Radiation – a curse or a blessing? Erasmus Project

Project Title

Radiation – a curse or a blessing?

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 : School Exchange Partnerships

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2018

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Health and wellbeing; Natural sciences; Environment and climate change

Project Summary

With our project “Radiation – Curse or Blessing?” we wanted to clarify for a period of two years whether this central question could be answered. A total of six schools from Denmark (Københavns Tekniske Skole from Copenhagen), Germany (Gymnasium Süderelbe from Hamburg), Finland (Pyhäjoen lukio from Pyhäjoki), France (ISEC LEPGT) Ste Marie du Port from Olonne sur Mer), Great Britain (Highlands School from London) and Poland (Zespol Szkol nr 10 im. prof . Stefana Banacha and Toruniu from Toruń) worked together in this school partnership. We planned that each of the participating schools would organise a work meeting at their school to deepen the selected focus. We almost succeeded in this organizational challenge! Unfortunately, the Corona pandemic prevented our final meeting, which was supposed to take place in France. Here all results should be collected, final documents created and the project should be finished with a big party. Despite an extension of the project for another six months, we were unable to hold this meeting due to the extended travel restrictions.

Five students and two teachers from each school were invited to each of our five workshops. The school where the meeting took place was also able to invite teachers and students who were involved in the project. The size of the group therefore consisted of 30 students and 12 teachers plus other students and teachers of the host school for excursions, laboratory visits and also work in the school (e. g. experimenting, research work on the computer) was an organisational challenge.

At each workshop we combined basic knowledge from the classroom with expert knowledge from research and industry. We planned that their visit to extracurricular learning sites, the students learned about current research results and experienced the scientific work at universities, research laboratories and industrial companies. With the preparation and follow-up in the classroom between the transnational meetings, they developed materials that linked the socio-political theme with the scientific focus of radiation.

We have worked on the following areas:
– Scientific understanding of electromagnetic radiation,
– Construction of a measuring device with a micro controller “Arduino” (sensors were completed in the course of the project),
– Focus on biology and medicine (use and risks of radioactive radiation),
– Lectures on the structure of matter and the functioning of an accelerator,
– X-rays experiments,
– Study of neutrinos, effects of natural radiation on humans and nature,
– Political functioning in the European Parliament, the work of the European Commission,
– Lectures on nuclear power plants, excursion to a nuclear power plant, medical consequences of nuclear power were discussed,
– Natural radiation using the example of Northern Lights, excursion to an observatory for the registration of electromagnetic radiation from outer space,
– Experiencing heat radiation during an excursion in a steelworks.

The project showed that there is no answer to the central question. The basic prerequisite for an assessment is an understanding of the natural sciences. With our measuring instrument, radiation became “visible”, the advantages and disadvantages became clear on the basis of the selected focal points. The different positions of the European countries became clear, e.g. with regards to the use of nuclear energy to generate electricity or to the question of the risks of radiation in the field of medicine for humans.

The interdisciplinary combination of scientific and political learning content on the subject of radiation led to a deeper understanding of the subject, which allowed the students to comprehensively and critically evaluate current discussions. The students improved their skills in the field of scientific enquiry and research and research, of socio-political debates and decision-making, of international teamwork and of discussing complex contexts in English. The pupils thus acquired basic skills for their personal development (self-competence), their future profession (vocational guidance) and an active creation of Europe (intercultural competence).

The students were trained in the use of digital learning content and forms of communication. These transversal competences are important for a participation in modern societies, also with regards to a future potential career profiles in European research or industry. Although students today grow up with digital media and communication services, content-based work with digital media requires different application strategies than the private communication students are used to. By using Twinspace and the creating of online materials in English, the students learned and developed these transversal skills while increasing their language skills.

Project Website

https://twinspace.etwinning.net/76967/pages/page/686487

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 150071 Eur

Project Coordinator

Gymnasium Süderelbe & Country: DE

Project Partners

• ISEC LEPGT Ste Marie du Port
• Københavns Tekniske Skole
• X Liceum Ogolnoksztalcace im. prof. Stefana Banacha w Toruniu
• Pyhäjoen lukio
• Highlands School