Project EUR-EMSET

Framework for Development:

Projects within the project

The EUR-EMSET Wiki: The Wiki is the project!http://eur-emset.wikispaces.com Trevor Davies gave his presentation on using the project Wiki. Trevor made the

point that the Wiki as used at present was in effect only similar to a project website. Members needed to learn to utilise the site fully! The purpose of creating a wiki was to enable interactive discussion and development of documentation as the project progresses.

The Wiki enables the easy creation and browsing of webpages. Members can click New Page and then upload content. Remember to sign on to the Wiki before attempting any actions. If you access the Wiki and don’t sign on, you are not acting as a member, merely as a viewer of the site.

Security: The Wiki is open for others to see, but not alter/edit. It is possible to have a secure wiki – but there is an annual fee (currently $2000). We need to remember this in relation to pictures of students etc. However, we can use the openness of the Wiki as an advantage in terms of dissemination and development.

The Wiki will support podcasts and videos, not just text. New members can be invited to join the Wiki at any time. This can of course

include students. The Wiki can facilitate collaborative work between students. This is a facet of

our work that we need to develop.

The Student questionnaire A detailed discussion of the draft questionnaire took place. Martin

undertook to produce a revised draft version and upload it to the Wiki for further comments and review, by Friday 5 March.

Comments should be made on the Wiki by Friday 12 March. Martin would then upload a final version by Monday 15 March.

Schools were asked to get students to fill in the questionnaire – before the end of this term is possible.

Please return a summary of the results to Martin by Friday 23 April. This should include a brief sample of interesting comments made in response to the open questions (in English translation from Sweden).

 We should use the results of the questionnaire to enable us to re-examine (together) our methodologies and approaches – and make real improvements in the quality of teaching and learning through the EUR-EMSET Project

Maths developments: Steve Lomax/Helena Lilja Steve suggested that our principal aim (in the project, as in curriculum

development more broadly) was to change the role of the student from that of passive recipient to that of active participant in the learning process.

Steve stressed the importance of co-operation in the area of Assessment of Pupil Progress (APP) H e and Helena proposed that a series of video clips of maths learning in progress in each country should be developed in this context. It would also be interesting to co-operate in the area of working with gifted and talented pupils, in relation to developing their problem-solving skills.

Steve then presented a programme he had developed with UK colleagues on using the football World Cup for maths teaching. This is now available on the project Wiki.

An issue that could be explored together was, ‘What is contextualised learning?’

Science developments: Alex Fleming/?

Teaching Models Project

Environmental science/Outdoor education: Sally Morley/ Bödil Lövgren

Education business and science and technology developments: STEMworks/Andy Robertson/?

‘Trampolin’ Initiative

‘Automation Region’

Work Related Village Project

Enterprise and Business Challenge Days

University co-operation in initial and in-service training: Jane Moore/Margareta Enghag

Plan to conduct a video conference between student teachers in England and Sweden about international collaboration.

Include international experience within the portfolio of learning for the final examination for student teachers in Sweden? And the UK??

Secure a Swedish student teacher for Wyedean?

University co-operation in research and action research activities: Margareta Enghag Margareta explained the basis of the S-TEAM Project – Science Teachers’

Education Advanced Method – which involves 26 universities across Europe. The project seeks to develop enquiry-based teaching and learning and relevant

methods for teachers’ professional development to support this. Some deliverables will be part of the Comenius Regio EUR-EMSET. Specifically,

the Comenius Regio Project will help to enable the S-TEAM Project to involve teachers and students in schools directly in S-TEAM Project developments.

The project had begun with a major literature review. One fundamental issue concerned the tension between enquiry-based teaching and learning and dialogic enquiry concerning science content. Within the project, researchers categorise lesson activities and conduct a statistical analysis of the results.

Margareta has already worked with Rönnbyskolan and another Våsterås school, Hellbyskolan, on project dissemination. She is keen to involve teachers in action research

She noted that 75% of teachers of science in compulsory schools in Sweden don’t have science as a first specialism.

Margareta’s view was that in general teachers of science in Sweden are closer to students than in the UK, though practice in the UK varies widely in this regard.

Inter-school co-operation: Wyedean/Rönnbyskolan: Elaine Turner/ Tobias Åsell Global Footprint Project The project is part of the Comenius Bilateral Application and as such is not

the main priority for the next 3 months. We will know if we have been successful in the summer.

