Introduction:
Having in mind that energy supply is tightly intertwined with many of the most damaging and dangerous environmental problems, a team of 6th grade students at the 8th Primary School of Nea Filadelfeia Athens decided to change behaviors and raise awareness to the school community in pursuit of the sustainable well-being goal. Technology for good (Tech4Good) was the stimulus for the students to use the BBC micro:bit controller to address the critical challenge of energy-wasting habits in the school.
The STEM project “The Energy Awareness” was integrated into the cross-thematic national curriculum. It aimed to introduce students to basic skills of programming, computational and critical thinking, collaboration, and decision making. Moreover, STEM methodology promotes the 21st century skills and behavioral competencies. In addition, the use of innovative technology in the class contributes to sustain students’ optimal motivation and help them apply the fundamental principles and concepts of computer science.
Steps of the project:
Concisely, the students monitored the energy use of light bulbs or tubes at different areas of the school building (using the plot of the school designed by a student) and the time the energy source was in use. After that, they calculated the energy use in kWh. Then they collected all the data to a spreadsheet and presented them to the school leadership.
A concrete solution was provided by the students: the fluorescent lights of the places with the highest energy consumption should be replaced immediately. At the final phase of the project, qualified electricians changed the fluorescent light bulbs with LED ones. Additionally, the students recycled the old lights to the light-bulbs recycling bin of the school. Last but not least, the headmaster of the school promised the project team that during the upcoming months municipal electricians will replace all the old lights so as to reduce the energy footprint of the school.
Conclusions:
The educational objectives of “The Energy awareness” project were achieved. Students monitored the energy wasted in the school, collected good data to make decisions and presented the data, numerically and graphically, to help inform decisions. Actually, they had a positive impact on Climate change by contributing to the achievement of the “Affordable and Clean energy” sustainable development global goal 7. The educational approach of all the four disciplines of the STEM methodology during the implementation of this project fostered ingenuity and creativity, encouraged knowledge application and teamwork and taught problem-solving. Finally, yet importantly, the project engaged different stakeholder groups, including teachers, school leadership, municipality and most of all, students, in working toward a common goal. The collaboration between the school and the local community created an environment of shared values and common behaviours.
A video with all the activities of the “Energy Awareness” project: https://vimeo.com/700568534
Ευχαριστούμε πολύ!