The best of StarT 2022

For the past two years, the prolonged Covid-19 pandemic has cause a tremendous disruption to teaching and learning process, not only in Vietnam but also all over the world. However, this challenging circumstance has also opened up a revolution called “Digital transformation in education” in Vietnam, creating opportunities for teachers to be exposed and creative with technology. When face-to-face learning and hands-on experience are impossible due to the epidemic, we have thought of an online experiential form – experiential activities on online platforms thanks to the Internet connectivity and a multimedia system, with a view to helping students mobilize interdisciplinary knowledge, practice making products and solve practical problems. We realize that in online experiential activities, it is easy to integrate knowledge into the experience, integrate many subjects together, which is convenient for teachers, parents and students throughout the experiential process. Online experiences can also connect different spaces, diversify cultures of various regions, and mobilize many forces to participate according to practical conditions. In the context of the epidemic, online experience is the safest form to help students learn through practice, relieving the pressure of rote memorization, and achieving effectiveness in learning. Such rationales have motivated Cau Giay Junior High School to conduct a practice of online experiential activities for secondary school students.

In collaboration with Vietnam National Museum of Nature, National Historical Museum along with Biology and Historical experts, our school organized three experiential activities (“Pickle mustard greens and scallion heads”, “Create phylogenetic trees and insect specimens”, “Ancient culture week”) for 440 sixth-grade students in one-week time period. With considerable support from such out-of-school partners, the. practice was carried out successfully, following five steps. Firstly, our team identified the interdisciplinary knowledge that could be involved in each activity. Specifically,  the first activity of “pickling mustard greens and scallion heads” enabled students to mobilize knowledge and skills from Natural Sciences, Geography, History and Math when they got to understand about the role of bacteria in human life, Vietnamese cuisine, the characteristics of  wet rice agriculture and to calculate the ratio of ingredients. The second one was “creating phylogenetic trees and insect specimens”, revolving around Natural Sciences, Arts, Math and Information Technology (IT). Students were equipped with knowledge about the biodiversity, besides, took advantage of art skills to design a model of a phylogenetic tree as well as decorate insect specimens. Through the process, they also had to calculate to divide ratios the parts of the phylogenetic tree model accordingly and made use of IT to record and present their products. The last experience of “Ancient culture week” was related to (1) general knowledge about ancient civilizations (History), (2) knowledge about the geographical location, territorial extent, and administration of each ancient country as well as present-day countries (Geography), (3) skills in writing descriptive, expressive and especially narrative texts of famous landscapes and historical sites (Literature), (4) designing a travel magazine in the form of a journal to introduce a specific country; building models (Arts) and (5) visiting 3D virtual museums (IT).

Secondly, with the agreement on interdisciplinary knowledge, our team continued to develop an implementation plan. The plan clearly defined objectives, implementation methods, proposed activities, requirements, expectations and roles of teachers and students.

Thirdly, three online experiential activities were implemented simultaneously within 1 week. Through online lessons with teachers and experts along with a source of tutorial videos, students were prepared with knowledge about related fields, from which they could propose the process and actively discuss with teachers and experts. With each activity, there were different requirements of the outcome products that needed pupils to experiment, mobilize their creativity, concentration and application. After all, they also had to report and evaluate the experiential activities on different ways such as PowerPoint presentation, video recording, essay or products gallery.

Finally, step four and step five were processed when teachers reported results and evaluated the experiential activities. Luckily, all three experiential activities were completed according to plan, with students’ active and exciting participation, parents’ significant support and partners’ close cooperation.

In conclusion, the intertwining and complementing among different categories of knowledge was the factor that created the interdisciplinary nature for the teaching model, bringing novel and positive impacts to teaching and learning. Three topics for experiential were carefully selected and flexibly combined, creating a week of new and exciting learning experiences for students, focusing on comprehensive capacity development. This model is feasible because it can be applied in many different situations and regions with the condition that there is internet and computer, promising to bring positive effects to teaching and learning in either online or face-to-face learning. Therefore, the model is completely applicable in many localities, in many times, in different ways. We hope that this model will be applied in many places, with the flexible application of teachers and students in choosing topics and implementation methods to suit the practical conditions of localities and educational institutions.

The report includes a comprehensive description about the teaching practice. The diary describes how the project was done with the students.

The practice is designed for children in the age group of 4 and 5.

