News . Best Practices Actions to reduce the carbon footprint
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This report presents an open schooling initiative about CONNECT – Horizon 2020 Science with and for Society, which was developed by the Energy Technological High School “Elie Radu” Ploiesti, teacher Novischi Angelica Valentina during the period ( 15/10 / 2022 to 15 /06 /2023 ). The activities included a science professional (not applicable). It was supported by Valahia University in Targoviste, Romania. This activity was previously presented HERE
Care: Students were interested in finding out new information about pollution, they actively participated in the lessons on Carbon neutral proposed by the CONNECT project, a real-life problem “carbon footprint” was highlighted, each student made their own calculation and realized the importance of reducing it. The students who participated in the activities were in the eleventh grade the branch: technological, profile: technical, basic field: natural resources and environmental protection, qualification: ecological technician and environmental quality protection, 18 in number.
Know: Students used knowledge about environmental pollution through combustion reactions, identified where carbon dioxide emissions come from, from different activities: transport, energy production, agriculture and different industries. The competences that students practiced were: identified problems, applied knowledge about Earth’s atmosphere and global warming, developed teamwork skills, played the role of journalist, politician, architect or construction engineer, developed calculation skills, considered different perspectives for reducing carbon dioxide emissions and proposed solutions through the role they played, have developed skills to consider the economic and social consequences of environmental pollution.
Do: At the end, the students prepared different materials: posters, drawing – green house, report made by the journalist, article proposed by the researcher (scientist), article proposed by the politician regarding laws that will be applied to reduce pollution. They carried out the activities in groups of 3 to 4 and were supported by families.
Findings related to the Open Schooling approach: The activity is framed in the curriculum to the qualification of the class that participated in the project.
It was very useful, the lessons were held during the green school week, students received rich and useful information through this project, they were also put in the situation to look for information and propose solutions to reduce the carbon footprint, to be involved and useful to society.
Open schooling could be useful and challenging for other teachers because each of us carries a carbon footprint and we need to act to reduce it. The teacher must be a positive role model for the students.
The results obtained by the students: Students were happily involved in activities, developed different skills, confidence in science, sought solutions to problems related to environmental pollution with carbon dioxide, provided positive feedback at the end of the activities. As an example, one student mentioned the following conclusion: “the carbon neutral approach is essential in combating climate change, it is important to recognize examples that demonstrate genuine commitment and concrete actions in reducing greenhouse gases.”