The Blue School team of our school, Gymnasium of Anthousa from Greece, cares about ocean life without plastic.
For this reason, our school supported the 2022 STEM Discovery Campaign. As a contribution to the campaign, we participated in the live event in April 12th 2022 with the tittle: “UNDERSTANDING AND ACTING FOR A HEALTHY PLASTIC FREE SEA”. The working language of this event was English.
The event focused on examining and understanding the paths of plastic pollution, the impact on marine ecosystems and new technologies for observation and removal. Students also refered to different sectors of the blue economy, in a circular economy perspective, by spreading a message.
The contribution of our school are the following activities.
1. Let’ s play the board game Snakes and Ladders “without plastics in the seas!”
The main purpose of this board game (Snakes and Ladders) is to raise environmental awareness, which concentrates on ocean life without plastic.
When a player lands on a ladder, moves to a square with a higher number. This action represents that he/she did something good for the environment. When a player lands on a snake’s head, moves to a square with a lower number. This action represents that he/she harmed the environment. There are also some squares that make you move some steps forward or backwards, depending on the player’s environmental actions. The participants of this board game can be at least two.
The board game Snakes and Ladders about healthy seas
2. We CLEAN beaches – We RESPECT our environment!
On Monday 11/4 our school visited the beach of Rafina, which is located 17 km close to Anthousa. During our school program, the students – members of the Blue School participated in an action which was about cleaning a beach.
At first, the were students divided into groups. Each group received a folder, which included a map of the area and a worksheet. At this worksheet the students wrote down the types of rubbish that they met, annotations and questions.
They not only wrote down the types of rubbish that they saw, but also took pictures, observed the beach and orientated themselves. Since at that day the weather was unsettled and windy, the next day at school, they placed on a paper the rubbish they collected and observed their types. These were mostly out of plastic and they hat as origin the land. The majority of them were for a long time on the beach or in the sea.
One of the students volunteered and was “tied” from the other students with a thin rope, in order to be in the place of an animal that is trapped at fishing net. She felt panic, despair, being trapped and fear. She mentioned that after hours she would feel hunger and the danger that a predator might attack.
Collection of rubbish on the Beach
Examination of the rubbish
Being in the place of a trapped fish
3.A video titled: POLLUTION IN THE MEDITERANNEAN SEA
Within the framework of the blue school project in our school “Gymnasium of Anthousa Attikis” in Greece, the students created a video about the pollution in the Mediterranean Sea. This video participated in a competition organized from The Hellenic Centre for Marine Research and won the first price, during the school year 2020-2021.
Teacher: Ira Tuba, “Savremena” primary and secondary school – Belgrade, Serbia
Introduction
Environmental protection is not an overly interesting area for children. But, through the application of various modern technologies it could be. This post will be about implementing STEM subjects in order to make students aware of the problems of recycling and waste disposal. The topic is divided into four sessions. Each session aimed to help students acquire new knowledge in an innovative and creative way and, also, encourage them to educate others in their surrounding about the importance of recycling.
This scenario was implemented live in our school, but is also suitable for online teaching. Fifteen students ages 10-11 participated in this project. Their prior knowledge of this topic was very superficial. They never dealt with this subject in school. Everything they knew they heard on television or from their parents. Therefore, they weren’t sure if the information they had was accurate.
The first lesson took place on April 1st. In that class, students were introduced to the concept of recycling and the impact of waste on the environment. They shared their experiences related to waste and recycling with the class and commented on them. At the end of this lesson we suggested that they use their social media to send a message to the world about the importance of recycling. Our students really liked that, and I think any students would. The idea of using their social media for school is very exciting for them.
The next class took place on April 8th. It was all about the impact that irresponsible garbage disposal has on the environment. We played a video for students about plastic bottles that shocked them quite a bit. After watching that video they were surprised with some facts about the impact that waste has on our health. That motivated them to be even more creative in designing promotional posters about recycling. They were very happy to place them around the school to always remind us to protect the planet and thus our health. This is some of their work.
The subject of the 3rd class, that took place on April 19th, is economic benefits of recycling. After learning what a circular economy is and why it is needed, we gave them a research task. They needed to find out how different countries stimulate the growth of the circular economy. For this task they had to apply their technological and information literacy, as well as critical thinking. These are all 21st century skills they will need in their future careers. Students like to be in the role of researchers and to find the necessary information on their own using technology. Therefore, this task was very interesting for them. I think this is a great way to stimulate students to actively participate in class.