Permaculture is the conscious design and maintenance of agriculturally productive ecosystems
that have the diversity, stability and resilience of natural ecosystems. Our project has been
planned on the basis of permaculture and sustainable life philosophy. Permaculture; It is a
system that combines conceptual, material and strategic components in a model that works for
the benefit of all living things. Behind permaculture is the philosophy of working with nature
rather than against it, observing for long periods of time instead of acting thoughtlessly for a
long time, looking at them in all their functions, and allowing systems to evolve instead of
pursuing a single product. Based on the reality that sustainable life philosophy can best be given
“Nature-Based Education”, our Project is based on nature-based education.

Learning objectives

It is aimed to introduce children to the philosophy of sustainable life at an early age.
There is a philosophy of working with nature, not against it, of long-term careful observation
and allowing systems to evolve themselves. It is aimed to raise individuals who take care of the
earth, value all living and non-living systems, know that resources are limited, can use resources
correctly for a sustainable life and can direct their consumption habits correctly. Forming the
awareness of children in early childhood that we share the Earth with other living and nonliving systems, and with a sustainable life cycle, children’s development of behaviors in subjects
such as recycling waste, producing our own food, respecting the right to life of living things
and creating shelters for them, protecting biodiversity.

Relationship with the curriculum

The pre-school education program was taken as the basis for the curriculum.
Among the development areas and achievement-indicators in the pre-school education
program, the ones suitable for the project’s goals were selected. Using child-centered teaching
methods and techniques, the pre-school education program enables children to organize
activities that support their holistic development with different disciplines and enable them to
acquire various skills. Applications are activity-based. The activities in the project were carried
out with the types of activities included in the preschool education program.Different
educational approaches that increase children’s daily life skills, support education in nature and
include alternative education models are also included in our project. Activities have been
carried out to help children become individuals who take care of the earth and the eco-system,
strive to reach resources without harming nature with themes such as ecological diversity,
natural gardening, shelter and design, and use resources correctly for sustainable life.

Best practice process

Our project consisted of ecological diversity, natural gardening, shelter and design themes.
Children met with our animal friends living in our school garden and our animal friends (worms,
turtles, caterpillars, snails, hedgehogs, cats, birds, etc.) were observed by children in their
natural habitats.
Based on the fact that we share the same world with them, many activities have been carried
out to respect and facilitate the lives of living things and the entire ecosystem.
Arranging an insect hotel, preparing an observatory for observing life in the soil, constructing
a habitat for reptiles, cats, birds, creating a tiny aquaponix system for soilless agriculture,
recognizing the diversity of plants around our school, planting various fruit trees in our school
garden, growing vegetables and fruits in raised vegetable beds, designing a spice spiral that
can grow many plants to save space in our school garden, drying plants using different drying
techniques, various germination activities, grinding tree branches and making mulch, designing
birdhouses with natural materials, water wall design with natural fences for birds to drink water.
Activities such as designing natural fences from old glass, drawing pictures on discarded wood
and tiles and using them in garden design, and recognizing houses designed for shelter in
different parts of the world were held.

Evaluation of Best Practice

The evaluation of the project was in the form of chatting with the children, getting their thoughts
on the project, observing the behaviors of the children before and after the project, and receiving
feedback from the families.

Equipment and resources

In our project, priority and importance has been given to the use of natural materials. Each
material has been made functional within the project with a zero wast

In our project:
– Two 8 grade classes, in which we had five groups of four people.
– Two math teachers and one heatlh education theacher
– Two visiting researcher from Tampere university (the theme of the virtual visit was researching sleep and the feeling refreshed)

Time spent:
– about two healts education classes
– about 10 math classes

How the project got started:

The project got started from the idea of two math teacher on how to compound math with other school subjects other than traditional science subjects (STEM). Mathematics is needed in every day life and in students future studies. Math is also a tool one needs studying other sciences. We wanted to make this clear to our secondary school students. We chose sleep as our subject for this project because of scheduling, local curriculum and do to the connections of the teachers.

Description of the project:

The instructions and finished works were put on classes Classroom site. Each group kept a diary on Padlet. The projects started by studying sleep, rest and rhythm of everyday life in health studies lessons. For a week students kept a diary in which they observed optional quantities associated to sleep like for example: how many hours of sleep they got in the night or how refreshed they felt in the morning. During math classes students learned about ratio, proportion equations, proportionality and inversely proportionality. Groups chose a study question they found interesting. The they used qualitative methods to analyze the data in health education while using skills they learned at mats lessons. Important was to analyze the ratio of different quantities (proportionately and inversely proportionality) using calculus and plots (excel). The final result consists of a Power Point presentation and a video. University’s smart ring researchers presented via computer how to survey sleep and feeling refreshed and the mathematich models used on such research. The two classes presented their findings to each other on a joint occasion between the classes.

