Hosted by OSOS , contributed by Anonymous (not verified) on 15 March 2018
How can the emissions of school transportation be decreased?
Could you change your journey to school so that you produce less CO2?
In this activity, pupils explore how they contribute to CO2 emissions as they travel to school. The aim of the activity is to raise pupils’ awareness of the drawbacks of traveling in general and in relation to their own traveling behavior. By the end of this activity, pupils have become aware of the fact that different forms of transport have different CO2 emissions and they will also be able to understand and explain the connection between transportation and climate change. At the end of the activity, pupils will organize and participate in a “climate conference” during which they discuss and negotiate a plan on how they could decrease the overall emissions of school transportation.
The activity raises awareness about the environmental costs of the different ways of traveling to school. Pupils are inspired to consider and discuss traveling options by making comparisons between different CO2 emissions of classmates. This activity can be easily expanded to involve parents and local authorities.
The description of the activity
The activity starts by asking pupils to read a story about a real life situation where pupils are introduced to the problem statement concerning environmentally-friendly travelling.
After reading the text, pupils are told to solve the following question:
Pupils will try to answer the research question by doing four activities. During the activities pupils will collect data in a table (can be downloaded from the website), interpret their data and draw conclusions based on the research. Pupils can use Google Maps to measure the travelled distances.
Activity 1: In the first activity, pupils will write down how they travel to school, and work out the distance from their homes to school (15 minutes).
Activity 2: In the second activity, pupils will interview at least 10 classmates and ask them about how they travel to school and write down the information in the same table (30 minutes).
Activity 3: In the third activity (20 minutes), pupils are asked to investigate how big their CO2 emissions are when they travel to school. The emissions can be calculated by using the following website (https://www.co2nnect.org/?nmlpreflang=fi)
Activity 4: In the fourth activity (25 minutes), pupils are asked to calculate CO2 emissions of their classmates.
By interpreting the results from the calculations, pupils are asked to draw conclusions and discuss the following questions:
- Which vehicle emits the most CO2?
- Is there any relationship between the type of transport and the distance travelled between home and school? If yes, what is it?
- Is there any relationship between the level of CO2 emissions emitted by the transport and the distance travelled between home and school? If yes, what is it?
At the end of the activity pupils will organize and participate in a climate conference during which the results and conclusions of the research are discussed:
- The purpose of the conference is to negotiate how the emissions of school transportation could be decreased
- The “class delegates” will start the conference by deciding on their own opinions regarding the topic. These opinions are then presented in a meeting of the delegate representatives who are trying to find a shared opinion on the topic. If delegates disagree, the topic is brought back to the class delegates for discussion. If a shared opinion can be found, the solution will be voted in the conference of all the pupils in the school.
- The delegates can also decide about “prizes” that are given if the goals are achieved
- A representative of the Town Hall or the City Council can be invited to take part in the discussions and the negotiations. The representative is also asked to share information on how they negotiate and make decisions in the Town Hall/City Council.
- A local environment organization may also be asked to take part in the negotiations in the role of an expert partner
If the decisions of the climate conference include political aspects, pupils can write a proposal for the Town Hall/City Council etc.
Resources needed
- Computers and internet access
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 |
At the end of this accelerator students will organize and participate in a climate conference to share their results and to promote awareness on the CO2 emissions caused by travelling. A local environment organization may be asked to take part in the conference to share their expertise in the field. The results of the negotiations of the climate conference may then be used to write a proposal for the City Council to reduce the CO2 emissions in the city by promoting environmentally friendly ways of travelling. |
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Public Engagement |
This activity aims to engage students in becoming aware of the consequences of travelling. The results of the investigations are shared in a climate conference organized by the students themselves. The activity will also include collaboration with an environment organization and possibly also the City Council. |
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Gender equality |
Pupils will be working in gender-balanced teams. The activity aims to provide a possibility to collaborate with experts of both genders. |
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Science Education |
Broadening the understanding of both science and mathematics and their relation are included in the learning methods of the activity. |
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Ethics |
This activity aims to help students become aware of their possibilities of reducing the carbon footprint of their community. The aim is also to highlight the importance of taking action to fight climate change. |
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Open Access |
The materials used in the activity have an open access. The conlusion of the activity are shared openly to the audience. |
The activity is based on Carbon Detective in Transport activity produced by the Mind the Gap online project. The activity is adapted for the OSOS by the coordinator of Finland (Uni. of Turku): http://www.migaproject.eu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=161%3Acarbon-detective-in-transport&catid=35%3Atransportation&Itemid=89&lang=en
Feel
Carbon Detective in Transport
Addressed challenge:
Could you change the way that you travel to school in order to produce less CO2? This activity is about exploring the amount of CO2 emissions that you produce when you travel to school. The activity aims at raising awareness on the drawbacks of traveling in general and on how you are able to decrease the CO2 emissions by changing your traveling behavior. By the end of this activity, you will understand that different forms of transport have different CO2 emissions and recognize the connection between transportation, CO2 emissions, and climate change.
