In a society that is characterized by complexity, globalization and technological innovation, schools have a great responsibility. While employers demand flexibility, creativity and the ability to learn independently and continuously from their employees, students have difficulty staying focused in school. Let’s discover possible solutions!

Today’s students find it difficult to adapt to traditional school assignments because they require artificial performances, behaviors and attitudes. The tasks are considered obsolete and disconnected from what is happening in the real world.

Digital natives, constantly connected and able to create blogs and participate in debates in forums and chats, are profoundly different from generations before them, even their teachers! Thought patterns have changed, influenced by the technologies and tools of information age, which are an integral part of their life outside of school.

If the goal of education is to prepare the next generation to participate conscientiously and effectively in a technologically complex democratic society, then students must be offered authentic educational situations and realistic and meaningful tasks.

This new teaching model promotes the process of knowledge construction. It stimulates the relational dynamics of a community that is ready to produce and learn, allowing the acquisition of a full understanding and mastery that goes beyond the specific disciplinary areas.

Research, discovery and documentation within collaborative projects, such as Scientix and eTwinning allows those who learn to acquire new knowledge about facts, events, objects and people, progressively increasing their skills in a motivating and stimulating environment, through the meeting of different cultures. The aim is to improve the learning process.

The change in the education system also involves global citizenship and respect for human rights. In a world where everyone’s choices have repercussions on a planetary level, it is important to strengthen social and economic responsibility to focus on commitment and pluralism.

Scientix includes many easily adaptable teaching resources that deal with Earth science or global citizenship. All you need to do is go to the Scientix resource repository and filter for “citizenship” or “environmental education”. On the eTwinning platform, you can also find projects based on social and environmental debates, such as Electronic waste around us or the The City of kindness project, which aims to stimulate children in creating an ideal city where positive emotional attitudes can help to be better global citizens.

Furthermore, Scientix just published 36 Scientix lesson plans created by teachers who took part in the “STEM is Everywhere!” MOOC – the first ever online course funded and carried out entirely by Scientix. The course aimed to connect Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) classes with “real life” and supported teachers in integrating real-world problems into their STEM lessons and practices.

The 36 high-quality curated resources touch upon current topics, such as responsibility for one’s community (DESIGN A GARDEN FOR YOUR COMMUNITY) or citizen surveillance (DRONES IN OUR TOWN?) and teaching students financial management (TAKE CARE OF YOUR MONEY!). They are easily implementable in STEM lessons and revolve around real topics in the curriculum!

To find all 26 lesson plans, follow this link and click on the “Teacher information” tab.

Authors: Stefania Altieri, Scientix Ambassador (edited by: Bori Pocze, European Schoolnet)

The main image is the author’s own.

Tags: etwinning, global citizenship, Scientix, Scientix lesson plans, teaching resources