Cooperation among schools

Part three – Best practises from schools (at local level)

Realized by Maria Pia Coceano and Graziella MocellinITI Malignani 2000 – Cervignano del Friuli (Italy)

AMBIENTE E QUALITA’

A LOCAL, NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL

EDUCATIONAL NETWORK

ISIS MALIGNANI ITI MALIGNANI 2000 Cervignano del Friuli Italy

Leading School: ITI“Malignani 2000” part of ISIS“Malignani”- Cervignano del

Friuli - Italy

Department of Chemistry

Spring 1994: first experience with other local schools in environmental educational topics (water quality)

Spring 1997: creation of network of six local schools, in relation to lichens as bio-indicators (“Bioindicatori - i Licheni”)

1998: the network expanded its activities under the umbrella-project “Ambiente e Qualità” which included two international projects related to the monitoring of environmental quality, G.R.E.E.N. and GLOBE

“MONUMENTI” PROJECTeffects of air pollution on the conservation of monuments

The “Ambiente e Qualità” project has the following macro-objectives:

• The trial of project activities on common themes co-involving different types of schools in network

• The definition of structured rules to organize, test and document the work accomplished

• The development of the modularly structured education system for projects

Educational LaboratoryCreated in relation to the teaching, up-dating/training, and educational material developing, not to waste the teachers’ experience and knowledge acquired and to place it at the disposal of the network partecipants

The following goals are expected:• To build up a structure to provide services

for schools and the local area• To allow an exchange of information

between students and teachers in different schools

• To promote connections and to create relationships between research, teaching and local work training centres

• To issue and circulate the work accomplished now and in the future

Some services

• Co-ordination in the use of the labs, libraries, data banks and other materials and tools• Organization of training courses on specific themes• Organization of meetings between network teachers• Partecipation in conferences and exhibits on works already performed by network• Editing of works performed by the schools

KEY POINTS FOR WORKING IN A NETWORK

• Objectives and targets specific for each school, overall goals according to “Ambiente e Qualità” project planning.

• Synergy obtained thanks to people involved, tools and knowledge shared, feedback obtained

• Mutual support from planning the work with others (condivision of financial resources too)

ISSUES• Gaps in communications• Misunderstanding of roles• Mix-up of co-ordination and executive

roles• People overloaded, as involved in many

activities• Nodes with different resources • Difficulty to obtain acknowledgment of

work done