The best of StarT 2021

Huangsipu is a precious archaeological site of our hometown, Zhangjiagang. It was once a prosperous port supporting the economy and diplomacy of ancient China. In this project-based learning course, students in Liangfeng Primary School produced hand-made works and curated an exhibition of the Huangsipu Site called “Fun Huangsipu”, under the guidance of the course design team and external experts. Till January 2021, the exhibition has been visited over 11,480 times online and on-site by citizens from various industries, widely spreading the cultural value behind the Huangsipu Site to the public.

The course “Millennium Huangsipu” is built upon the historical and cultural resources of the hometown. The course design team structures the course with the “integration” concept, fully integrating school education and social resources. Meanwhile, the course follows the project-based learning approach, turning the entire course into multiple challenging and authentic tasks. Hence, in the process of solving real-world problems and producing interdisciplinary works, students have completed the learning of the course. Meanwhile, social institutions and the public can also benefit from the outcome of this course.

In these projects, a planning FORM(A) for the teacher and a planning form(B) for the student were designed at the beginning of the project implementation and after the implementation, a form(C) to describe the project steps and the finall report of the project. At the end of the project, the self-evaluation, the parents ’evaluation, the realistic evaluation that is based on scientific practices, the practices of the Next Generation Science (NGSS), and an exhibition will be held to display the products and the work of the students .
The projects illustrate the integration of aspects of STEAM and of importance

• Changing the method of teaching science and mathematics in school so that the student can, through it, plunge into scientific knowledge
• STEAM project-based learning makes the school a more active and effective place for the student, providing him with a real reality of learning.
• Learning improves and learning stays for a long time
  Builds skills for success in university, career and life, and provides job opportunities for post-secondary education
• Connecting the student and school to the local community and the real world
• The student tries to implement the project and self-assess himself and draw conclusions. It is not necessary for him to succeed, rather failure prompts him to try again until he succeeds
  In order for the projects to succeed, lectures were held for teachers in the school and other schools and students to popularize the idea and apply it in any academic subject

As a national forest park in Yantian, Shenzhen, Wutong mountain, with its magnificent scenery and rich natural resources, is located near Yunhai School. Wutong Mountain surrounds Yunhai School, which also has a beautiful and peaceful environment.

There are many springs on the hiking path near the school, and the residents often go to the springs to fetch water by themselves. The spring water looks clear and tastes sweet, so some of the teachers that live there assume it is healthy drinking water. However, there are residents who have gotten diarrhea after drinking the spring water, raising suspicions that it has been polluted. According to the teachers, considering that there is a lack of necessary protective measures, the spring water is susceptible to animal, plant and man-made pollution. With many people taking the water and drinking it, there is much more pressure to ensure the safety and purity of the spring water. Thus, in order to further explore the quality of the Wutong Mountain spring water, it is necessary for us to discover the secret of the spring water.

Harvest Time is an educational role-playing game designed to offer the opportunity to learn the achievements of the mathematics lesson in practice. The game has been developed for middle school students. The land prices in the form of a square, rectangle, circle, trapezoid, parallelogram, rhombus on the map are determined in proportion to their areas. Several of these lands are auctioned off at the start of each tour. The players find the price of the acre of the land in the region by comparing it with the area of the sample land for which they know the price, and they can get the amount of credit required in advance to buy the land to be sold at the auction and be ready.

When starting the game, players open an account in the bank and take out a loan by choosing one payment plan. (12 months, 24 months etc.) When deciding on the loan amount, they should consider the price of the land they intend to buy and the cost of the product they intend to grow. If they delay their payments, the bank seizes their land in return for their debts.

There are various agricultural products that players can grow. Some of these may be preferred more, considering that they will be more profitable because the market price is higher. The products’ market prices are determined each round again, and this price varies inversely with the number of people who grow the product.

Players decide to whom to sell their product at the end of the round. They can sell their products to businesses (canned food factory, fruit juice factory, etc.). Later, they can establish their factories and export their products. They can also do this in partnership with other players.

The luck factor is also influential in the game. There are three different types of cards with problems and developments. These cards contain advantageous and disadvantageous situations related to weather conditions, product market, agricultural policy. The moderator reveals a card of his choice at the beginning of each round. Depending on some cards, players roll dice, experience losses or wins.

The game has been prepared to entertain and convey mathematical achievements and offers instant feedback and evaluation opportunities provided by game-based learning.

