Hosted by OSOS , contributed by Meie van Laar on 6 February 2018
How can you and your capacities be of an added value to your community?
In a new project, learners aged 12 and 13, learn more about how to be more important to their own community. They start their project watching a film about different social organizations from their city made by older learners from the same school who have already visited these organizations and have established what their needs are. Based on these films, learners select an organization for which they want to do something. This could be a fitness center, but also a housing cooperation. Then these learners go to the organization to find out more about it. The learners think about how they can help the organization and have workshops on brainstorming, networking, budgeting etcetera which will help them get ideas and make plans. These workshops are given by entrepreneurs from outside school. During the project, the learners regularly present their plans to the organization. In this way, the organization has the opportunity to give learners feedback. At the end of the project all learners present the final product to the organizations and also to parents, teachers and fellow learners. A final product is for example: leaners have developed a website for videos for old people who have complaints about their housing. The films give the elderly people instruction about how to report, step by step, their complaints on the website of the housing cooperation. The learners have also developed a leaflet describing where and how the elderly can watch the films.
Learning objectives
Get to know your own community and learn to do business in a creative way for someone else:
Idea
The student can come up with a creative idea for someone else together with others.
- Choosing: The student can make a substantiated choice based on personal interest.
- Thinking: The student can come up with a creative idea to help someone else.
- Collaboration: The student can collaborate constructively with fellow students.
Performance
The student can convert his ideas into actions.
- Organizing: The student can organize the actions resulting from his ideas.
- Secure: The student can record the process, from ideas to actions.
Promotion
The student can promote his service and / or product briefly, powerfully and attractively.
- Presenting: The student can present his service and / or product clearly and attractively to others.
- Sales: The student can sell his service and / or product to others.
Finalization
- Development: The student can determine which skills he has further developed with this project.
- Evaluation: The student can determine to what extent the project has successfully completed.
- Reflection: The student can determine his strengths and what he can improve.
RRI principles
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 this Accelerator fits into the RRI model:
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Governance |
Students will share the responsibility of the project with different stakeholders (associations, organizations outside the school) who will act as mentors to students. This will allow them to share the responsibility of the actions to be carried out during the activity. I.e.: students will get in touch with experts from different areas, who will always be informed of the project updates and with whom they will plan the next steps in the activity. |
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Public Engagement |
Students, with the help of teachers and olders students of the school, will contact stakeholders involved in the activity, with whom decisions will be made collaboratively. I.e.: in order to carry out this Accelerator, it is necessary for the school to create a film a film about different social organizations from their city made by older learners from the same school who have already visited these organizations and have established what their needs are so students can come in contact with the different stakeholders. |
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Gender equality |
Students will be able to discuss issues related to gender equality, by contacting experts (including both men and women) in the respective areas. I.e.: Be meaningful to your community will connect students with experts and professionals from all areas, taking into account issues of Gender Equality and creating working groups in which both boys and girls can participate. Students will look for areas and topics that can improve the gender equality of society. |
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Science Education |
Students will be responsible for raising problems and challenges, and for finding a creative solution through critical thinking. In addition, students will share responsibility in the activity and make decisions collaboratively with the stakeholders involved. I.e.: Once the subject is set and stakeholders are established, students will be responsible for finding a problem to solve and to know how to solve it. |
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Ethics |
Students will work on the issues to be addressed through Be meaningful to your community so that they can add value to society in the school environment. In addition, students can learn about the concerns of people around the school and reflect on how to propose solutions that solve these problems. I.e.: students will investigate their environment to look for social problems that they can solve through the project proposed in this Accelerator. These problems will be shared with stakeholders, with whom they will share responsibility in finding the solutions. |
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Open Access |
Students will use scientific materials and literature reviewed by experts to better understand the context in which the problem that the project proposes is developed. I.e.: when planning the project and the challenges, students will investigate the topic by reading dissemination articles that will help them to better understand the social and scientific context of the problem. |
Resources needed
Good relationships with organizations, entrepreneurs and experts from the community. They can contribute to the project in various ways, such as real life projects, workshops and giving feedback.