Within the overall theme of reducing the footprint we leave as teachers and students, we will choose from various focus areas such as water, energy, technology, transport etc. The Swedish students will be ages 13 to 15 (years 7 and 8) and the English students will be year 10 (age 14/15) by the time we do the project. Rönnbyskolan already plan to run this project with 22 staff and 215 students as a cross curricular theme. The waste management company will form part of this project. Wyedean science department already build into their schemes of work the following work themes: the environment, recycling, ecology, food webs etc. Stuart Motson / Elaine Turner to find out how far down the road Wyedean is towards becoming an Eco-school.

Steve Lomax and Helena Lilja will consider developing maths material to accompany the resources already available on the WWF website?

Inter-school co-operation: Wyedean/RönnbyskolanWorld Cup themed cross-curricular project This will focus on year 8 in Wyedean and year 7/8 in Rönnbyskolan. Students will work in groups of 4/5 – mixed gender or single sex. Themes will be selected to investigate – the first will focus on travel. How will a

family of 4 (2 adults and 2 children ages 12 and 14) get to the world cup in South Africa? Students will be invited to suggest different modes of transport: bus, train, boat, plane and examine the cost, time and feasibility of their chosen method of travel.

Other strands of the project will be the impact on the environment; where the family should locate themselves in SA; the type of accommodation; how to travel to the various venues for the matches; what to do with themselves for the free time between matches. Steve Lomax will compile resources on 26th February and distribute to both schools.

Stuart Motson and/or Tom Rugg will attend maths lessons to help run this activity as maths can afford time to take students off the conventional scheme of work whereas science cannot. The project is likely to take in the region of 3 months.

A video conference will be held to allow the teachers to discuss the planning for the World Cup themed cross-curricular project and share how they intend to run it.

Inter-school co-operation: Deer Park/St Ilians skola Co-operative work between Deer Park and St Ilians: Year 8 focus group (12/13 years). A maths lesson from Deer Park had been

used at St Ilians. A science lesson had been sent from St Ilians and would shortly be used at Deer Park.

Deer Park has also recently sent another lesson on the theme of the Olympics.

The idea was for the pupils to share their impressions of the same lesson and what they feel they have learned. The intention was to extend this co-operation to a themed sequence of lessons.

A major issue was: How do pupils communicate? MSN and Facebook are familiar to pupils, but not allowed in school – at

least in the UK. Wiki. It was possible to invite students to join – and this system is already

set up. Need to remember the system is not secure, so no pictures of pupils.

E-twinning – is secure. But would need to be set up – and could duplicate Wiki?

Inter-school co-operation: Deer Park/St Ilians skola: Gail Stevens/Peter Johansson/Eva JohanssonInvolving Design and Technology? The possibility of involving Design and Technology in project activities was

then discussed. In Sweden this could include between five and seven separate subject areas: art; design; woodwork; textiles; cooking; technology…. There was not so much connection with maths. In the UK there was more of a practical approach.

Anne-Marie offered the participation of technology in a project on a suitable theme, such as ‘Bridges’. Peter suggested that such a project could also involve a study of the natural environment of a river (or a sea) crossed by the bridge. Anne-Marie suggested that the most exciting possibility was a face-to-face meeting of pupils, to construct a bridge together. This could involve many different aspects of learning. Alexandra commented that this could in fact be the subject of a new Comenius application (either bilateral or multilateral).

It was agreed that it would be very useful to hold a video conference to discuss these ideas more fully.

Inter-school co-operation: Bussage/Rönnbyskolan (primary)

Inter-school co-operation: Thomas Keble/Lindboskolan

Kajsa outlined the Swedish national project in which Lindboskolan is involved. The purpose was to raise the level of students’ maths skills through the concept of ‘Maths in everyday life’. One issue to be addressed was involving the parents in the learning process and engaging their support.

Thomas showed a presentation of pictures compiled during the visit to England entitled ‘Design and Function’, which will be used in the project.

Lindboskolan is working on the project with the support of Mediecenter. They are seeking to find links between maths and the world of work – and also relevant and stimulating computer programmes for use by students in their mathematics. There is also a link between the project and Swedish educational radio.

Colleagues from Lindboskolan were keen to develop links with Thomas Keble, including possibly a Comenius multilateral project beginning in 2011, focusing on maths and science. This project could link closely to the ‘Maths in everyday life’ project?

Waste management and recycling: Britt-Inger Olsson/Kate Cole

Joint project to be developed – Comenius school project with primary schools?

Vafab Miljø is involved in Global School Project with  Rönnbyskolan

New possibilities …Co-operation in in-service training provision?(Conny Ström, Ove Svensson)