Global Citizenship

All posts in the ‘sciences’ Category

April 5th, 2013: Regional events – presentations now available for download; imenzies; Comments: none Tags: Tags: CPD, events, learner voice, resources, school improvement
: Categories biodiversity, citizenship, community, CPD, curriculum areas, early years, expressive arts, games and sport, health and wellbeing, homecoming, international, languages, leadership, learner voice, mathematics, outdoor learning, primary schools, religious and moral education, renewables and climate change, sciences, scottish culture, secondary schools, sharing practice, social studies, sustainable development, technologies, waste

Thank you to all those who took part in Education Scotland’s regional event programme exploring children’s rights, global citizenship and outdoor learning. We hope this proved to be a valuable and worthwhile professional learning opportunity.

The majority of the presentations, handouts and videos from all three regional events (Edinburgh, Glasgow and Inverness) have now been uploaded to Glow for practitioners to access. These are available from the Developing Global Citizenship Glow Group at: http://glo.li/XtMdn9

Remember too that on-going support, advice and networking opportunities are available anytime through our professional learning communities on Glow: http://bit.ly/DGConline (global citizenship), http://bit.ly/12qxI1u (outdoor learning), http://bit.ly/10jWdgK (rights, support and wellbeing).

We hope these resources and communities are useful and provide further inspiration, ideas to support your work. Thanks once again to all those who participated (and supported the event) for your commitment and enthusiasm to these important areas of learning.

April 4th, 2013: Win a visit by Ellen MacArthur to your school; imenzies; Comments: none Tags: Tags: events
: Categories CPD, curriculum areas, mathematics, sciences, sustainable development, technologies, waste

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation has launched an online competition for all secondary schools in the UK. The prize will be an inspirational talk given by Dame Ellen MacArthur at the winning school.

Closing date for entries:

The closing date will be 23:55, Friday 7th June 2013.
The winning school will be notified by Friday 21st June 2013.

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation Education Team have created a competition space on the Education Hub, containing everything you need to enter this competition, including hand-picked resources to help inform your submission.

Visit this website for more information: http://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/education/meet/

Also, MAKLAB workshops coming up…

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation and the MAKLAB are pleased to announce the launch of a series of free workshops looking at cradle-to-cradle design and the circular economy. These workshops are aimed at designers, engineers and teachers of D&T and the sciences.

The two hour session will look at the latest developments in design technology, including cradle-to-cradle design and 3D printing. Everything will be set in the context of the circular economy, and case studies will be made of companies and products moving in this direction. Teachers will leave with curriculum materials, and links to a suite of videos and teaching resources created by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.

Find out more about the Ellen MacArthur Foundation at www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org.

Venue: The MAKLAB, The Lighthouse, Glasgow (www.maklab.co.uk)

Dates and time:

13 April 11-1
16 April 430 – 630
11 May 11-1

Cost: Free to attend

Booking: email colin.webster@ellenmacarthurfoundation.org to book your place.

Photo credit: Th.Martinez/Sea&Co

March 3rd, 2013: ARKive – Team Wild; imenzies; Comments: none Tags: Tags: nature, resources
: Categories africa, biodiversity, games and sport, sciences, sustainable development

Team WILD is a fun and unique way for students to discover the importance of a career in conservation and science – by turning scientists into superheroes!

“From jungle to savanna, rainforest to coral reef, the Team WILD game will test students on their speed, skill and coordination. As they play, students will discover a diverse range of field tasks a conservation scientist or ecologist must do in order to protect the world’s species and habitats – from surveying coral reefs in Chagos to evacuating non-infected mountain chickens from Montserrat where populations are being decimated by the deadly chytrid fungus.”

The game is supported by curriculum-linked topic pages on amphibian conservation, coral reef conservation, predator-prey relationships in the African savannah and reforestation in the Atlantic forest to support the learning element of the game and to inform young people and provide educators with supporting information and related education resources.

There are also two new education resources modules on species discovery which focus on amphibian discovery and classification, please see Species Discovery for 7-11 year olds and Species Discovery for 11-14 year olds.

February 25th, 2013: Earth Hour – 23 March 2013; imenzies; Comments: none Tags: Tags: action, climate and energy, nature
: Categories international, renewables and climate change, sciences, social studies, sustainable development, technologies

WWF’s Earth Hour 2013

Save the date 23 March 2013

WWF’s Earth Hour is a unique annual phenomenon that focuses the world’s attention on our amazing planet, and how we need to protect it. At 8.30pm on 23 March hundreds of millions of people will turn off their lights for one hour, on the same night, all across the world in a huge, symbolic show of support.

For 2013 as we all switch off our lights, we want the focus to be on the kind of energy we use. Because to create a better future for our planet we need to move away from dirty fossil fuels and onto clean green renewable energy which works with the awesome power of nature, not against it.
Register your school now!

