News . Best Practices I capture through photography the problems of my place and apply solutions

Care: The planet is facing many problems of different kinds. But often we need to start with the simple problems of our community in order to find sustainable solutions that will last. In this way, we become familiar with the ‘culture of active citizenship’, learn to find solutions, implement them and take a keen interest in our neighbourhood. Every neighbourhood has its own problems, which often apply to the wider context of our city. Thus, the 16 pupils of E2 class of our school decided to deal with the problems of their neighbourhood.

Know: The educational scenario “I capture through photography the problems of my place and implement solutions” aimed to motivate students to connect their knowledge about light, to use the tool of photography, to depict problems of their wider neighbourhood and then, to find solutions, to implement and show them in the form of a multimodal installation.

Do: The students photographed the various problems in their neighbourhood, grouped them together and then found solutions for each one. In particular, they contacted the city’s kennel, interviewed volunteers and in consultation with them collected food for the strays. They then sent a letter to the town hall secretary citing problems with the sidewalk, trash and some large trees in the area. Finally, they made their own leaflets about illegal parking and distributed them in the area. They also made and placed recycling bins in various places (outside the school).
Conclusions on Open Schooling: This project opened the classroom to the local community. The students looked forward to doing the project at different times of the day, as everything they made, wrote and created had a direct impact on their daily lives and was characterized by an actual and concrete “meaning”.

The contact with scientists and community stakeholders was particularly helpful and gave the children added interest.

The change/innovation was supported by:

[ x ] School management [ x ] school association/network
[ x ] Local government [ ] Other: ________________________________

Student results: The students organized a multimodal installation in the classroom and presented in various forms what they did through the project. They made artworks, games, added sound and image to their thoughts and actions. The exhibition seemed “fantastic”, “special” and “interesting” as the visiting parents described it.

This practice contributed to the increase of: the Director of 41th Primary school of Heraklion [ x ] engaging families with sciences [ x ] involving girls in science [ x ] raising awareness among students about careers in the natural sciences

Please specify: All students participated and cooperated. The result was very encouraging for all of us. Girls and boys found motivation and interest in the activities. Parents were delighted with the enthusiasm of their children and worked very well together.