Highlight of the scenario
The last session, which took place on April 27th, was the most interesting to the students. The joint creation of an interactive panel was the first part of the class. On that panel were placed interesting facts about recycling. During this task, the students were very productive and engaged. They enjoyed group work.
In the second part of the class, they made digital picture books that will be material for educating younger students of our school. There are a lot of foreign students in our school. As a result, we were able to make picture books in 4 languages (Serbian, English, French and German). It meant a lot to the children that they were given the opportunity to be in the role of the authors of the educational material.
We think that this learning scenario went very well with the students. It was interesting to them and instructive. Above all, they understood how important it is to combine different subjects to solve a real-life problems. They have developed an awareness of the importance of preserving natural resources through recycling. Also, they have learned how they can contribute to it. In conclusion, we made this “boring” topic very interesting to them, so they were eager to learn as much as possible.
Working together
The cooperation between the teachers was excellent. We learned a lot from each other. We plan to continue to work together as often as possible as we have concluded that together we can do much more for our students.
This event used “Together We Can Make a Difference“, one of the 11 original STE (A) M IT Learning Scenarios. The event was held with 20 students between the ages of 8-9. Turkey started distance education on 15 March 2021. For this reason, the activity was carried out with distance education. The training was done through ZOOM.
INTRODUCTION
We live in an ever-changing world. How can we prepare our students for such a rapidly changing world? What should we teach our students today to help them live? What skills will they need? The answer to these questions is unknown, as no one knows what the world will do in the future.
In this activity, students were asked to think about the future and find solutions that would better protect the environment.
How can we reduce pollution levels (atmospheric, water, ocean)? What can we do to have more green spaces? They thought about how they could save energy to help air quality and ecosystems.
Subject (s) STEM topics:
Natural science
Mathematics
Physics
Non-STEM subjects:
Language
Art
Aims of the lesson
Students will:
Raise awareness of threats to our environment
Develop environmentally friendly behavior
Developing skills and habits that help keep the world beautiful and clean
Learn through creative design, creation, inquiry and exploration processes
Improve communication skills and collaborative learning
How can we help planet Earth, the future of our environment. Finding the answer to the question
21st century skills
This course will develop the following skills identified as the 21st century among students. Skills:
Learning skills
Critical thinking: Students will be asked to reflect on everyday issues. Provide solutions for each problem given during the discussion
Problem-solving: Students will identify problems affecting the environment. And they will offer a solution.
Technology skills
Information literacy: Students will learn about the climate It will help them create ideas and answers to real-life questions.
Life and career skills
Initiative: Students will take initiative to help their communities Social skills: Students will develop positive attitudes, how to interact with them and They will learn to value each other’s opinions. Creativity: Students will develop their creative thinking skills by getting information. They will create problem solutions from the analysis and criticism of a problem. Communication: Students will engage in constructive dialogue and listen to each one. Additionally, through the Art course, They will have the opportunity to produce materials for visual communication. Collaboration: Students in the classroom will collaborate with each other to solve problems. Productivity and accountability: Students will plan and manage time to do everything. Responsibility: Students will be asked to propose feasible and realistic solutions.
Time
Scheduled subjects – The screenshot belongs to the Author – Attribution CC-BY
Activities
In this activity, we tried to find answers to the following questions.
What is the environment? What kind of environment is it healthy to live in? Is the technology we have today making our lives better and emerging or harmful? What are renewable energy sources and how can they be used? Are there solutions for how the world can be a better place, and what are some mistakes we need to fix to make our environment better, healthier?
1st Lesson
“The world is not ours. We belong to the world.”
Brainstorming and discussion began on the above sentence. And the subject of the script was introduced to the students. Environmental awareness
Discussion; What kind of environment is required for a healthy life? Who and what pollutes our planet? technology Does it heal or hurt our lives today? What renewable energy sources and how can we use them? What solutions are there to make the world a better place and What are some bugs we need to fix for this to happen? It was shaped by questions.
2nd Lesson
Students’ homework: 30 years from now, they have been asked to think about what their country will be like in the future.Pollution, environment, climate change, energy, education. Each student wrote an article summarizing their own thoughts and views and explaining how these issues will have an impact on the future of the environment they live in. And they needed to think about potential solutions to how the Earth could be a better place and what some of the wrongs we need to correct. They wrote a class book from these articles. “What the future holds – our stories. Here it is.
