On October 1 the Climate Action project will be launched. During 1 month your students will focus on Climate Change. In this email I'd like to offer a bit more information about the scope and mission of the project.
Scope:
During this project collaboration on a global scale is key. We aim to create global citizenships and strive for engaged students and changed mindsets.
Formal education tends to be restricted to direct instruction, memorization and assessment. And second, we need to make our students global citizens focussing on global issues. In this project we will shift to other learning approaches and will allow our students not only to study, but also solve problems, find solution and maybe even taking action. During the project our students will explore, brainstorm, discuss, create, connect and share. Maybe you already allow your students to collaborate in the classroom, maybe this is new and so you might be initially driven outside your comfort zone. No worries, you will be offered a global platform in which you can ask questions, share best practices and will be guided by us.
This project will involve students aged 8 to 21. Every group will participate at their capacity. Some will work 1h a week, others 2h a day. You may use technology when available. Very cool fact: at all times one group across the world will be working on the project. We have participants from Hawaii to New Zealand!
Week 1
During the first week our students focus on Climate Change. What is
climate change? What is happening in the world?
Offer your students an introduction and ask questions. Offer a good context. Then allow your students to brainstorm, explore, discuss. During this project you become a helpdesk and mentor, pointing your students in the right direction.
Your students need to create a video reflecting what they learned during this week. This video is max 5 minutes, recorded in landscape. It would be nice if they present themselves, their country very briefly (max 1 min). You are able to add videos and pictures to the website yourself. Deadline for submitting the first week's video: Oct 10.
Take a look at last year's video's created by students.
Take a look at some videos. Watching videos created by other participants living in other continents is an important part of this project.
Last year students invited their parents in the classroom, interviewed people on the street, created prototypes, used educational resources like green screen, lego, minecraft, stop motion videos, sang, danced, drew, handcrafted, wrote stories, etc.
In this self inquiry and student centered approach, your students inevitably will choose their path and this may drive you - their teacher - outside their comfort zone. This is why we offer a shared document with some resources so you know a bit more about the subject.
Feel free to add resources to the document! Please find the
document here.
Week 2:
During the second week our students will focus on climate change in their area.
Week 3:
Students will try to define solutions - Students will create the longest list of solutions which will be published.
Week 4:
Students will have Skype session with peers across the world and will take action
We will hold a Global Day and present our initiatives to the rest of the world.
Questions?
Questions? Please send me an email. Try to avoid to use Messenger, Whatsapp, Twitter messages, etc as it is very difficult to coordinate a group of hundred of teachers using different channels.
Website
By now you all should be able to sign in at the website. Let me know when you're not able to create an account.
Interesting anecdotes? Please let me know what's happening in your classroom!
Decided not to participate after all? Please let me know and I'll remove your account from the website.
Do you know some expert who'd like to do a master class at the end of the project via Skype? Do you know a celebrity willing to support our project?
Please let me know.
Good luck and have fun!