At the end of the activity, you will be organizing and participating in climate conference to present the results of your research and to negotiate a plan on how all the pupils at your school could decrease the overall emissions caused by school transportation.
Step 1: Read the following text about a real-life situation:
"I have to go to school every day, some things I cannot change! My house is close to school so it is only a 5-minute walk. My friend Sammy lives next door but she is driven to school, I think she is quite lazy! When I arrive at school I often wait for my friends who travel on the school bus. Then we all go to our classroom together. Guess what...all the teachers come by their own car. I want a Porsche when I am old enough.
After school, there are lots of clubs and sports I can do. My favourite is football. We practice twice per week. When we have finished I am tired and sometimes wish someone would drive me home instead of walking. On Saturday we have a football match against another school. Sometimes we have to travel many miles to play a game. I am lucky because we travel by car, it is a big one so I have lots of space to sleep on the way back home."
Have you ever been a Carbon Detective and worked out which form of transport is the most environmentally friendly? Could you change the way you travel to school so that you would produce less CO2?
Imagine
Step 2:
"Today everybody has arrived at your school by different means of transportation. In this web quest we will explore how you and your classmates contribute to CO2 emission as you travel to school. Firstly you need to collect your data."
Draw the following table or use a similar table given to you by your teacher:
| Name of the student | Type of Transport | Time Taken | Distance Travelled to School |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | |||
| 2... | |||
| 3... | |||
| 4... |
Activity 1: How do you travel to school? Fill the first line of the table. Use Google Maps to measure the distance from your home to the school yard.
Activity 2: Collect information on how your classmates travel to school by interviewing them. Write down their answers in the same table.
Activity 3 & 4: Once you have collected the data, you will be given further directions from the teacher in order to calculate your and your classmates' CO2 emissions. Remember to write down the results of your calculations!
In step 3 you will be asked to interpret your data and draw conclusions based the calculations.
Create
Step 3:
By interpreting the collected data you should be able to anwer the following questions:
- Which vehicle emits the most CO2?
- Is there any relationship between the type of transport and the distance travelled between home and school? If yes, what is it?
Next you will organize and participate in a climate conference during which the results and the conclusions of the research are discussed:
- The purpose of the conference is to negotiate how the emissions of school transportation could be decreased.
- Start to prepare for the conference by deciding on your own opinions regarding the most environmentally-friendly way of traveling to school. Share your ideas and thoughts in a group of 5 students.
- Together with your group, make a decision on who is going to be the representative of your group.
- The opinions of each group are then presented in a meeting of the delegate representatives who are trying to negotiate to find a shared opinion on the topic. If delegate representatives disagree, the topic is brought back to the class delegates for discussion. If a shared opinion can be found, the solution will be voted in the conference of all the pupils in the school.
- The delegates can also decide about “prizes” that are given if the goals are achieved
- A representative of the Town Hall or the City Council can be invited to take part in the discussions and the negotiations. The representative is also asked to share information on how they negotiate and make decisions in the Town Hall/City Council.
- A local environment organization may also be asked to take part in the negotiations in the role of an expert partner.
Share
Step 4:
Think and discuss the result of the climate conference. What were the most important outcomes of the negotiations? How were the arguments justified? Based on the conclusions, write a proposal or a suggestion to all the pupils in your school on how the amount of CO2 emissions should be reduced by changing the way of traveling to school.
Make sure that you present your proposal to an audience in order to raise awareness on how individuals can affect the amount of CO2 emissions.
