ERIS: Exploitation of research results in school practice - 30 educational packages for secondary schools

Abstract

ERIS is EU funded project (ERASMUS+) aiming to increase the interest of pupils in lower and upper secondary schools in STEM, and the choice of a scientific career. Thanks to the development, pilot implementation and dissemination of educational packages and methodological materials, research results will be exploited in the education systems of at least 3 European countries: Poland, Romania and France. The ERIS project is divided into 2 parts: a testing and a dissemination phase. During the testing phase, teaching materials in national languages and in English for pupils in lower and upper secondary schools are being prepared. The packages are tested in selected schools in each partner country. Packages are adapted to the needs of end-users: teachers and pupils, according to the results of evaluation surveys. During the dissemination phase, all participating schools in the partner countries, but also elsewhere in Europe, will have the opportunity to freely participate in the project. They will use the packages during their lessons and take part in the webcasts of online lessons conducted by scientists in the project’s national languages and in English. These virtual meetings with scientists will offer the opportunity to get a close view of scientific work, taking measures and doing research in the field of mathematics and science. The meetings are designed to encourage pupils to explore the world of science independently. 30 educational packages (10 per each partner institution) are being developed during the project. They are dedicated to various topics, e.g.: glaciers, earthquakes, geomagnetism, meteorology in the Arctic, UV radiation, ocean waves etc. They use freely available research databases or results published online, which may be analyzed by pupils with the help of instructions prepared by scientists. The packages include materials for teachers to work with pupils during classes and/ or extracurricular activities. They contain worksheets for pupils and hints for teachers. In addition, they include multimedia materials (movies, animations). Webcasts of online lessons are complementary to the packages. One package or its part can be used on lessons in several subjects (physics, geography, mathematics, science and others). The amount of materials and worksheets presented in one package will be so vast that teachers may use some parts of materials during one lesson or even a couple of lessons, including the extra classes for interested pupils. 10 packages was tested in Polish schools. The results of 3 surveys conducted by teachers testing the packages are presented and discussed. Teachers found packages interesting and useful for increasing skills of analytical and synthetic thinking and the ability to apply research methods in solving problems. Moreover, ERIS packages and proposed teaching approach may be considered as an efficient way of setting pupils on a path to careers important for economy-based societies, as they help to increase pupils’ interest in science and scientific topics.