Players actively do the following in this game:

• Calculate the circumference and area of circle segments of various polygons.
• Use proportion.
• Calculates the percentage.
• Calculate probability.
• Use scale.
• Convert area and land measurements. 
• Calculate interest. (After the game was designed, this topic was removed from the curriculum. Proportion can be used instead.)
•  Analyze data.
•  Understand the relationship between direct and inverse proportion.
•  Develop critical thinking and communication skills.
•  Practice problem-solving skills.

(students approx. 7-12 years)
Objective: to investigate and test whether drawing charcoal can be made with students.

We conducted research at the Forssa School of Fine Arts for Children and Young People, in the LUMA combination group where students are 8-10 years old and the group has two teachers (co-teaching). The duration of our weekly lesson is only 1.5 hours, so as a preliminary preparation, the teacher had collected willow and alder branches, from which we cut about 15 cm long pieces with pruning shears. The collected branches were about a finger thick. Students peel the bark off the surface of the fresh branches with a knife. The use of a knife was already foreign to some students so we went through the safety of carving. The metal box with a lid was filled with peeled branches which were placed in the box vertically. There were thus plenty of ready-to-burn branches to keep the branches tightly in the box. The dimensions of the box we use height and diameter are about 12cm.

The following week we visited in the hut of a nearby daycare center to get charred branches in an open fire. We lit a campfire and placed a metal box with a lid in the middle of the burning trees, with the lid side down on the bottom of the campfire. Suitable as a metal box is e.g. a can that is placed in the campfire before the fire is turned upside down and after the campfire is extinguished, the finished pieces of coal are collected. The box is on the burning campfire for about 1 hour. We added a little wood in between. We lifted the hot box out to cool with a metal ash shovel.

A group of students were involved in the hut and during the making of the charcoal they made forest trolls from wet clay into tree trunks, for which details of natural materials were born. We left an exciting message for the children in the daycare when they come to the house the next day and find the forest trolls. By the campfire, of course, we ate lunch and baked e.g. marshmallows.

In a week’s lessons, we were able to try out the charcoal we made. We made gloomy forest-themed drawings on colored papers. Different wood grades of carbon were not found to have a difference in drawing. The self-made coal easily gave off a strong black color, and the coal did not crumble or break as easily as the thinner finished coals. We also made charcoal paint by crushing the charcoal in a mortar into just a little flour and adding a drop of water to it. Due to its darkness, the sections painted with carbon paint stood out nicely in the works. The drawings were finally attached to the paper with a fixative spray.

We found that sculpting with a knife in particular was exciting and fascinating to the students. Even the most delicate students were enthusiastic about experimenting. Working outdoors and near the campfire was experiential. The success of drawing coals also brought immense joy, and drawing seemed more comfortable with self-made tools than finished ones.

• Accessories for making charcoal:
• Willow and / or alder twigs (you can also try other tree species!)
• Knives
• Metal container with or without lid
• Fireplace (fireplace, fireplace, sauna nest)

We received tips and advice on making coal from Pive Toivonen (artist, visual arts teacher) and information on condensing wood into coal from the Department of Chemistry at the University of Helsinki.

In basic education, this project would combine, for example, visual arts, chemistry, technical work and biology / primary school environmental studies. In basic art education, we do not have the opportunity to combine different subjects.

Mirrorexperimets are ment to minors. Collect questions of mirrors. Go and find what kind of items can be used as mirror- home tasks and same task at school with small group. Let children suggest a good parnercountry and try to find partner school form there. (Between teachers compare the curriculum of countries) Work through Teams/Meet/Zoom. Make same tasks. Compare the answers of pupils.Make playful meetings with game -Be my mirror. Share the ideas between countries, teachers and pupils.. Make some artwork and periscopes and show periscopes while having a meeting. When you have learned a lot with pupils. Let them plan an escape room with story, where they can survive with mirror knowledge, problem solving and teamwork. Share the ideas between countries. We had first the Time machine-escape room and then children wanted to plan the escape room to the schoolchildren of our school, LUMAweek.. Our story made by children: The treasure mirrors are stolen. The Prince and princess real owners of mirrors gets clue where the mirrors are. Unique butterfly has come to lead the way to the mirrors if it is also possible to safe the friends of butterfly too. Butterfly flies and big ship comes after that butterfly. When the Mirror island of robbers is ahead, sun is shining bright. The butterfly flies near the mirror of big ship and gives a signal to put the mirror right up. The robbers can not see anything.( With big mirror the clever people of big ship are able to dazzle the robbers with light. )The big mirror reflects the sunlight to they eyes and the robbers are easily caught.

