SwafS has invested a lot in many different kinds of science education addressing different target groups starting at the age of teenagers. This pilot action addresses younger children at the age of kindergarten and primary education as well as teenagers. It has started at the time of the first workshop as an exchange of experts for science education of children and teenagers, who are working in very different formats and settings towards integrating RRI into science education, sometimes not explicit but rather building de-facto on RRI principles. We feature three of them here.
The second workshop of the Social Lab 15 took place at the premises of one of the pilot hosts, the Trnovo kindergarten in Ljubljana. The video was recorded while the kindergarten educators demonstrated their work to the social lab participants.
Inquiry-Based-Learning for Kindergarten Children, Action based classroom learning using a puppet, Trnovo kindergarten, Ljubljana, Slovenia
- Featured outcomes: video and didactic comments on the approach
- Aim: Help children in heterogeneous groups to acquire first-hand experience, use play as an effective natural learning method and tool for self-discovery and mental stimulation in a learning community.
In their didactic comments on their video on RRI Education, the Slovenian PA team provides a nuanced description and introduction to its highly interactive approach, i.e. inquiry-based-learning (IBL). The educators explain and demonstrate how play – as the most popular and useful natural learning method – can contribute to children’s cognitive development and shed light on the various social, behavioral and cognitive benefits for children.
During the IBL session recorded on the video, the children who were already familiar with this type of work were discovering natural characteristics of different material performing measurement, which they adapted according to their needs and based on the available material.
With the help of the puppet Fridolina, the educators interact with children who respond with enthusiasm, excitement and remarkable confidence. The children follow the puppet’s instructions and thereby spontaneously develop and adopt the IBL method and carry out the educators’ work plan. In this playful lab environment, children experience learning in a uniquely creative, open and thriving learning environment.
i-consent project: information in clinical trials for children -Citizen participation in research and clinical trials, FISABIO, Valencia, Spain
- Featured outcome: video for 12-13 year olds, set of guidelines/documents
- Aim: improving the information that participants receive from clinical studies and ensuring a transparent and comprehensible Informed Consent process.
Informed consent is essential in ensuring the autonomy of participants in clinical research. The project team contributes to a reduction of complexity by providing potential participants of clinical trials with guidance and more transparency and clarity on informed consent documents.
Edu-Arctic project: Webinars and a “Polarpedia” on STEM education – Cross-European STEM education for students, Polish Academy for Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
- Featured outcome: a web-based encyclopedia about the polar regions, topics for 13-20 year olds
- Aim: provide teachers and students with educational support that can facilitate their scientific learning activities.
Polarpedia explains in detail polar phenomena, polar research topics and key scientific terminology in formats that are interesting to children and young adults, such as short movies or interactive animations. With this platform, the Polarpedia project teams helps both students and teachers prepare for webinar lessons, providing them with an attractive opportunity to familiarize with a subject of interest.
Participants, institutions
- Alenka Komljanc : Trnovo Kindergarten, Ljubljana, Slovenia
- Natalja Komljanc: Trnovo Kindergarten, Ljubljana, Slovenia
- Jaime Fons: FISABIO, Spain
- Dafina Petrova: FISABIO, Spain
- Agata Goździk: Polish Academy of Sciences
- Stephanie Daimer: Fraunhofer ISI, Germany
