Evaluation approaches for measuring the impact of open schooling

On July 5th,  the 9th Inspiration session of the OStogether group was held to critically discuss and ideate on: Evaluation approaches for measuring the impact of open schooling. The session was for the first time opened to the public, and 42 participants joined forces to share their practices for evidence based evaluation of impact in projects for Open Schooling. A great focus was also given to the element of Policy making that is considered critical to achieve each projects´ objectives.

Bottled water vs. tapped water: which is better? Debunking myths around water quality

Influenced by marketing and brand recognition, some people prefer to drink bottled water to tap water. But against popular belief, that doesn’t necessarily translate into higher quality or hygiene. To work out students’ perceptions around the topic and discuss water drinking habits, MULTIPLIERS partner Iren, through its educational division Eduiren, co-organised a water “blind tasting” at the Blaise Pascal School in the Italian city of Reggio Emilia. Perceptions from upper secondary students at the tasting experience were compared to the results of analytical tests on different types of drinking water, allowing participants to debunk myths and illusions regarding perceived quality and taste.

Irish PULCHRA students from Drimnagh Castle Secondary School worked on a PULCHRA City Challenge with the objective of improving and regenerating their local urban environment through engagement with stakeholders. They  engaged external stakeholders from LEAF Ireland to help them regenerate their land. LEAF Ireland coordinated a project with them called ‘An Choill Bheag’ which translates as ‘tiny forest’ and planned a beautiful native Irish woodland on their school grounds. The woodland will form an important outdoor classroom for future students. 

Year 5 students at Birralee International School in Trondheim have developed a project with the aim of reducing the amount of discarded chewing gum on our streets, both here in Trondheim and (hopefully) throughout the rest of the world. The project began by passing the power to the students; we challenged them to find a waste related problem in the city and then to develop a project based on this. The class decided that we would need to go out into the community to explore these problems for ourselves.

In the elementary school Petar Kočić in Inđija, Serbia, students encouraged their older schoolmates to consider STEAM careers through role play. Students were saying “I didn’t know professions can be combined in such a crazy way!”, “Wow, being an engineer doesn’t have to be boring!”. After the event, school counsellor Tijana Đuričić and class teacher Jelena Živković agreed that intergenerational collaboration in career counselling is very important and meaningful for students. It truly helps to bring relevance but also a lighter approach to a rather complex and emotional topic.

As part of the Make it Open project, in Israel, IASA Secondary School and Nativ Zvulun Elementary School involved their students in an entire week of excursions. The week focused on a specific topic, but each day this was explored from a different angle. Students had the opportunity to learn in different locations and through various approaches the topic of waste management. These hands-on activities motivate students to be more active and boost their interest in STEM learning, encouraging them to take action and make change.