February 7th, 2013: Scottish Learning Festival 2013 – could your school be involved?; imenzies; Comments: none Tags: Tags: CPD, events, learner voice, rights, school improvement
: Categories citizenship, CPD, curriculum areas, early years, expressive arts, health and wellbeing, international, languages, leadership, mathematics, primary schools, religious and moral education, sciences, secondary schools, sharing practice, social studies, sustainable development, technologies

The Scottish Learning Festival 2013 will take place on Wednesday 25^th and Thursday 26^th September in the SECC, Glasgow. The theme for SLF 2013 is Raising the bar in Scotland – transforming lives through learning.

The Global Citizenship Team would love to showcase some of the excellent work taking place in Scottish schools on the theme of children’s rights, global citizenship, pupil voice, sustainability and outdoor learning. If your school has ideas and interesting practice to share then we’d like to encourage you to propose a seminar.

SLF 2013 will support practitioners explore a wide range of practical approaches, resources and research aimed at improving achievement and attainment for all our learners in Scotland.

The Call for Participation is now open and full details of the theme along with the online submission form are available on the SLF website.

http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/slf/aboutslf/callforparticipation.asp

If you would like to submit a proposal for consideration please do so before Friday 8^th March.

The 2013 conference programme and registration will be launched in May and will feature the sessions that have been submitted and selected for inclusion.

If you would like any further information or talk through a potential proposal then please contact the Team at globalcitizens@educationscotland.gov.uk

January 29th, 2013: Regional events – rights, citizenship and outdoor learning; imenzies; Comments: none Tags: Tags: CPD, david livingstone, democracy, events, human rights, learner voice, school improvement
: Categories citizenship, commonwealth, curriculum areas, early years, expressive arts, games and sport, health and wellbeing, homecoming, international, languages, leadership, mathematics, primary schools, religious and moral education, sciences, scottish culture, secondary schools, sharing practice, social studies, sustainable development, technologies

Who should attend: School leaders, local authority staff and those with a whole school responsibility for global citizenship, sustainability, children’s rights and outdoor learning

Sectors: Early Years, ASN, primary and secondary schools

When:

Edinburgh (Wed 13^th March)
Glasgow (Wed 20^th March)
Inverness (Mon 18th March)

Education Scotland will host three regional events in March 2013 to explore the implications of the Learning for Sustainability report and Children and Young People’s Bill

The Bill, which will be considered by the Scottish Parliament in 2013, will seek to enshrine the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child in Scottish legislation, thus placing statutory duties on all public sector bodies including local authorities and schools. These events will also help schools consider how to move forward strategically in a range of related areas including children’s rights, pupil voice and participation, global citizenship, sustainability, outdoor learning and Games Legacy activities.

These events will showcase interesting practice from around the country and include input from school inspectors about the changes taking place within the policy landscape and how this might impact on schools. The events will also highlight the many inspiring moments of learning taking place in 2013/14, such as the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games and Year of Natural Scotland, which provide exciting opportunities for schools to develop coherent whole school approaches.

Places will be limited and offered to local authorities on a pro-rata basis but if you’re interested in attending then please note the above dates for your diary.

These events will be free to attend. Please direct further enquiries to globalcitizens@educationscotland.gov.uk

January 15th, 2013: Daily What – Big Schools Birdwatch Glow meet; imenzies; Comments: none Tags: Tags: events, nature
: Categories biodiversity, sciences, sustainable development

The first news round-up of 2013 will be on Friday 18th January with the usual fun mix of news, quizzes and missing words. Our guest will be Craig Leith, the Lifelong Learning Officer for SSPB, talking about the Big Schools Birdwatch (in association with BBC Birdwatch). Craig is happy to take any wild bird-related questions, so get tweeting and send in those questions!

Starting 11am Friday 18th January 2013.

Click here to register and take part: http://bit.ly/105gTvc

January 7th, 2013: Saving the Eastern Imperial Eagle; imenzies; Comments: none Tags: Tags: nature
: Categories biodiversity, international, sciences, social studies, sustainable development

International Raptor Research and Conservation (IRRC), a registered Scottish charity, is to embark upon a study of the Eastern Imperial Eagle in the Lake Baikal region of Siberia, Russia, and is looking for Scottish schools to lend support.

An expedition is planned in 2013 to follow the migration of young Imperial eagles from Siberia, through Mongolia and onwards to southern China. This study will begin to establish migration routes, danger zones and wintering areas as well as movement behaviour of young eagles whilst they embark upon a journey covering over 4,000km each year. It is hoped that information gathered will help to establish protected areas along migration flyways and will also allow ongoing studies into adulthood thus helping determine new breeding areas for the species.

IRRC would like to invite schools in Scotland to become involved in this international conservation project by helping to raise funds for the satellite transmitters which are places on the young eagles before they fledge each year.

Benefits for schools

Schools will be able to follow the route of young eagles via the satellite data downloaded to the IRRC website.
By tracking the eagles schools will be able to use the project as a tool for building skills in the classroom in subjects like geography, history, mathematics, culture and languages as well as looking at wildlife conservation and environment issues.
IRRC staff will be able to respond to questions about the project and give information on many of the above topics with the benefit of “on the ground experience”.
IRRC staff will even visit the schools to give talks about their work and these are often illustrated with live birds of prey which are part of the IRRC education programme.