The aim of the projects (translated directly from curriculum):

– Health education: Student understands the purpose of sleep and rest as a factor, which promotes our health. Student can depict and analyze their own health habits associated to sleep and rest. Student can critically analyze their choices and their consequences. Students can act in a way which promotes health in their everyday life.
– Mathematics: The concepts of ratio and learning how to solve proportion equations, learning how to use directly proportionately and inversely proportionately in everyday situations.
– Multidisciplinarity skills: research skills, IT-skills (Excel), creativity, tolerance to uncertainty, performance, scheduling

Evaluation:

– In health education we evaluate the sleep journal and associated conclusions and thoughts. In math we evaluate the final products (Power Point presentation and video) and the journals the students kept during the process. In addition the students peer reviews affect the grade. Students will receive a grade as well as verbal feed back.

Project presentation

Do you know how to explain the mysteries of Ames’ Room or calculate the date of the end of the world? Quite easy, simply attend the “Science Picnic” in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv and, why not, try to replicate the activity with your students.
Students, acting as teachers, carry the mission of science ambassadors and attract their peers to the magical world of mathematics. At the same time, parents are happy to watch the growth of self-esteem in young scientists and confidence in the power of their own minds.
Science picnics are an engaging way to explore science and let the students use their own creativity and skills to explain scientifics laws and phenomena.
This teaching method is so remarkable that a twin project has been carried out in Brescia (Italy): same topics, same subjects and experiment but, this time, reversed roles: grown-up people, i.e. parents, act as teachers and engage kids in an amazing shared experience.

Project details and how to replicate and share

The “Science picnic” project can be organized autonomously by teachers at different levels.
1. Teachers offer students (primary school) a bunch of science activities and pupils choose what they like the most; then each student prepare models, drawings and posters. During school hours, they introduce the project to classmates trying to explain the scientific topic, giving reasons and answering the questions. Once the training is completed, students are ready to introduce the project to parents and friends during a specific event called “Science picnic”. In a first step Science picnic take place at school or in the neighborhood; it’s up to school managers and teachers to choose the place that fits best with the activity.

2. A second level of participation involves collaboration with local administration: “Science picnics” can join existing public events or just be carried out autonomously in public parks and open spaces accessible to a wide audience. Of course this way is more engaging for students: each one prepare a stand and, as well as in a fair, parents can go around to join the several acticities.

3. Here is another possibility then: parents and grown-up people carry out the activities and engage kids in challenges and experiment, This way families can play together with science and they can also offer scientific activities to the whole community.

Target audience

The project involves primary school students as members of the “2 x 2” (Two by Two) after school program. They are asked to provide an explanation of many experiments carried out in public parks of the city: parents and visitors can assist in amazing scientific activities connected with maths, physics, chemistry and life science.
The project extension with parents as teachers has been developed in Italy by the scientific association “Aghi Magnetici”: a group of adults was initially instructed and than they did the project autonomously.

Connection with curriculum

Since students have to explain and describe a scientific topic on their own, skills involved in the activity are linked to many subjects: besides the STEM disciplines such as maths, chemistry, geometry, techbology, students particularly improve their communications skills. Multidisciplinarity is clearly one of the most didactic feature of the whole project: scientific topics, hands-on activities, inquired based learning are all involved in the one project.

Resource and material

Teachers can choose topics and subjects according to specific didactic analysis related to the class: of course they can try some activities previously carried out by colleagues. Halyna, Federico and Halyna are available, of course, to share their database: please find further information and links in the attached pdf. Here are some activity examples: “Optical illusions”, ”Ames room illusion”, “Electric circuits with bananas”, “Mills and energy from water”, “Mosaics”, “Fractals”, …

Didactic aims

It’s an honor to receive an invitation to participate in the Science Picnic. Kids put a lot of effort into preparing for the opening day: they select a topic, develp supporting media and rehearse the presentation. Just listen to them. The responsibility and independent thinking of the youngest mathematicians from the “Two by Two” program can serve as an example for other participants of the event.
The “science picnic” helps young students to develop their cognitive abilities. If we want to make our children interested in learning we have to get interested in it along with them.
Social skills are involved as well: “Science picnic” project has turned out to be a truly inclusive activity since shy people and students with special needs are given the opportunity to freely express themselves.
The “science picnic” carried out in Italy by “Aghi Magnetici”, with reversed roles, are stunning experiences as well as the Ukrainian ones: STEM activities engage people of any ages and, especially in unusual context, show science principles in unexpected and surprising ways.