But the whole island is under some kind of magic. To get the mirrors back you have to use your wisdom and to do teamwork. When you solve the tasks of Mirror island the real owners of mirrors get their mirrors back but also the friend of butterfly are free again.

First task is to make the friend of leader butterfly to fly again with mirror. The butterfly must wave her wings really fast to be able to make action that makes a storm kind of reaction. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. With waving the wings fast, magic curtains go away and you will see the keyhole that leads you to the next step.

There are many kind of mirrors on the wall. Point the mirrors and try to lead the reflection of red light to the frames on the opposite wall. One of group uses pointer, the other tell where to move the light to get the light inside the frames. When succeeded you are able to read the text. Text: Please put UV-light on. With UV-light you will solve next task. Put shiny numbers to the right order from smaller to bigger. (There are also letters and there are also numbers that are not shiny). When you are ready turn the numbers and you will get text: Go to the periscope!
Near the periscope you have to look to the periscope and explain to the others what kind of shape there is. Of course everyone can look. There is small and tall periscope. Which one is easier to see? Make shape with cubes and mirror.

Next task lock, you have seen the code of lock? Where was it? You are able to open the lock with code (the shiny numbers at certain order from smaller to bigger). You found the prism, with the prism you are able to give colors back to the butterflies and make them live again. Use the prism and light. Now we won the magic and mirrors are treasures of princess and prince again. Butterflies are free and colorful!

Leading movie of escaperoom (link) 

This way we did it with school class 15.12.2020:
Movie was made with idea of Kasperi and made with Eetu, Lenni, Joonas, Alisa, Kiira, Valtteri and Luukas. At Denmark they had their own escape room with own story.

Luma week ideas were also visible outside at Röytty-area where we had path of stories and where everyone could find out what we had learnt about mirrors and everyone could be a spy with our tall periscope. We were able to show our project with QR-codes outside at Röytty area. Parents and other visitors were able to visit the path outside at museum area during weekend and they got to know our project. Assessment was with us during the whole project, . When pupils visited escape-room with small group we could notice how much they had learnt during the project. It was excellent that we had friend abroad exploring mirrors and reflections. When our pupils showed the biggest periscope by Teams and explained with hands how the picture was smaller than with the small periscope, everyone could share the excitement and inspiration between pupils of Denmark and Finland. It is good to make things differently and excellent when you can show and share the ideas. Escape room is really good way to show what pupils know and understand and how they are able to explain ideas to the group and do problem solving together. Children discussed with they families using our project photos of Instagram @eskarittaipalsaarikk

There lies Yongding River Old-watercourse Wetland park in Wuqing District, Tianjin, located in 2.9km south of Tianjin Yinghua International School. When the students were playing together, they found lotus flowers blooming and reeds swaying on the Longfeng River. However, there is a smelly ditch only 500 meters away from the Longfeng River. The two landscapes are very different. The students were puzzled, then they came to Geography teacher Mr. Huan.Zhang for advice.

Real-world questions are not like test questions with standard answers. In order to protect the children’s enthusiasm for knowledge, teachers conduct inspections and research in the early stage.

The students on duty found that most of the trash, whether at home or in class, was waste paper. It takes 20 trees and 300 tons of water to produce a ton of paper. The disposal of paper trash is a massive waste of resources. The question of the project was then raised: Can waste paper be recycled? How can it be recycled?

This is the final report of the LUMA StarT Best Practices Competition, which was adopted by AlRajeh Kindergarten and School in Amman- Java, Al Wafa district, Under the title “Active Learning in Distance Learning” and seeking to be a leading school in education. As it provides all the potentials to learn and build the personality of learner in all fields. This competition was a gateway for the creativity of students through which we sail in the ships of creative and innovative ideas. To achieve the objectives of active learning in distance learning.

CONTEXT
For the development of a true ecological awareness, it is necessary that education promotes the global development of the human being in all its multiple dimensions (cognitive, affective, intuitive, sensory, ethical and aesthetic) and makes use of multiple knowledge in order to allow understand the complexity of the world and act with intelligence, ethics and affection. It is based on these great principles that all work in defense of the environment and sustainable development is oriented at Colégio Valsassina.

In this context, in the academic year 2019/2020, a group of 7th grade students were challenged to build an organically- and eco-based vegetable garden, and to cooperate with a 2nd grade class of 26 students in planting and maintaining this newly created space. The idea was a part of Colégio Valsassina’s longstanding commitment to making environmental education an integral part of its educational project. This is a private school where eco-consciousness is regularly put into practice — by experimenting and promoting sustainable behaviours — and is present in grades K–12.