Time for teachers:
20 hours in the preparation phase
One to two hours a week during the project and the whole project days.
The get more value: make a connection with the school
Possibility to integrate the project with other subjects
Possibility to involve students from other years with organizing the project. This is interesting, because they also can learn from the project and they often have interesting inputs, so the project can better connect to the needs of students.
Stakeholders
In preparation and during the project, the school builds good relationships with organisations, entrepreneurs and experts from the community. They can contribute to the project in various ways, such as real life projects, workshops and giving feedback.
At the end of the project, all students present the final product to the organisations for which they have taken actions. Their parents, fellow students and teachers are also present at the presentations. An example of a final product: students have developed a website with simple instructional videos, especially for the elderly, about the digital submission of a complaint. These films instruct the elderly about how they can report their complaints step by step on the website of the housing corporation. The students have also developed a folder that describes in a simple way where and how older people can watch the films.
The project gets more value if it is connected to other subjects and with the involvement of other years. In addition, the contact with the community ensures that also teachers know more of the needs and working methods of real life companies. They can use these experiences in their own lessons.
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NGOs |
They have real life projects, arising from existing problems of the NGO. In this way, students can experience the practice. In addition, they can also learn students about the working methods and goals of an organization, such as a NGO. |
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Entrepreneurs |
They can help students with getting ideas and drawing up plans, but they can also give students feedback on their existing ideas or plans, after which students can improve these. |
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Experts from different areas |
They can give workshops that support students with getting ideas/making plans and choices during their project
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Media |
Very important, because they can ensure that the community gets familiarity with the project and the individual projects of the students. Media can also support schools to get experts and entrepreneurs who can help with some parts of the project (workshops / feedback students’ plans). |
Planning of the project
- Week 4 Project day 1 (5 hours)
- Week 5 Project day 2 (4 to 5 hours)
- Week 6
- Week 7
- Week 8 Project Lesson (1 hour)
- Week 9
- Week 10 Project Lesson (1 hour)
- Week 11 Project day (3 hours)
- Week 12 Project lesson (1 hour)
- Week 13 Project lesson (1 hour)
- Week 14 Project lesson (1 hour)
- Week 15 Project lesson (1 hour)
- Week 16 Project lesson and final event (3 hours)
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# Session |
Duration |
Description |
Resources needed |
Location |
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Week 4 |
5 hours (without a break) |
08.30 - 09.45 Kick-off project 09.45 - 10.00 Introduction to Padlet www.padlet.com (as a working method) 10.00 - 10.30 Know yourself and your classmate better (team roles) 10.30 - 10.50 Break 10.50 - 11.20 Workshop brainstorming 11.20 - 12.45 Preparation for meeting the non-profit organization 12.45 - 13.15 Break 13.15 - 14.15 Meeting non-profit organizations 14.30 - 15.00 Complete the first day |
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NGO’s School |
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Week 5 |
4 to 5 hours (without a break) |
08.30 - 08.40 Start 08.40 - 10.45 Making a choice to follow one workshop and setting up a fictitious business with groupmates 10.45 - 12.00 Break 12.00 - 12.45 Workshops
12.45 - 13.15 Break 13.15 - 14.30 Assignments to stimulate creativity 13.15 - 14.30 Thinking of creative and fun actions for your business 13.15 - 14.30 Registration companies at the start-up desk 14.30 - 15.00 Preparing meeting with entrepreneurs |
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School |
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Week 8 |
1 hour |
This week, students look back at the start of the project and finally determine what their final product will be.
