“La colmena”, a novel set in post-war Madrid, where the characters move like a human swarm where everyone believes that things happen just because they do and nothing has a remedy. In the current environmental crisis, our bees are disappearing, breaking the natural balance. One of the possible causes (with a clear anthropogenic component) is the "forgetfulness" of our social condition, of our "hive identity" due to hyper-individualism. We want to raise awareness of the importance of bees.
Cross-border/international
Spain
Bulgaria
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IES Pino Montano (Sevilla, Spain)
IES Antonio Machado (Sevilla, Spain)
IES Murillo (Sevilla, Spain)
IES Albert Einstein (Sevilla, Spain)
IES Etxebarri (Etxebarri, Spain)
IBB Miguel de Cervantes (Sofia, Bulgaria)
It addresses urban-rural linkages
It refers to other types of transformations (soft investment)
No
No
Yes
As an individual in partnership with other persons
First name: Amaya Last name: Alonso Cabria Gender: Female Nationality: Spain Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Bizkai Town: Galdakao Postal code: 48960 Country: Spain Direct Tel:+34 653 71 48 69 E-mail:amayaalonsocabria@gmail.com Website:https://www.etxebarribhi.org/
In this project we want to raise awareness of the importance of keeping bees, who do so much for our ecosystems and for human society in general, by comparing them with the characters in the novel "The Hive" (“La colmena”) by the Nobel Prize for Literature Camilo José Cela, so valuable in which we are that swarm that flies in search of compassion and relief.
There is a wide range of activities. In addition, the different pedagogical methods (work in mixed teams through the forums, use of the Twinboard to share activities, presentations that propose guided questions to obtain information and present it in different supports, the different moments of the evaluation, etc.) are designed with specific objectives presented in the planning, which are at the service of achieving the learning objectives and the acquisition of Key Competences.
The project is designed based on a PBL (Project Based Learning). In the first place, group cohesion and interaction activities were developed (eSafety, GDPR, student-avatar presentation activities, group-class invitations, logo contest, Power Point presentation Quizizz); then the theme development activities were carried out (Contextualization of the novel, Reading and activities and Bees). Already in the final stretch of the project, the students worked on the concepts of the novel making similarities with the types of bees that would form our human swarm and, finally, as a final activity, recordings of scenes from the novel were made as if the characters were bees (queen, worker, drone).
The project has had different evaluation moments: initial (student expectations); intermediate (information on the participation and performance of students in international mixed groups); final (student assessment of the project and evidence of the learning acquired).
Bees
Conservation
Awareness
Biodiversity
Interaction
This project is a very particular initiative since it is treated in a multidisciplinary way (Literature, Environmental Sciences, History, ICT, Spanish Language) in schools of different regions and countries, two different but connected themes: human relations as if it were a swarm in times of crisis and the current environmental crisis due to the disappearance of insects as important to our ecosystems as bees.
At first, we analyze the role of each character in the novel "The Hive" with the function they would have if we lived in a human swarm and later, we see how human activity affects the development and existence of current swarms of bees. In international mixed groups, they study the different negative factors that exist in our environments and affect the life and survival of these insects (pesticides, invasive species, etc.), the consequences of the fact that there are fewer and fewer swarms and the possible solutions in the near future to avoid the environmental disaster that would mean its complete disappearance.
The fact of carrying out the project in schools of two different countries (Bulgaria and Spain) and in the case of Spain, in two regions such as Andalusia and the Basque Country, give rise to a rich cultural exchange on how we treat bees in different regions and countries. Undoubtedly, this exchange benefits our educational communities due to the bonds of union that are created between the participating schools, teachers and students. The evaluation by the students has been very positive and they have considered that this project has helped them to become aware of the problem that exists regarding the disappearance of bees, it has made them feel like better students, improving their self-esteem and they have valued the importance of work cooperative in virtual environments, with respect (Netiquette) and good use of ITCs (eSafety).