Interested schools should contact IRRC director Stewart Miller at stewart@irrc.org.uk

More information about IRRC’s work is available at www.irrc.org.uk

December 19th, 2012: Year of Natural Scotland 2013; imenzies; Comments: none Tags: Tags: action, events, nature
: Categories biodiversity, community, curriculum areas, expressive arts, health and wellbeing, homecoming, languages, mathematics, outdoor learning, religious and moral education, sciences, scottish culture, social studies, sustainable development, technologies

The Year of Natural Scotland 2013 provides an opportunity to celebrate Scotland’s stunning natural beauty and biodiversity, and promote ways in which visitors can enjoy our beautiful landscapes, wildlife and heritage responsibly.

In this the third of four focus years leading up to the Year of Homecoming in 2014, there will be many exciting opportunities for schools to engage in initiatives and events to promote sustainable development education and outdoor learning within the curriculum around the eight key themes listed below.

For an early indication of what’s of offer and how your school can engage with the natural world visit: http://www.snh.gov.uk/enjoying-the-outdoors/year-of-natural-scotland-2013/

Details about other opportunities will follow early in the New Year.


Key Themes	Why
Natural Landscapes	The Year of Natural Scotland is the perfect platform to promote Scotland’s natural heritage and landscape, to encourage visitors to make the most of this wonderful natural resource and enjoy responsibly.
Natural Built Heritage	The Year of Natural Scotland provides a platform to promote our built heritage and to drive visitors to our castles, monuments and conservation areas and to build awareness of the history and cultural diversity of the Scottish landscape.
Natural Larder	Scotland has a great reputation for its delicious local produce, and is gaining more and more recognition on an international scale for its respected chefs, world-class producers and the diversity of the cuisine. Following on from the Year of Food and Drink, this is an opportunity to further promote Scotland’s food and drink offering and natural produce, as well as its high quality restaurants.
Sustainable Tourism	The Year of Natural Scotland aims to raise awareness of Scotland as a place of outstanding natural beauty and to encourage visitors to enjoy the landscape responsibly for example by choosing accommodation providers with green policies, exploring the landscape by foot or by bike, and making the most of resources in local communities. Regional and seasonable spread is also fundamental to increasing Scotland’s reputation as a sustainable destination.
Natural Playground	The Year of Natural Scotland 2013 aims to promote Scotland’s outdoors as a stunning and easily accessible place for active pursuits and as the perfect stage for sporting events and other outdoors events and festivals and ensure our natural heritage is promoted at a range of existing events.
Flora & Fauna	Scotland’s dramatic landscape, islands and coastal areas are home to a vast array of flora and fauna. Visitors are invited to observe the wildlife in their natural habitats, and to be respectful towards all plant and animal species.
Art in Nature	Aside from acting as inspiration for world-famous visual artists, writers and innovators, artists have used the Scottish landscape as a canvas to create works of art, and as a source for materials. Following on the Year of Creative Scotland, we can benefit from momentum gained from celebrating Scotland’s cultural and creative diversity to promote the links between Scottish art and nature.
Nature in Cities	The Year of Natural Scotland provides the opportunity for those who are visiting Scotland’s cities to make the most of the nature, natural influences and green spaces that exist within the city.

December 17th, 2012: Learning for Sustainability – report published; imenzies; Comments: none Tags: Tags: climate and energy, CPD, democracy, human rights, learner voice, nature, resources, school improvement
: Categories biodiversity, citizenship, community, CPD, creativity, curriculum areas, expressive arts, health and wellbeing, international, languages, leadership, learner voice, mathematics, outdoor learning, religious and moral education, renewables and climate change, sciences, scottish culture, social studies, sustainable development, technologies, waste

Learning for Sustainability – the report of the One Planet Schools Working Group, was published 17 December 2012.

The report includes strategic recommendations to support the development of coherent whole school approaches to ensure that learning for sustainability, global citizenship and outdoor learning are experienced in a transformative way by every learner in every school across Scotland. The report includes a number of recommendations relating to career-long professional learning and initial teacher education and advocates genuine partnerships with local communities and action to improve the sustainability of the school estate. A key ambition of the report is to provide an agenda for strategic change that will create an enabling framework, remove barriers, and build on existing excellent practice.

Dr Alasdair Allan, Minister for Learning, Science and Scotland’s Languages said:
“I welcome the publication of Learning for Sustainability and would like to thank the Working Group for their work and commitment to producing the report and recommendations. As we approach the Year of Natural Scotland in 2013, the report reminds us of the importance of learning which connects young people to local and global issues, an integral part of Curriculum for Excellence.

“A wide range of actions have been taken as part of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development and we welcome steps to encourage and support schools in their approach to sustainability and global citizenship, including through outdoor learning.

“We will take time to consider the report, to engage with partners on its recommendations and respond in full in March 2013.”

The report can be downloaded from:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Education/Schools/curriculum/ACE/OnePlanetSchools

See the associated Engage in Education blog from Professor Pete Higgins, Chair of the One Planet Schools Working Group: http://engageforeducation.org/news/learning-for-sustainability/

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