Intervention on behalf of the students can be summarily divided into two stages, the first of which comprised clearing and preparing the space, transporting soil and building essential structures; the second stage was dedicated to planting and maintaining the new vegetable garden. Students were also presented with a single requirement: they would have to find solutions that would reduce the environmental impact of transforming this space to the bare minimum. Students showed up on time, twice a week, during their lunch break; as excitement over this space started to grow, so did the group of volunteers (students) that tended to it. For 7th grade students this activity was volunteer.

Even though the project was put on hold because classroom teaching at the school were suspended due to COVID-19-related lockdowns/measures, at the end of the school year, both students and their parents had the chance to take part in an activity where some of the produce that had been planted on the organic vegetable patch were harvested. 51 1st and 3rd cycle students participated in this activity.

At the beginning of the 2020/2021 school year, as classroom teaching began once more, the project was reactivated, following the guiding principles of the year before.

The vegetable garden assumes itself as a living laboratory for observation, experimentation, research and discussion on Nature and the Environment. This space allows students’ contact with natural cycles, contributing to create an affective bond and belonging to Nature, stimulates all the senses and motor coordination, as well as helping to promote the physical and psychological well-being of those involved. In addition to contributing to the improvement of eating habits (and the reduction of food waste), environmental awareness and greater respect for nature, the garden aims to foster a spirit of cooperation, teamwork and a sense of responsibility.

A SCHOOL’S VEGETABLE GARDEN IS NOT JUST FOR GROWING FOOD
Environmental education is a process that is split into different stages, with the purpose of “contributing towards a change in behaviour and attitude towards the environment, not only in younger people and children, who are its primary target, but also in their families and the communities in which they live” (Pedroso, 2018). It is for this reason that pre-school and 1 st cycle students’first approach to this subject is the most important to ensure that the process succeeds. Sensory stimulation and exploring emotions when in contact with nature should be the starting point for environmental education, when it comes to pre-school and 1 st cycle students. It is crucial that young people bond with nature, which will in turn facilitate building significant and lasting knowledge and acquiring more complex scientific concepts. It is thus important to allow students to explore reality based on what they are feeling, in order to get them to question and discern what they are observing and what is meaningful to them.During
this stage, not all young people will value their surroundings in the same way, so they should be given freedom to embark on this adventure — they should be allowed to explore. For some, what matters and surprises them the most could be a red beetle with red spots on its back; for others, it may very well be the smell of fresh mint, whereas others still might fix their gaze on a tree trunk covered in moss. If natural elements resonate positively with the students, it may be easier to motivate them to acquire scientific knowledge, which will shape their future critical
thinking and environmentally sustainable behaviours.

Direct contact with nature is one of the most efficient ways of stimulating younger students’ senses and emotions. The result is that students become more involved in the process of environmental education. This is why we mentioned earlier that the school’s vegetable garden is not just for or about growing food: emotions grow and are nurtured here as well, and these are what ignite the process of environmental education, especially when it comes to younger students.

HOW TO KEEP STUDENTS MOTIVATED — GETTING THINGS DONE IS FUN
Taking care of a vegetable garden has a lot of advantages as far as intrinsic motivation is concerned. By planting, watering and tending to the plants, students inevitably establish an emotional connection to these living beings that require their care in order to fully develop. By watching seeds germinate and fruit grow, students have the chance to observe and reflect on the result of their actions, as well as the satisfaction of watching what they idealized come to fruition. This type of intrinsic motivation is incredibly important and is responsible for the acquisition of longer lasting knowledge.

EDUCATION GOALS
In implementing this project, students were expected to:

• Grow produce/food in a sustainable way;
• Enjoy gardening and to develop positive attitudes towards agriculture;
• Chat with their families and members of the community about gardening practices;
• Improve their diet and to learn how to prepare healthier meals using produce from the vegetable garden;
• Appreciate and enjoy healthy food and change their eating habits;
• Handle gardening tools
• Identify, compare and classify plants;
• Learn how to compost;
• Respect nature and natural resources;
• Experiment and to observe the ways in which plants reproduce (germination, staking, etc.);
• Acknowledge the usefulness of plants (as food, for decoration purposes, etc.)
• Identify some environmental factors which can condition plant life;
• Know how to work as a group;
• Learn by doing (i.e., through active/practical experience)
• Learn to how plan and make informed decisions;

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION 

1. COMPOSTING
2. CONSOCIATION
3. ECO-FRIENDLY PAINT
4. NETTLE FERTILIZER
5. IRRIGATION SYSTEM