IPSO FACTO (Innovative Pedagogical Scenario On Food and Consumption Trends and Opportunities Erasmus Project

Project Title

IPSO FACTO (Innovative Pedagogical Scenario On Food and Consumption Trends and Opportunities

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for Schools Only

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2017

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Teaching and learning of foreign languages; Creativity and culture; Health and wellbeing

Project Summary

According to the French Observatory of Inequalities, children from the lower classes are more exposed to the risk of obesity. To this health determinant is added a new factor of social inequality:digital skills. What role can the school play in acting on this determinant of health and this determinant of knowledge? In November 2016, two teachers from the French School of Green Venice in Niort launched the idea of ​​a European project on the theme of nutrition and health, based on the use of Web tools. After posting this idea on the eTwinning Live platform, they met teachers from different European countries to launch an innovative project.
The IPSO FACTO project for Innovative Pedagogical Scenario On Food and Consumption Trends and Opportunities was launched on September 1, 2017. It was based on two broad objectives: 1) to educate students about the impact of nutrition on health and environment, using information and digital communication tools; 2) to enable teachers to implement innovative teaching scenarios.
The principals and nearly 40 teachers from four high schools completed this project. Two high schools with more than 1000 students: the Green Venice High School in Niort (France) and the Istituto Istruzione Superiore High School “Enrico Fermi” (Italy); Two high schools with fewer than 400 pupils: Mäntsälän Lukio High School (Finland), Gymnazium Havlickuv Brod High School / College (Czech Republic).
The high schools of Niort and Catanzaro are located in popular neighborhoods and that of Mäntsälä in rural areas. These students would never have had the means to participate in this project without the initiative of the teachers and the financing of the project by the European Union.
In total, more than 100 high school students have invested in the IPSO FACTO project. Aged on average from 16 to 17 years, they came from various sectors: technological, scientific, literary, sports. 76 of them took part in a mobility project.
Several activities were implemented during meetings or remotely, using the e-Twinning platform. Most of the activities resulted in collaborative productions such as the production of a quantitative survey on eating habits in Europe, the writing of electronic magazines, the production of video interviews of nutrition / health experts or the production of a choreographic show filmed and broadcast on Youtube ,.
The exchanges allowed cultural visits, participation in traditional meals, participation in a scientific conference on GMOs, the visit of an Italian association committed to sustainable food, participation in scientific experiments. Finally, immersion in foster families helped strengthen the bonds between participants and overcome cultural barriers.
The activities allowed students and teachers to develop the “4 Cs” skills: Create and Cooperate, exercise a Critical spirit and Communicate meaningfully using information and communication technologie. Through a pragmatic approach, students were made aware of the impact of nutrition on health: the realization of the survey on eating habits in the project’s partner countries led in particular to student debates about our differences. The interview of experts or professionals (expert patients, sports coach, doctor, nurse …) was a motivating and shared experience thanks to the video. The writing of articles for magazines or the preparation of the exhibition encouraged students to collaborate between different nationalities, by setting up work groups mixing all nationalities.
Teachers have implemented innovative teaching scenarios involving collaborative working groups between several nationalities. They overcame a major difficulty: reconciling their educational goals despite differences in school curricula. They also acquired project methodology skills.
The experience of the project (almost 100% of people would recommend it to a friend) suggests that knowledge of good eating habits (such as the Mediterranean diet) is potentially long-term. Students realized that foster meals were a key element of hospitality. Finally, they understood that working in international groups is difficult but possible, thanks to the learning of digital tools. In addition, families saw the value of a European exchange project through the progress and motivation of their children.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 107336 Eur

Project Coordinator

Lycee de la Venise Verte & Country: FR

Project Partners

• Mäntsälän lukio
• Istituto Istruzione Superiore “Enrico Fermi”
• Gymnazium Havlickuv Brod