GREEN S.E.E.D.S. aims to help the breaking of isolation of the schools located in decentralized regions (in the mountain and in the smaller islands), trying to counter the risk that their geographical isolation may lead to cultural deprivation towards the correct knowledge, understanding and participation to the globalized and constantly interconnected world of today by the youngest. To this end, it will connect pupils who, in spite of their geographical distance, share similar socio-environmental realities. A method which can be a model for remote interaction between classes of different Countries will be designed and tested: it will experiment shared teaching and the extended learning environment on a transnational scale for the implementation of the Webquest model. The method involves 2 subsequent steps: 1. "GREEN S.E.E.D.S. Toolkit" (IO1): educational, organizational, motivational, relational and IT contents, for the teachers’ training, in view of the building of the IO2; 2. “GREEN S.E.E.D.S. for Environment ”(IO2): didactic units developed by the students and addressed to pupils in urban contexts: through twinning between schools, they will be trained in peer-to-peer mode (IO2). The choice of environment as topic for the pupils’ work: 1. relies on the common bond with their natural surroundings as a common dimension of life; 2. is in line with the current historical trend, as adolescents from all over Europe have been acquiring environmental awareness and activating for the planet safeguard. In this context, the students’ work on the topic will bring along not only knowledge but also civic awareness. Breaking isolation means also networking at European level, to promote and support planning and exchange of experiences, but also to affect policies. For this reason, the "European Network of Mountain and Minor Isles Schools" will be established: the signing of a "Memorandum of Understanding" will be the first step for the Project sustainability. GENERAL OBJECTIVES 1. Overcoming the cultural isolation of decentralized schools through targeted and systemic planning; 2. fostering the maintenance of decentralized schools, as a primary factor for countering depopulation; 3. helping the change of these schools from "problem" to "resource". SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES 1. Skill development and empowerment (both students and teachers); 2. schools empowerment; 2. better knowledge on environment and its protection (students); 3. (re)reading of geographical realities usually known only as touristic resorts by the pupils of urban schools; 4. awareness of the European dimension, through notions on the EU environmental policies; 5. bases for extended collaborations ("The European Network"). EXPECTED RESULTS 1. Teachers’ empowerment: increased motivation, relational skills, planning and management skills, knowledge of new teaching methods; 2. socialization between classes of different Countries; 3. socialization between decentralized classes and urban classes, through the twinning; 4. acquisition of transversal key competences by the students; 5. environmental awareness and knowledge of the EU policies on environment; 7. stakeholders’ participation and mobilization; 8. joining the "European Network" by schools and institutional actors; signing of the "Memorandum of Understanding". TARGET Teachers and pupils of primary and secondary schools. PARTICIPATION • The team of researcher and trainers in the building of the “Toolkit GREEN S.E.E.D.S.” and the subsequent training activities; • 60 teachers in the training activities; • 36 classes in the building of the units “GREEN S.E.E.D.S. for Environment” (18 classes for the contents + 18 for the presentation through the twinning); • the stakeholder network in the dissemination activities. PARTNERSHIP a. 1 organization engaged in European projects in the social and educational domain (Glocal Factory - IT) b. 2 research centers (Universidad de Vigo - ES; Synthesis LTD - CY) c. 2 educational institutions (IC Bosco Chiesanuova - IT; Srednja škola Vela Luka - HR) d. 3 local institutions (Regione Val d’Aosta - IT, USR Veneto - IT, Administration of Chios Secondary Education - GR). The expected impact of GREEN S.E.E.D.S., in the medium-long term, will be: impact in terms of empowerment, for people and institutions; conceptual impact; scientific impact. The cultural impact is expected too, namely as a change in the perception and, therefore, in the attitude towards small schools and their role. Like most cultural changes, it requires more time to be reached and, for this reason, it must be considered a long-term expected impact. For its achievement, the actions that the established “European Network of Mountain and Minor Islands Schools” will put in place, according to the signed “Memorandum of Understanding”, will be crucial.
GENERAL OBJECTIVES • To contribute to breaking the geographical isolation and overcoming the risks of cultural isolation of decentralised schools, enhancing their potential and strengthening awareness in teachers and pupils; • To educate the younger generations about the environment and its protection. SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES • Strengthening teachers' motivation and skills (IO1) • Building models for shared teaching at transnational level (IO2) • Development of competences in pupils (IO2); • Strengthening the environmental awareness of pupils who, in different areas, share the natural environment as a dimension of life (IO2); • (Re)reading, by "urban" pupils, of environmental and cultural realities usually known as tourist locations (IO2); • Creation of a network for project sustainability (Communication & Dissemination).
In many regions of Europe, the increasing urbanisation and the consequent population decrease in mountain areas and small islands has severely tested the survival of their schools. Where they survive, they are likely to face deficiencies and organisational problems. Prejudices about the quality of teaching and the concern that geographical isolation may result in cultural isolation often lead parents to move, to enrol their children in more central schools, so increasing depopulation. All this is in spite of the commitment of many capable and motivated teachers and of the social and cultural value of these schools, which lies primarily in the relationship with their own community and in the link with the natural habitat, so important to develop a sense of collective belonging and a basis for the protection of local culture and environment. Small schools are a resource, not a limit. Their daily work is a passionate and continuous research and means attention to pupils, inclusion, experimentation and innovation. The desire to enhance this identity heritage is at the basis of the European project GREEN S.E.E.D.S.