Skip to main content

The Hub

Hosted by OSOS , contributed by omerg on 20 May 2018

Development of a unique Hub to support inquiry based learning of 6th and 9th grade students. The core of the project is the support mechanism for the students and teachers which includes opening the school to a wide range of experts and mentors from the academic and the informal education community.

The inquiry process begins with a series of engaging meetings aimed to rise curiosity and introduce to the students the inquiry based learning process. School labs and other facilities, including relevant school staff, are open for students after school hours. The process comes to its peak with the regional science fair. 

 

To read more about this project - CLICK HERE. 

 

AVAILABLE PARTNERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES:

Local citizens with expertise in the subjects of the students' projects: a marine biologist, a public relations person etc.

Content support

The local zoo - http://www.haifazoo.co.il/

 

Support the inquiry based learning in the field of zoology

Bird watching center - http://www.birds.org.il/he/bird-center-page.aspx?centerId=120

 

Support the inquiry based learning in the field of birds

Botanical garden - http://www.oranim.ac.il/sites/heb/community/botanic/pages/default.aspx

 

Support the inquiry based learning in the field of botanic

Ecological Greenhouse in Kibbutz Ein-Shemer - http://www.greenhouse.org.il/Profile.html

Support the inquiry based learning in the field of agriculture

Excellence project in STEM - http://www.alberto.org.il/Main/

 

Support the inquiry based learning in STEM education

Policy makers from the Ministry of Education and local government and leading teachers from the school

pedagogical support

 

Responsible Research and Innovation

One of the key aspects of OSOS is the inclusion of RRI - Responsible Research and Innovation principles (more information at RRI-Tools.eu). This is how the NanoChannels Accelerator fits into the RRI model:

Governance

students will seek to create a participatory governance, in which, together with the stakeholders, they can develop the activity and nourish each other's knowledge and experience.

 

I.e.: This Accelerator raises the support of several stakeholders who are experts in the subject that you want to raise (according to the interests and needs of the School). Students will be responsible, together with them, for setting the objectives of the activity, establishing a communication that, in addition to being transparent and reflective, is useful for improving the results.

Public engagement

Students will use science in this project in an interdisciplinary way and to involve stakeholders in different parts of the project, in order to share responsibility among all.

 

I.e.: students will be in contact with stakeholders, with whom they will share responsibility and make decisions collaboratively. The objective will be to improve the activity and the results obtained as it is carried out.

Gender equality

Students will establish research groups with gender equality, and will work to break the gender stereotypes that may be found in the issues raised in the project.

 

I.e.: students will create equal work groups in terms of gender, fostering a work environment without discrimination and in which they share the opinions of all.

Science Education

Students will encourage the participation of different agents of the environment in the activity, including them in the decisions to be taken within the project, in different phases.

 

I.e.: this Accelerator proposes to use the inquiry based learning methodology to learn, through a practical and innovative model, different questions related to the scientific field.

Ethics

Students will align the research with the social needs that arise in the topic chosen in this Accelerator.

 

I.e.: students will investigate the social needs of the environment in which the project is carried out, asking the stakeholders involved and proposing possible solutions to these challenges.

Open Access

Students will create an event in which they will teach, in a transparent and responsible way, the milestones achieved during the project, and will share materials with full reuse rights so that they can be used by others.

 

I.e.: students will organize an event in which they will teach stakeholders about the progress made during the activity. For this event, students will create a series of materials that they will also share online, through a specific website with content reuse licenses.

 

RESOURCES NEEDED:

Leading teachers from the school and some local experts require payment. A fully equipped school lab. Budget for buses to visit the educational centers. Help in preparing and operating the regional science fair.

The materials needed depend on the specific projects that will be done by the students

Learning Objectives
Using the local community resources to support the teachers and students inquiry process.

Addressed Challenge: this Accelerator proposes the use of Inquiry-based learning to learn around the world of Science and research, so the first step in this FEEL phase is to ask students to start organizing the work. What topics can we raise? What problems can we extract and then work more thoroughly on them?

 

# Session

Duration

Description

Resources needed

Location

Step 1

3 months

Preparation by the school and the teachers - 

recruiting stakeholders from the community and resources

  • presenting the idea/ project to school heads,
  • presenting the idea/ project to teachers
  • choosing the field of inquiry by the teachers
  • Planning the opening lessons for the class (for example an active demonstration on the selected issue or visit to the zoo…)
  • Presenting the field of inquiry to the class and dividing the class to working groups

 

School and stakeholders locations

 

# Session

Duration

Description

Resources needed

Location

Step 2

2 month

2-4 hours a week in school

Operation of the projects by the students (with assistance of the stakeholders):

  • Participating in inspiration activities that relates to the field of inquiry
  • Gathering information and defining the problem
  • Writing the inquiry question
  • Bringing up hypothesis 
  • Planning experiment

Resources for transportation for visits at the stakeholders locations

School and research and informal education institutes (museums, universities’ labs, zoo..)

 

# Session

Duration

Description

Resources needed

Location

Step 2

2 month

2-4 hours a week in school

Operation of the projects by the students (with assistance of the stakeholders):

  • Processing the data
  • Drawing conclusions

experiments and students projects – specific to the projects

 

School and research and informal education institutes (museums, universities’ labs, zoo..)

Step 3

1 month

During step 2 and extra more, 2-4 hours a week

Writing the final work with the assistance of the teachers and experts 

 

school

 

The teachers and students should document their work and share the documents, photos and videos on OSOS portal.

 

# Session

Duration

Description

Resources needed

Location

Step 4

1 month

2-4 hours a week

School science fair (assistance from teachers and experts)

  • Preparing the event:
  • Designing posters
  • Preparing the presentation
  • Inviting all the stakeholders by the teachers
  • finding Judges by the teachers
  • Operating the event

 

  • Presenting the students projects (poster + written work + model if there is one)
  • Judgment
  • Announcing the winners and distribution small prizes

 

The winners of the school science fair can participate in a regional or municipal science fair.

 

Printing posters and other facilities for operation a big event

school