Communication training dayLevi, 14th November 2005

Goal

“Raise your communication skills by doing a carboschools project” : the training is not really today, but through doing a project… so the expectation from today is:

Implement successful carboschools projects during the coming months & years

& as a consequence:- Engage some interaction among the projects at the European

level- Progressively feed the carboschools website with nice materials

and project outcomes useful to other scientists & teachers (pilot projects also means“impulsing the pump”)

Die workshop – March 2005

4 days / 20 participants sharing experience & methods about:

• How to best encourage school projects about global change research? (first level of action: “personal involvement”)

• How to best organise regional programmes supporting such school projects from research institutions? (second level of action: “institutional involvement”)

=> a shared perception of the needs of students, teachers, scientists.

Die workshop: experiences

• Interdisciplinary school projects in France & Denmark / Young reporters

• NaT project IFM Geomar (Kiel)• Researchers in Residence (UK)• Science live Heidelberg• Max Planck Teacher training project• PIK Environmental education (Potsdam)• Teacher-Scientist Network (Norwich)

Results

• Teacher-Scientist Partnership / project-based approaches based on human interaction rather than approaches mostly based on website/materials

• Priority for 2005-2006: pilot projects from interested individual scientists (i.e. « personal involvement »)

• In a longer term: decentralised activities run by research institutions (local approaches within a European common frame / network) (i.e. « institutional involvement »)

• Proposal for a specific EU project => submitted to the Science & Society call in Spring (rejected); re-submission planned for 2006.

Resources & tools

Methodology: Teacher-Scientist Partnership Guide Contents: Educational booklet « What we know, what we don’t know &

how we try to better understand global change » (broader audience) Promotion materials:

Advertisement for scientistsAdvertisement for teachers (Call for school projects)« Call for CarboSchools » sent with a letter to all heads of institutes members of CO/CE in Summer 2005

www.carboschools.org: materials (Engl, Fr) + publication database for project resources & results (operational November 2005)

+ Guidelines for institutional approaches

What is a CarboSchools project?

• Main goals:- better understanding local and global challenges of climate

change- discovering scientific research and latest findings- acting locally to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.• 12-18 y.old students• Interdisciplinary team of teachers• Over several weeks or months• Very flexible• Networking at European level

Teacher-Scientist Partnership

Always remember:- This is a kind of compass, to have a common

reference about where to go; but we all know that reality has many more constraints.

- This is not a unique model. European interaction between different approaches will always be a source of inspiration & mutual training.

- Small is beautiful, the essential is to start!

Institutional approaches existing or in preparation (different models)

CIO Groningen: CO2 schoolnet (Gratama Foundation 24 k€)IBIMET: School projects in Trentino (reg. funding 15 k€) +

teacher/scientist workshop in Trento (in prep)LSCE Gif/Yvette (regional funding 45 k€)Max Planck Society (teacher training project, application to

Bosh Foundation)IFM-GEOMAR Kiel (Nat-Working project, funded by Bosh

Foundation) + workshop for pilot nordic project (in prep)University of BergenUniversity of Heidelberg(+ Barcelona, Uppsala in frame of EU proposal)

‘Follow a scientific expedition’

• BEFORE MISSION: Write a short introduction for school students (scientific goals & research questions behind, main instruments & techniques used, map & photos) & invite every participant to the expedition (including PhD & technicians) to offer a talk to a school close to them. When possible, invite some teachers & students for a lab visit, to see & try some instruments etc. 

• DURING MISSION: Write a diary (short texts, funny stories, photos, interesting data etc.) & Reply questions.

• AFTER MISSION : Go back to the schools where you gave the initial talk, show your photos & results and discuss your experience with the students.

Tips from Phil Smith / TSN Norwich

‘Feel free to say what is not acceptable to you’

Both teacher & scientist should always feel as though they can say toeach other if either one of them is not happy with what the othersuggests. For example :

The topic the scientist proposes is outside the range of what theschool study

The scientist is uncomfortable with the parts of the project they arebeing asked to contribute to

The school want the scientist to visit more than they feel they canThe scientist is using the opportunity to promote a product, schools

may well object

Points to consider when contacting a school

- What do you expect? (interest of media, help with collecting data, attract students…)

- what do you offer? (hands-on experiments, introductory lecture, access to data…)

- How many students? (number, ages, prequalification)

- How long time will the cooperation last? Can you adapt to the school calendar?

- How to identify the right teacher?

Planning together(points for the first meeting)

• Preparation of the students before the actual contact (eg. materials)

• Expectations for the students’ final product: report, newspaper article, ppt presentation, conference…

• Economy: who is going to pay what• When do we meet, is it rather one visit or several

visits?• Type of follow-up (e-mail, access to data…)