When they have studied bees, they have taken into account the honeycombs that exist in the surroundings of each educational center and they have been surprised to see how close they were to their cities, as well as the visit of an expert on the subject who has explained the main causes of its disappearance decrease in the quality of the hives.
Being an international and multidisciplinary project, we have worked with students who have had the same opportunities even though they were from different cultural, family and socioeconomic backgrounds. We have worked cooperatively in international mixed groups in which the activities and final products have been facilitated with digital media provided by the schools, as well as free applications that protect their identity.
One of the inclusive objectives of the project consists of the active participation of students from different geographical and social backgrounds, involved in cooperative tasks. Within the project there are students with educational needs and students from a disadvantaged social context (one of the participating institutes is for educational compensation). This project encourages the development of inclusive projects and jobs in the future European citizenship, as an alternative to competitive designs, valuing diversity as a source of opportunities and not limitations.
The fact of working on a post-war novel that represents the environmental crisis in which our bees find themselves today, has made this message reach the consciences of our students and the educational community in general in a more integrated way in our schools.
In this project, therefore, the basic quality standards in European projects are worked on, such as inclusivity and diversity (some of the participating students have learning difficulties and work in mixed groups with students from other cultures, diversity); environmental sustainability and responsibility (study, analysis and presentation on the disappearance of bees, the environmental crisis it represents and possible solutions); digital education (when developed on a digital platform such as eTwinning and the Twinspace of the project); and active participation with European countries highlighting the feeling of a European citizen that develops during the project.
The students from the two participating countries searched for information on the current state of beekeeping, the impact of climate change on the life of bees and how this affects humans. They made posters that they later hung in the respective centers. Work was done on digital presentations that were later shown in the centers. In Bulgaria there is an initiative to adopt a beehive and this was made public in case students and families are encouraged to do so. The students at an international level worked on dramatized scenes from the play "La colmena" by Camilo José Cela dressed in bee costumes to demonstrate how they are involved, their interest and understanding with the theme of families and society saw our efforts and appreciated our work.
The Spanish schools had a talk on the importance of bees, their benefits and how to take care of them by the beekeeper and biologist Iñaki Gonzalo, an expert on the subject and who is dedicated to alternative therapies and awareness about the disappearance of honeycombs in the area north of Spain.
-Environmental awareness among students of the importance of bees in the ecosystem and its functions.
-Knowledge of environmental problems in order to seek different solutions locally and globally.
-Comparative study of the functioning of swarms and human society.
-Role of the human being in the environmental crisis and search for solutions (sustainability).
- The role of bees as main pollinators and the consequences of their decline in ecological, agricultural and economic terms.
- The division of labor in a bee hive and its parallel in the social and cultural division in Camilo José Cela's novel.
- Causes of the disappearance of bees: pesticides, intensive agriculture, presence of exotic species (Asian wasp), certain pathogens, loss of habitats.
As an eTwinning project that has obtained a Quality Seal in its evaluation by the SNA (National Service), it gives rise to knowing that it is a project in which innovation, creativity, use of ICTs and cooperative work are guaranteed.
La Colmena is made up of some teachers who have worked together on previous projects and new colleagues who have joined the working group this year, some with experience and others without it in the eTwinning platform, which says a lot in their favor because of undertake this adventure in such turbulent times. The idea of the project and its planning was launched to the rest of the partners at the beginning of the course and we thought about possible activities and resources, being in October when the project materialized. Good communication is key to a good development of the project and this has been the case with us. Three teacher videoconferences (planning and evaluation) and several student videoconferences (Quizizz on cities) have been organized. On the other hand, we have arranged different communication channels such as a WhatsApp group, email and a shared Drive folder, the teachers' board and internal eTwinning messaging. Thanks to this close contact, we have been able to match different work rhythms, different setbacks, mainly caused by the pandemic. The result of the collaboration of the students, through the TwinSpace forums, in the 6 mixed groups, are the following final products: (presentations, digital book and timeline on the contextualization of the novel; reading of the novel and analysis of the same with memes, Visual Thinking and dubbing of scenes; Presentations on bees and staging of the novel as if the characters belonged to a human swarm). All these activities combine collaborative work and teamwork in each of the schools.
