Conference Themes

According to the “Science Education for Responsible Citizenship” Report (EC, 2015) there are a series of ways in which science education can help European countries to equip citizens, enterprise and industry with the skills and competences needed to provide sustainable and competitive solutions to the current and future challenges. To this end we have selected  the conference main themes:

Open School Culture

An Open School culture imports external ideas that challenge internal views and beliefs and, in turn, exports its students – and their assets – to the community it serves. Such an engaging environment makes a vital contribution to its community: student projects meet real needs in the community outside of school, they are presented publicly, and draw upon local expertise and experience. The school environment fosters learner independence – and interdependence – through collaboration, mentoring, and through providing opportunities for learners to understand and interrogate their place in the world.

Responsible Research and Innovation

Responsible Research and Innovation is involving society in science and innovation ‘very upstream' in the processes of Research & Innovation to align its outcomes with the values of society. RRI is a wide umbrella connecting different aspects of the relationship between Research & Innovation and society: public engagement, open access, gender equality, science education, ethics, and governance

Project-Based Learning

Whilst teachers will draw distinctions between project, inquiry, and problem based learning, in reality the differences are minor – particularly in comparison to more transmissive, lecture or worksheet-based forms of learning. Great projects grow from inquiries in order to solve problems. Students found them highly engaging because they are conducting work that is meaningful, to them and their families or communities. Learning begins with a problem to be solved, and the problem is posed in such a way that children need to gain new knowledge before they can solve the problem. Rather than seeking a single correct answer, children interpret the problem, gather needed information, identify possible solutions, evaluate options and present conclusions. They relish the opportunity to make adult-world connections, work across disciplines, and in extended blocks of time.

Schools and Responsible Citizenship

Responsible Citizenship views citizenship as a total practice of responsibility between individuals and their political, social, economic and natural environment. It goes beyond formal relationships of rights and duties between the citizen and the state, and stretches the spatial, temporal and material boundaries of citizenship to those of the global economy.

Additional Theme

• Building online teacher/learner communities
• Games in Education
• School collaborative activities using digital resources
• Using remote & virtual labs for inquiry learning,
• Using other advanced technologies & scientific simulations in education