Creating plans for the coming weeks:
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School |
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Week 10 |
1 hour |
Today, students will advertise their projects
Discuss with the group;
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School |
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Week 11 |
3 hours |
This week, students are working on three things:
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School |
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Week 12 – week 15 |
4 hours |
In these weeks, activities for the project are carried out. In addition, the following:
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School NGO Entrepreneur |
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Week 16 |
3 hours |
Most actions have been completed. Today, students will present their final product. They prepare a pitch of 3 to 5 minutes. In this presentation, they describe the process, present their plan and there is time for questions. |
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School or NGO’s? |
Other suggestions
The project gets more value if it is connected to other subjects and with the involvement of other years. In addition, the contact with the community ensures that also teachers know more of the needs and working methods of real life companies. They can use these experiences in their own lessons.
ORGANIZATION IN CHARGE:
European School Heads Association, ESHA
Herenstraat 35
3512 KB Utrecht, Netherlands
http://www.esha.org/
CONTACT PEOPLE:
Suzanne de Kroon
suzannedekroon@gmail.com
Feel
Addressed Challenge: Be meaningful to your community encourages learning in the real world, with real needs and real audience. Be meaningful to your community supports a school and the students, in a very structural way, to establish a relationship and to collaborate with the community. The ultimate goal of Be meaningful to your community is to reduce the gap between both worlds, the school and the community. In this FEEL phase we will introduce our students to the concept of Be meaningful to your community so that they understand it and then they can use it in later phases of this Accelerator.
Get to know your qualities
To get to know yourself and each other better, each group member makes this online test. After the test, each group member gives two strong and two less strong points to your Padlet. You also choose from the list below two competencies that you want to develop further during the project. Indicate for each competency why you choose and what you want to achieve. If you do not know what it means, seek out the competency.
- creativity: coming up with new ideas and being able to elaborate and analyze them.
- critical thinking: being able to formulate your own, substantiated vision or opinion.
- Problem solving skills: recognizing a problem and being able to come up with a plan to solve the problem.
- communicating: effectively and efficiently transferring and receiving a message.
- Collaboration: the joint realization of a goal and others can supplement and support.
- digital literacy: the effective, efficient and responsible use of ICT.
Workshop brainstorming
After the first break you will follow a brainstorming workshop. Look in the program when it is your turn. The workshop is given by Mrs Kopp in your own classrooms.
Brainstorming helps you to come up with ideas about:
- The questions that you can ask the non-profit organization.
- The actions you can take for your non-profit organization.
You and your non-profit organization
What is a non-profit organization?
An organization that does not have to make a profit.
Choose organization
Each group uploads a video of about 1 minute about why you have chosen this organization and this places you on the Padlet. This video about arguing helps you to come up with good arguments for the video.
Live introduction to organization
You are going to prepare for the visit to the organization. The organization will tell about who they are and what they do.
What is important is that you have looked up the organization on the internet beforehand and at least know:
- For which target group the organization works
- When the organization has arisen
- Where the organization is located
- What activities the organization carries out. Name at least three activities.
After the organization has told you about it, you are talking. The goal is that you find out what you can do for the organization. What do they need and how can you help them? Consider at least five questions that you can ask during the interview.
An inspiration moment ...
Examples of what you can mean for another:
- Familiarity and / or image improvement. Here you can think of the police's familiarity with youth.
- Organizing activities for target groups. You can think of a sports day for asylum seekers' children.
- Creating workshops for a specific target group. Here you can think of the elderly learning how to handle the smartphone.
- Generate revenue in products. You can think of food for the food bank or a gift for poor families during the holidays.
- Proceeds of money for a specific purpose. You can think of a new playground for a day nursery.
Websites:
https://medium.com/firm-narrative/want-a-better-pitch-watch-this-328b95c2fd0b
Introduction to Padlet
You will receive information via Padlet, but will also make a Padlet yourself. Padlet is a digital message board where you can record everything. Conveniently, through the use of Padlet, no information can be lost. A second advantage is that you have a good overview. In this film you learn how Padlet works. Each group makes their own Padlet with each other.
If you have created the Padlet, each student answers the following questions individually. You process the answers in your Padlet.
- Why did you choose this organization?
- Have others influenced your choice? Yes / no, because ...
- Which interests of yours match with your organization?
Imagine
Business formation
What will all of you make visible on the Padlet?
