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Forests toolkit #3 – How is the debate on forests portrayed by the media?

The aim of this activity is to enable students’ engagement in meaningful science-society interaction and the development of critical thinking competence in the area of “Forest use vs. Forest Protection”. It enables students to gain insights into the work and considerations of a journalist and highlight core aspects which distinguish journalism from opinion-makers with different agendas. At the same time, students gain insight into local forest-related issues.

Forests toolkit #1 – Humans and the forests: Interviews with three generations

Forests are one of our most important natural resources, and part of the solution to the challenges we face. People and stakeholders have different interests in forests, underpinned by environmental, economic, cultural and social values. Often, these interests and values conflict with one another. How to manage forests is a complex and highly topical issue.

The aim of this activity is to place the forest theme in an authentic, local and historic context, and to highlight its relevance to students’ everyday lives. Conducting this activity contributes to highlighting different perspectives on the topic of Forest use vs. Forest protection.

Antimicrobial Resistance #4 – Development of the open schooling projects

The aim of this activity is to promote knowledge construction and validation, creative action, as well as self-efficacy through collaboration among the students to create possible solutions to AMR while taking ownership of their learning. The activity introduces students to their mission to start an awareness-raising campaign for AMR consisting of different open schooling projects, thus having an impact at the local level. The different open schooling projects and guiding steps are summarised in the Students’ resources section below.

Antimicrobial Resistance #3 – Bacterial resistance to antibiotics: An authentic experience

The aim of this activity is to initiate collaboration between educational and non-educational agents, raise students’ awareness of science-related careers through meaningful interaction with experts, and enhance students’ interest in science through activities developed in an authentic context related to AMR.

The activity develops in two steps: (1) Meeting the experts in school and (2) Engaging in authentic activities at the experts’ facilities. It is important to note that aside from the relevant background of the experts (i.e., microbiologist, molecular biologist, biochemist, biotechnologist, geneticist), a set of criteria should be defined for their selection in terms of gender, ethnicity, religion and socioeconomic status in order to maximise inclusivity. Moreover, coordination meetings need to be arranged between the teachers and the experts before the interaction with the students.

Antimicrobial Resistance #2 – Should we ban the use of antibiotics for flu treatment?

The aim of this activity is to introduce students to sustained inquiry by training argumentation as a scientific practice. It provides students with the opportunity to reflect on the available information and prompts them to create possible solutions for the issue of AMR. Initially, there is an introduction to a simple definition of an argument, the components of an argument, the identification of an argument, and how to formulate a strong argument. After practising formulating arguments based on a rubric, the students get prepared to organise a debate on the topic: We should ban the use of antibiotics for flu treatment. Do you agree or disagree?

Antimicrobial Resistance #1 – What do you think about AMR? Stakeholders’ views

This activity explores AMR from the perspective of different stakeholders in order to document the issue, elaborate on the challenges to be addressed and practice critical thinking. Authentic media items are provided to students, representing the positions of different societal actors. The goal is to raise awareness of the issue and reflect on the credibility of the information using an information literacy test. It is important to note that the activity is introduced after an initial brainstorming to get students familiar with basic facts and knowledge related to bacteria, antibiotics and resistance.

Forest use vs. Forest protection toolkit

Forests are one of our most important natural resources, and part of the solution to the global and local socio-environmental challenges we face. People and stakeholders have different interests in forests, underpinned by environmental, economic, cultural and social values. Often, these interests and values conflict with one another. How to manage forests is a complex and highly topical issue.

This toolkit uses real-life examples on the subject of forests to increase students’ commitment and willingness/ability to discuss complex topics and trade-offs, to make decisions based on economic, ecological, cultural, and social perspectives, to find compromises, and to develop different pathways for action.

Antimicrobial resistance toolkit

Overwhelming evidence shows that increased use, over-prescription and overconsumption are leading to an increase in antibiotic-resistant bugs. However, many people overuse and misuse anti-microbial chemicals because they lack knowledge about infections and anti-microbial agents – a critical issue around the globe that is affecting our health and putting our lives at risk. Thus, a vital step towards tackling this issue is to address it in education classrooms and through informed action.

This toolkit helps teachers to engage students and their families to develop a deeper understanding of the topic through first-hand experiences with relevant stakeholders, ultimately enabling them to make better-informed decisions about the use of antibiotics.

Air pollution toolkit

Air pollution is considered one of the leading environmental risks. Specially, traffic is one of the most significant sources of air pollution in urban areas. Recently, research on this topic has pointed out important health effects not only in the human respiratory system but also in human cognition and cardiovascular illnesses for those who are exposed to pollution. Thus, we need citizens’ active involvement to change this situation. This toolkit helps students to deeply consider how to improve the air quality in cities by collecting and analysing data and discussing it with scientists, experts in global health, and other relevant groups (NGO, policymakers, etc).