The Centre Asty-Moulin (BE) had the opportunity to find out about the I.S.S. "V. CROCETTI - V. CERULLI" (IT) by carrying out a search for a potential partner for the launch of an Erasmus+ project for the year 2020-2021. These two schools are united in the desire to developing innovative and stimulating teaching-learning systems in conjunction with the various people involved in the local socio-economic context (cultural associations, SMEs, etc.) in order to open the school to the outside world and offer its students the opportunity to be full, active and responsible citizens. For them, enabling teams of teachers and their students to become involved in an Erasmus+ project is an opportunity to develop the basic skills targeted for each of them, enriching the teachers' pedagogical baggage through the sharing and co-construction of good practices while giving meaning to the pupils' learning, which makes it possible to generate greater motivation and therefore involvement, particularly, as far as we are concerned here, in science, technology and even engineering. The project has a ten or so educational professionals, involved and/or accompanying, managers and teachers from professional practice or general courses included and about twenty students from the two schools, in sections related to maintenance and industrial services (electricity and automation centers) as well as applied sciences (industrial chemistry-biochemistry). Our objectives articulate two dimensions, pedagogical and cultural, rooting the theme of the project in the Italian tradition of olive oil soap making: 1) To create an industrial process of saponification from olive oil based on a multidisciplinary collaboration between different sections from the world of industry and science. The Process must meet strict specifications in line with safety standards, good laboratory practices and European consumer protection standards. 2) To discover our respective cultural and industrial heritage and to share our representations in order to enrich this process with the experience, research and reflection of each one. 3) To develop the language skills in technical English as well as the entrepreneurial skills (softkills) of the members involved. We intend to achieve this through various activities, the methodological principle of which is the technological challenge: 1) A technological challenge is given to the teams of the two countries for the creation of the Process. 2) The teams are organizing themselves internally to suggest technical solutions articulating the expertise of the different sections involved. 3) Video-conferences between Belgium and Italy allow us to discuss in English (additional courses planned) our respective strategies, processes, difficulties and results in order to put into perspective our different know-how with a view to developing our respective projects. 4) Mobility is part of this dynamic: - The Belgian team will be able to develop and extend its representations regarding the artisanal manufacture of soap, from the olive harvest to its transformation into raw material usable in the Process, through the visit of craftsmen and companies. - The Italian team will be able to complete its representations of industrial soap making by visiting Belgian companies but also by a training in CAT (Centre of Advanced Technologies) dedicated to the manufacture of an aroma. - Co-development sessions organised in class during the exchanges will enable these elements to be integrated with a view to developing the respective projects. - The two teams will be able to immerse themselves more widely in the respective heritages through cultural visits and more informal activities to be defined in consultation with the students. In fine, here are the expected results: - Each school presents a process corresponding to the specifications that each will have defined according to its own constraints, but in accordance with European standards. If this is not the case, the teams are then able to analyse the reasons for this and define ways of improvement. - The results are formulated and shared through different channels, such as through eTwinning. - Learners spontaneously respect good laboratory practices and safety rules. - Learners are able to communicate in English using a French-English-Italian glossary. - A positive impact is measured on learners' motivation, engagement, initiative and teamwork skills. - The teams are proud and have enjoyed participating. - Participants have gained confidence and are able to be both enterprising and entrepreneurial. Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
The Centre Asty-Moulin (BE) and the I.S.S. "V. CROCETTI - V. CERULLI" (IT) met in their desire to develop innovative teaching-learning systems for their students in qualifying education. They agreed on a theme: the principle of saponification with olive oil, in the Italian tradition. The idea was to open up the school to the outside world and give young people the opportunity to relate their academic knowledge to the real world as actors aware of the opportunities and challenges it presents, in conjunction with the various players in the local socio-economic fabric (cultural associations, SMEs, etc.). They were also keen to highlight how modern technologies are rooted in a more traditional cultural and technological heritage. The teaching teams and their respective pupils took part in the technical challenge, which had the advantage of combining different learning and motivation levers: a sense of the task, being set in a realistic context, learning by trial and error, collective intelligence mechanisms, etc. All of which helped to develop basic and advanced skills, while enriching the teachers' educational baggage through the exchange and co-construction of good practice in complementary fields such as science, technology, engineering or history. For example, they agreed to work together on the design and production of an automated olive oil saponification process. The project brought together educational staff involved in and/or accompanying the project, managers and teachers from both professional practice and general courses, and around twenty students from the two schools, in sections related to maintenance and industrial services (electricity, automation, welding) as well as applied sciences (industrial chemistry-biochemistry), in the design phase of the Process. As an extension to the project, tourism students on the Italian side were also involved in developing the whole cultural dimension of the exchanges. Each of the two schools has therefore designed and built its own industrial saponification process, drawing on the resources and expertise of the sectors involved. Video conferences between Belgium and Italy enabled the teams to share their respective strategies, processes, difficulties and results in English, so as to put into perspective their original designs, which were diametrically opposed in their approach. Asty-Moulin produced a fairly complex 'heavy industry' module, integrated into an imposing metal chassis and controlled by industrial-type PLCs. The Crocetti-Cerulli Institute, with a completely different philosophy, has designed a much lighter module using an Arduino system. Both processes meet strict specifications relating to safety and consumer protection standards, as well as good laboratory practice. The Belgian team was able to consolidate and extend its representations of traditional soap-making, from the harvesting of the olive to its transformation into a raw material that can be used in the Process, by organising a seminar at a self-sufficient traditional cooperative, Terra d'Ea. The advantages and disadvantages of the two processes were put into perspective in order to develop a reflective analysis of their implementation. The Italian process won the challenge, with an operational and interesting design anchored in a practice of co-construction with the community of Arduino users; a vision that seemed futuristic and simple in its implementation. The Belgian Process still needs to be adapted to ensure the safety of the module's users, but the elements of knowledge integrated during the Terra d'Ea seminar will enable us to extend the reflection with the new students who will be joining the Automation section: the providential element to show that the elements of tradition can inspire industrial processes. The Italian team was able to expand its knowledge of industrial soap production with training at the CTA (Centre de Technologies Avancées) dedicated to flavour production and the organisation of a laboratory dedicated to defining the safety standards to be met. The most important thing is that the students were able to evaluate their systems objectively and reflectively in relation to the frameworks they had integrated, particularly in terms of safety. An undeniable impact was measured on the motivation, commitment, initiative and teamwork skills of the learners. The teams were proud and enjoyed taking part. The participants have gained confidence and are capable of taking the initiative. A great success.