Concept methodology. Through three studies, the impact of the Make it Open interventions on the community of learners was investigated. They examined both short-term and long-term effects, specifically focusing on students and teachers. This approach allowed to assess changes in critical aspects, including students’ learning environments and parental involvement in learning activities. All of the results were summarised in a comprehensive toolkit that captured the essence of the Make it Open approach.
Communication and scaling of OS were also a major part of the project. Results of the project were widely spread through online channels and were presented at more than 40 national and international events. Most important outcomes were also circulated among European Schoolnet’s network of Ministries of Education and Scientix to guarantee wider outreach. More than 1,000 people registered to the project MOOC, while over 600 actively participated, reaching over 12,000 students. The online course was designed to introduce participants to OS as well as Maker Movement’s ideas and pedagogy.
Finally, the Open Schooling Together (OStogether) network was created. It became the hub for projects in OS and science education. During the three years the network has been existing, it has included 16 projects. Although all of the projects have a different approach to OS, the common ground is that placing schools in the centre of community well-being is central to them. The network has created joined communication channels and organised common inspiration sessions, events and workshops.
The project has developed 16 modular Learning Scenarios (LS) - lesson plans that have been co-created with teachers on several STEAM topics for elementary and junior high schools. They have been designed in a way that makes it easy for educators to use, adapt or mix them so that they fit into any educational context. These LS were first piloted by 8 schools in 4 different countries and then used in 156 schools across 10 countries. They are modular, and based on methodologies that impart an array of skills.
Another important result of the project is the OS Navigator. It is an online platform, translated into 10 languages, that supports the accessibility of the Make it Open resources. It enables educators to test OS approaches and support them in its long-term uptake. All the materials on the Navigator are licensed under the Creative Commons licence allowing teachers, educators and any stakeholders to copy, redistribute, adapt, and remix the materials for their purposes. The Navigator will continue existing beyond the end of the project, serving its community of educators.
Make it Open formed 10 national hubs in several countries in Europe and beyond – Greece, Hungary, Israel, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden and the UK. The main objective of the hubs was to support schools in their transformation from traditional educational institutions to spaces of community well-being. This was done through and beyond the creation of various partnerships with parents, industry actors, non-formal learning organisations, policymakers and researchers. The hubs provided mentorship to 156 schools, reaching 17,000 students.
The project has been running evaluation and impact assessment activities using the Proof of Concept methodology. Through three studies, the impact of the Make it Open interventions on the community of learners was investigated. They examined both short-term and long-term effects, specifically focusing on students and teachers. This approach allowed to assess changes in critical aspects, including students’ learning environments and parental involvement in learning activities. All of the results were summarised in a comprehensive toolkit that captured the essence of the Make it Open approach.
Communication and scaling of OS were also a major part of the project. Results of the project were widely spread through online channels and were presented at more than 40 national and international events. Most important outcomes were also circulated among European Schoolnet’s network of Ministries of Education and Scientix to guarantee wider outreach. More than 1,000 people registered to the project MOOC, while over 600 actively participated, reaching over 12,000 students. The online course was designed to introduce participants to OS as well as Maker Movement’s ideas and pedagogy.
Finally, the Open Schooling Together (OStogether) network was created. It became the hub for projects in OS and science education. During the three years the network has been existing, it has included 16 projects. Although all of the projects have a different approach to OS, the common ground is that placing schools in the centre of community well-being is central to them. The network has created joined communication channels and organised common inspiration sessions, events and workshops.
Make it Open is a Coordination and Support Action and yet besides fulfilling its objectives and work plan, some of the outcomes have gone beyond the state of the art. Those contributions are mainly related to two areas.
Standardisation and awareness raising: as part of its approach to OS through the lens of service design, the project has put in place an analysis which helped understand OS in terms of its characteristic components. The resultant framework produced a way of thinking about OS which is coherent and consistent; it has been shared in several science education forums and greeted as a novel contribution in the field. Beyond this, the evaluation of the project activities has demonstrated that participation in the "Make it Open" project significantly expanded students' views of their learning environment. Moreover, students exhibited improved skills in teamwork, cooperation, planning, and problem-solving, both immediately after the project and six months later. With regards to teachers, their comprehension of OS improved and the project encouraged positive attitudes among teachers toward incorporating outdoor learning experiences into their lessons. All of these findings suggest that not only the project has pushed forward the understanding of OS but can also demonstrate transformations in enriching the educational experience and fostering positive changes in both students and educators.
Networking and coordination: the project has played a major role in promoting networking and collaboration with other actors in the field by creating the collaborative endeavour OStogether with sister projects. The OStogether network has been a remarkable collaborative effort, enabling Make it Open and its partners to enhance synergies and share resources with over 190 project partners in the field of OS. On another level, the project has established and maintained a wide network of OS hubs (at least 10) that follow the philosophy of Make it Open. These hubs have supported international networking activities and knowledge exchange, including 4 from the Widening countries of Horizon Europe. The work achieved during the project acted as strong case studies that fed the Make it Open MOOC supporting the legacy and uptake in OS across Europe.
Standardisation and awareness raising: as part of its approach to OS through the lens of service design, the project has put in place an analysis which helped understand OS in terms of its characteristic components. The resultant framework produced a way of thinking about OS which is coherent and consistent; it has been shared in several science education forums and greeted as a novel contribution in the field. Beyond this, the evaluation of the project activities has demonstrated that participation in the "Make it Open" project significantly expanded students' views of their learning environment. Moreover, students exhibited improved skills in teamwork, cooperation, planning, and problem-solving, both immediately after the project and six months later. With regards to teachers, their comprehension of OS improved and the project encouraged positive attitudes among teachers toward incorporating outdoor learning experiences into their lessons. All of these findings suggest that not only the project has pushed forward the understanding of OS but can also demonstrate transformations in enriching the educational experience and fostering positive changes in both students and educators.
Networking and coordination: the project has played a major role in promoting networking and collaboration with other actors in the field by creating the collaborative endeavour OStogether with sister projects. The OStogether network has been a remarkable collaborative effort, enabling Make it Open and its partners to enhance synergies and share resources with over 190 project partners in the field of OS. On another level, the project has established and maintained a wide network of OS hubs (at least 10) that follow the philosophy of Make it Open. These hubs have supported international networking activities and knowledge exchange, including 4 from the Widening countries of Horizon Europe. The work achieved during the project acted as strong case studies that fed the Make it Open MOOC supporting the legacy and uptake in OS across Europe.