Sustainable development in local communities Erasmus Project

Project Title

Sustainable development in local communities

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 2015

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: ICT – new technologies – digital competences; Teaching and learning of foreign languages; Environment and climate change

Project Summary

Sustainable development – local challenges in a global perspective:
Otta Secondary School participated in a project related to the Sustainable Backpack from 2011. The main aim of the Sustainable backpack is to increase awareness, understanding and competence in and for sustainable development to teachers and students in primary and secondary education. It is a national priority initiated by the Ministry of Education and Research and the Ministry of Climate and Environment to support Norwegian schools to implement Education for Sustainable Development. Otta Secondary School developed a local curriculum on the topic based on competence aims in LK06 (The Norwegian National Curriculum). The method used on the topic Wild Reindeer and Rondane National Park, was inquiry-based and the work inter/multi-disciplinary. Our experience was that the work was very motivating for the students, it stimulates basic skills and was a good method for being able to adapt the education to different levels. At the same time, the work promoted transversal skills such as critical thinking, creativity, problem-solving and initiative. We wanted to develop the project further and collaborate with other European schools in order to contribute with our experiences and learn from the partners experience with work on similar topics. We used the e-Twinning community to find partners, and this is the background for our application in 2015.

Our main ambition was to increase students’ competence in foreign language, increase level of digital competence, strengthen motivation to active participation in society and use activities that would foster transversal skills through CLIL. To achieve the objectives, we wanted to focus on a question-based method making scientific questions and hypothesis. The partner-countries used local topics related to sustainable development as starting point for their work, and the students shared and adapted knowledge and skills based on their own research throughout the project.
Some of the partners had long experience in collaborating with other schools through both Comenius and Erasmus+, while some of the schools had less experience in such work. All the schools contributed with different areas of expertise, which has resulted in new knowledge and skills for teachers participating as well.

We wanted to focus on challenges others have in their local environment, and search for similarities and differences internationally in order to stimulate and create a commitment amongst youths of today. The topic is about containing the needs of the people who live today, at the same time as we preserve our resources for future generations. Our opinion has been that young people in our time need a focus that can strengthen and develop respect, commitment and care for the nature- and culture-environment in their local surroundings. We need to give young people the opportunity to gain knowledge and develop skills that provide them with action competences. Teachers and students has experienced that this can be done in different ways, and that although there may be differences in approaches, there are a lot of similarities in the challenges they meet. The 5E-model has been helpful in organizing a structure for stimulating action competences.

The project Sustainable Development in local communities has focused on how we can take advantage of the resources we have in our local environment at the same time as we take into account the vulnerability of our nature. Economic challenges, climate challenges and changes in work markets increase a need to think differently. Our focus on sustainable development has been to develop the understanding of how local use or misuse of nature is crucial to secure a good future. The topic opens for many questions and we have seen that is has contributed to reflection. Teachers and other stakeholders has worked to stimulate healthy values and to help the pupils to make good choices when it comes to right or wrong. The students have shown to be creative and innovative in their contribution with ideas that can ensure a sustainable future.

Throughout the work of this project we have gotten to know a lot of excellent partner schools, and we have seen a lot of interesting working methods and models. It has been interesting to get to know more about the challenges they have and what is done to handle it. In addition to this, it has been very rewarding and motivating to meet so many dedicated teachers that has a great interest in sustainable development.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 77400 Eur

Project Coordinator

Sel kommune – Otta ungdomsskole & Country: NO

Project Partners

• I.E.S RODRIGUEZ MOÑINO
• Agrupamento de Escolas de Seia
• Istituto Tecnico Nautico “Gioeni-Trabia”
• OSG De Ring van Putten