Between 2-5 hours

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 #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?

Air pollution #5 – Let’s do our research!

The aim of this activity is to develop the students’ inquiry competence. In this sense, students in groups, helped by a specific scaffolding tool, need to plan and carry out their own research about air pollution in/around their school.