What the future brings – our stories ebook – The photo belongs to the Author – Attribution CC-BY
3nd Lesson
We have a white handkerchief, what will happen if we step on it? Or if we put the handkerchief on the car’s tailpipe? The lesson started with these questions. As a result of the discussion, the students decided that the handkerchief would be dirty. Then;
How does a dirty environment affect our health?
Who should be responsible for the environment? Discussions were held on questions.
After the discussion; A video was watched on how to take care of the environment. Here is the video
How Should We Take Care of the Environment? – The photo belongs to the Author – Attribution CC-BY
After watching the video, students received a self-assessment to see how much they care about the environment.
After talking with the students about the environment and nature, students made a poster with their eco-messages. Posters with solutions on how to save the future of the world and people in general. The students gave the following messages on their posters;
Turn off power tools when not in use.
Replace plastic bags with linen
Separate waste and dispose of in containers provided
Choose hygiene products labeled as natural ingredients.
Students used the postermywall site to create their posters.
Eco-messages – The photo belongs to the Author – Attribution CC-BY
4nd Lesson
This activity started by watching a video about renewable energy and energy sources.
Video about renewable energy and energy sources – The photo belongs to the Author – Attribution CC-BY
After watching the video, we talked about energy and fuel. Energy types, renewable, non-renewable energy sources, where does the energy come from, types of fuels and the best for the environment, and why fossil fuels generated by the greenhouse. The students expressed their views on these issues.
Later, the students were divided into groups. Each group chose a renewable energy source.
Group1: Solar energy
Group2: Water energy
Group3: Wind energy
The groups explored the type of energy they were interested in. The research was about a brief description of the energy type, advantages, and disadvantages. They then posted their research results on a collaborative digital board “note.ly/” and presented them to their friends. We thought of the table not only as a reference for students but also as a common valuation method.
The students worked in pairs and wrote suggestions on how to reduce energy on their post-it notes. Then they placed them on the digital board. And then Energy action plan prepared: 10 easy ways to save energy (Annex 2)
Digital Board Work Created by Students – The photo belongs to the Author – Attribution CC-BY
The students were given the task of building a windmill. Also Creating a short video explaining wind power.
Student Designs – The photo belongs to the Author – Attribution CC-BY
5nd Lesson
Before the students came to the class, they learned the amount of money paid by their parents (electricity bills for the last 3 months). Then they determined the electrical appliances they used at home, their condition, and the amount of electricity they consumed in the last 3 months. Using this information, they created 2 tables.
In Table 1, they wrote which electrical appliances they used, how often they used them, and the amount of electricity they consumed in the last 3 months. In Table 2, they made a 1-year energy estimate. They guessed what tools they could use and removed unnecessary tools. By comparing with Table 1, they analyzed how much their electricity consumption decreased when they removed the unnecessary devices from the list and came to a conclusion and took note of the results.
Invoice Analysis and Savings – The photo belongs to the Author – Attribution CC-BY
6nd Lesson
Students were shown pictures of very crowded cities and non-urban places with significant industrial activities. The students argued over the question of how high the danger was. They saw that we can also destroy the environment outside the city.
Then the students were asked to draw 2 pictures. In the first picture, they drew what would happen in 30 years if we were not sensitive to the environment. In the second picture, if we are environmentally conscious, what can happen if we make an energy plan. The students then added the pictures they made to padlet.com and displayed them to their friends.
Environment in the eyes of the students after 30 years – The photo belongs to the Author – Attribution CC-BY
Evaluation
Students made the presentation and final pictures of the windmill with the online zoom tool. The evaluation was done using an online questionnaire. For this, the Kahoot tool was used. Kahoot is here.
Kahoot! – The screenshots belong to the Author – Attribution CC-BY
Formative evaluation
Formative assessment in the first, third and fourth lessons, all learning outcomes, surveys, and quizzes to gather information was obtained.
The activities supported the development of students’ systematic problem solving, critical thinking, and analysis skills. They thought about daily matters, discussed, and came up with solutions. They have learned to value each other’s opinions by developing a positive attitude. Information and technology improved literacy.
They acquired creative thinking skills. Through art class, they had the opportunity to produce materials for visual communication. In cooperation, they produced rational solutions to problems.
Students became aware of threats to our environment and they developed environmentally friendly behavior. They have acquired skills and habits that will help keep the world beautiful and clean.
Schools switched to distance education due to the epidemic. For this reason, the events took place over the internet. The learning scenario has been adapted to distance education. It has been supported by some online tools. Generally, students and parents gave positive feedback on this diverse, informative approach and They supported the participation of students in STEM subjects.