- Employees
- Division of roles - functions of group members
- Company Name
- Slogan company.
- Company logo. Take a look at www.canva.com
Assign functions within a group
Ownership within a company is an important part. People feel owner when they know what to do and what they are responsible for. That is why you see in many companies that everyone has their own job. Divide the four functions below within your group. Indicate on the Padlet which function each group member has chosen and indicate one reason why.
- Business manager: the business manager listens carefully to everyone in the company and ensures that everyone adheres to his or her position. The manager intervenes if members do not fulfill their agreements and responsibilities. Finally, the manager represents the company if necessary for activities.
- Tip: regularly discuss the agreements made and check whether they have been fulfilled.
- Planner: the planner makes all appointments, both inside and outside your company. By the planner everyone knows what has to happen when.
- Tip: keep an agenda and make sure everyone understands the planned activities.
- Organizer: the organizer makes sure that everything is ready when the plans are executed. This person ensures, for example, the presence of all materials during the actions.
- Treasurer: the treasurer keeps track of all cash flows, both income and expenses.
Take action!
Think of four actions to help your organization. There are a number of conditions, namely:
- Each action is in line with the interest of at least one group member.
- Each action is carried out by at least two group members.
- Two actions are supported by someone outside your group. You can think of a sponsor here.
Present your company!
After business formation and coming up with actions, you present the company in a market form to the other class. The groups from the other class walk past and you present the company. You do this in an attractive way. From the groups that walk past you receive a tip and a top.
Workshop carousel
Each group member has followed a workshop. Now you are going to share with each other what you have learned.
Such a workshop carousel shows in a fun way that not everyone has to follow the same route to achieve the same result. It also shows that you need each other to work more efficiently.
Creativity session
To stimulate your creativity, you view this film. Here you see a situation that is 'different' than normal. Because of the 'different' this action falls and others remain interested.
To think 'out of the box' yourself, you do a creativity assignment.
Create
Pitch
If you are going to pitch a plan of action, it is useful to be able to tell your company story briefly and powerfully. A smart way is to make an elevator pitch. Elevator means lift in English. An elevator pitch has the length of a ride in the elevator, about one to two minutes. If you meet that one important person (in the elevator) you have to be able to quickly tell your story before he or she is gone. During the pitch you are free to use everything that you find necessary, but remember that you only have one to two minutes.
https://medium.com/firm-narrative/want-a-better-pitch-watch-this-328b95c2fd0b
Feedback
You receive feedback and this helps you to improve. Some tips about feedback: there are feedback methods that help ensure that feedback is received pleasantly. You keep to the four points below, will ensure that the feedback process between you and the other goes well:
- The hamburger method is a way in which the feedback provider starts by naming a positive point, then an improvement point is appointed and it is concluded with another positive point.
- The feedback provider speaks from the I-perspective and this means that every point starts with 'I', such as 'I think', 'I think' and 'I notice'.
- The feedback provider may not deviate from the subject matter and so do not add any other items.
- The feedback recipient may not get angry or go into defense. Of course, the recipient may ask questions if he or she does not understand the feedback
Reflection on the start of the project
Answer the questions below with your group and place them on your own padlet.
- How far have you come so far?
- What still needs to be done?
- Do you have a good idea what it is end product?
- How did the collaboration work?
- Are the tasks well distributed?
What now? What kind of end product?
What will your final product be? Have you already clearly identified this?
- It is important now that you go head to head with your group of nails.
- So, develop ideas into one clearly defined end product!
- Place this on your padlet!
Planning for the coming weeks
Make a planner with your group for the coming weeks.
- What activities did you come up with and do you carry out?
- When are you going to do that? (which days, in which week?)
- What do you need for that? (materials, people?)
- How do you distribute the tasks?
- Place the planner on your padlet.
Contact organization:
Do you already have a permanent contact within the chosen organization?
- If so, who is this? Write down his or her name and how you can reach him or her on your padlet.
- Give your contact an update about your plans and actions. You can mail this update.