STEAM Methodology, I think we should influence the comparison of animal behavior with a literary work. This fact makes it work in an interdisciplinary way (Sciences and Humanities) and transversal in all the contents worked.
STEAM projects are characterized by the following general objectives that we have worked on in "La colmena":
● Promote the teaching/learning of Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Art in an integrated way, instead of as compartmentalized areas of knowledge.
● Develop active methodologies such as learning based on problems and challenges or service-based learning, as well as PBL (Project Based Learning) from the different topics involved in STEAM.
● Design activities that encourage curiosity in students, a taste for experimentation and practical development, and interest in scientific and technological issues.
● Promote scientific, technological and artistic dissemination through the production of materials with content that arouses the interest of the entire educational community.
● Design specific activities aimed at female students to improve their perception of scientific and engineering careers.
● Promote teamwork and cooperation in the STEAM environment as one of the basic pillars and commit, individually and collectively, to do the job properly.
● Develop STEAM skills within the teaching curriculum.
● Contribute to the achievement of the basic competences of the students through the implementation of learning experiences based on the research methodology of their pedagogical practice.
● Improve critical thinking, awareness and integration in the STEAM competition.
● Break gender stereotypes about STEAM careers..
● Use technology as a facilitator, to produce quality learning, increasing the confidence and competence of students
Students will work in international mixed groups (their names will be related to the swarm, honeycomb or hive) where they will carry out different investigations, activities and final products. First they will be shown individually (identifying with something related to the hives or the characters in the novel) and by schools and showing something about their culture. They will create and choose a logo among all of them and, later, guided by the teachers, they will begin their research on the importance of bees in our society and will do a comparative study with the characters that appear in the novel by the Nobel Prize for Literature Camilo José Cela, "The hive" (“La colmena”). In this comparative study, different cooperative research and study activities will be carried out (memes, recreating scenes from the film based on the novel "The Hive" with comments on bees, presentations on bees as essential insects in our ecosystems, debates in forums , etc)
The challenge was to raise awareness among students and, through them, their families and society to the extent possible that we need to work together, unite our efforts, create initiatives and promote their implementation to do our bit in solving the problems on which our lives depend.
Young people show concern about climate change. Environmental education is fundamental since they are going to face complicated situations. The awareness of these issues is given by the knowledge of some environmental problems such as the disappearance of bees. This approach will allow them to find out what is happening and act accordingly, judiciously addressing the environmental crisis.
eTwinning projects have a maximum duration of one academic year and during this time the products obtained (presentations, debates, dissemination in the schools, etc.) have had a great impact in our academic centers, especially on World Bee Day on May 20 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDWw8gi0qg0&t=1s) which was celebrated in all our schools and its spirit of environmental protection remains in them. Following the methodology of international mixed groups, all the participating students did their bit to improve the environmental awareness of our schools, from an ecological and humanistic perspective. From the beginning (as can be seen on the planning page of our website), the activities were timed with their general and specific objectives, as well as the skills that the participating students would work on. It is an innovative project that has caused a very positive impact in our institutes since it has been continued from other projects such as Agenda30.
With this project it is intended that students acquire those skills that allow them to face environmental problems and seek solutions within the framework of sustainability. It is important, not only individual awareness but also the collective. In our project, collaborative work allows us to find, by consensus, solutions to certain problems. Cooperation is the pillar for society to move towards a sustainable future, and with this type of project, our young people begin to work within this framework, within lifelong learning.
In the "La Colmena" project, the four European areas of sustainability competence have been managed. Sustainability values have been incorporated, bringing the world and the problem of bees closer. Solutions have been provided by acting for sustainability and the complexity of sustainability has been accepted, imagining sustainable futures.
