The SENSE5 initiative is an initiative that tries to connect primary school students with nature - learning through experience. Through extracurricular activities, students will: 1. touch nature (water, plants, animals,...), 2. taste the organic products of the village, 3. smell the mountain and caves, 4. listen and record the sounds of nature and 5. observe the celestial sphere with a telescope!
It refers to other types of transformations (soft investment)
No
No
Yes
As a representative of an organisation
Name of the organisation(s): Center for Education and Innovative Learning - STEMLab Type of organisation: Non-profit organisation First name of representative: Ramadan Last name of representative: Aliti Gender: Male Nationality: orth Macedonia Function: Education Director Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Ilindenska, 177 (Ilindenska, Br.6 /Kul.1 - Lok.6) Town: Tetovo Postal code: 1200 Country: North Macedonia Direct Tel:+389 71 668 068 E-mail:info@stemlab.org.mk Website:https://stemlab.org.mk/
The SENSE5 initiative includes the application of experience-based learning methodology. 20 students from different categories will engage in exploring nature (from getting to know the depths of the water to observing the sky with a telescope) using their five senses.
In the first phase of the initiative, students with the same methodology as in school, will attend a short one-week course on the senses, nature, environmental protection and SDG.
In the second phase of the project, they will visit lakes, caves, plant trees and vegetables, touch animals, eat village food products, listen to and record the chirping of birds and waterfalls, feel the aroma of the mountain and the flock of sheep, and with a telescope they will observe and photograph the sky.
The third phase of the project will include the collection of experiences (quantitative and qualitative - photographs, voice recordings, materials - stone, wood, products created by the students themselves, notes, impressions, etc.) and the presentation of this experience to the students all schools in the region.
In the fourth and last phase of the project, the 20 students (in coordination with the project management team) divided into 4 groups will each prepare a presentation about their experience with nature.
senses - activation and development of all children's senses in contact with nature
nature - the restoration of child-nature contact ensures long-term sustainability for all
STEAM experiential learning - for children builds another vision for the diversity of learning forms, without depriving anyone.
food - food, uncontrolled consumption and waste and the quality of food is one of the most important topics that will be discussed with the students
sky - observing the sky is one of the missing elements of the students of the city.
The sustainability of our objectives is directly related to the naturalness of the approach, the connection of children with nature and with the natural process of learning, based on experience and the mechanisms that science and technology offer. The objectives of the initiative are:
1. The use of all the child's senses and their connection with nature, away from dependence on screens and theoretical information about nature and certain phenomena. The importance of this point lies in the trend of motor development, the function and activity of the senses and limbs, based on human nature.
2. The application of modern technologies in favor of the needs and real conditions of research, experiments (implementation of applications such as: light pollution, humidity, temperature, noise pollution, phyphox, light intensity,..) and systematic documentation of experiments. In this phase, children are tried to develop hard-skills, based on the possibilities offered by current technological trends.
3. SENSE5 will serve as a prototype for STEAM experience-based learning and in this way stimulate the development of experience-based STEAM curricula in schools. This process will be expressed by the dissemination process of the initiative. The importance of this objective lies in the development of soft skills, during the process of collecting and presenting materials and experiences of children.
The main objectives of the initiative related to the aesthetic aspect and the experience of the students are related to:
1. The aesthetic experience that students get from nature (visiting lakes, caves, mountains and observing the sky with a telescope), taking pictures, recording, writing poems or songs, enjoying the aroma, listening to chirping, living in the shepherd's flock in the mountains, ... Exemplary in the functioning of the five senses.
2. The qualitative aspect is related to the implementation of technology (mobile phones, telescopes, various applications for orientation, science, measurement of physical parameters, documentation of experiences), awareness raising for the protection of nature, awareness raising for the development of ecological activities and green businesses, etc. Exemplary in the application of technologies for real situations.
3. While the process of presenting experiences to local authorities, other public schools, aims at the social impact of the project, the transformation of the classical mindset of education into learning based on the real experiences of students. Exemplary in the transfer of an education methodology related to nature, where the student has the main word and builds his vision for the future
The objectives for an inclusive initiative are easily achievable, since in the country's public schools, inclusion is a process well covered and to which special importance is attached. Our professional team permanently works to ensure an inclusive environment, whether in the design of the plans but also in the multi-ethnic inclusion, which is characteristic of our settlements. The initiative can be exemplary, creating a heterogeneous and inclusive environment at the same time, highlighting the different tendencies of students and mutual support in common activities in the field. This will also affect the increase of students' confidence that living is a permanent connection between nature, mutual communication and support.
The categories of citizens that will be directly affected/benefit from the project are: students, parents, municipal authorities, public school principals and teachers. All of these will be engaged in the implementation and realization of the initiative. Indirect beneficiaries of the project are the people who will help the realization of activities on the ground (transportation, owners of various properties - barns, stables, food servers, placement in stables,...), then public schools, which will be notified with a new approach to the local authorities and the local authorities who will indirectly benefit from the promotion of natural resources.
The initiative is a reflection of the four-year work and international successes of STEMLab in the field of STEM education and the tendency to reform the point of view towards the learning process. The initiative is based on the essential recognition of the problem and the need to encourage students to recognize nature as a more powerful mechanism to protect it. SENSE5 is an idea in which technology is a tool and not an end in itself, to transform man into a happy being with a sustainable future.
The design of the initiative was made in accordance with the research entitled "Parent's perception of creating a STEM model for the education of primary school students in the Albanian-speaking region" that STEMLab has carried out with the parents of students who follow extracurricular activities in STEAM education. All parents have expressed their strong support for the methodology that STEMLab applies to the education of new generations (but which is far from being applied in public schools). The design of the programs was done by the internal staff of STEMLab, which includes staff from all levels of education.
The innovative character of the project lies in the design of the students' future, with current emotions and experiences. The students' compassion for nature is a reflection of how the city of the future should be. Hunger and taste are a reflection of education and care for food. When nature evokes powerful emotions and science participates with its rationality, according to a certain methodology, then the student becomes concerned about his future. Activating all the senses creates awareness! Another innovation is the natural connection between three different forms of education: STEAM education, experience-based learning methodology and activities outside the classroom environment.
All elements of the initiative could be replicated or transferred to other places, groups of beneficiaries and contexts.
The approach of our initiative is based on 3 main pillars:
Outdoor schooling activities based on the Experiential Learning Theory of David A. Kolb connected with strong STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics) education background.
GOAL 3: Good Health and Well-being, GOAL 4: Quality Education, GOAL 5: Gender Equality, GOAL 6: Clean Water and Sanitation, GOAL 10: Reduced Inequality, GOAL 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities, GOAL 12: Responsible Consumption and Production, GOAL 13: Climate Action, GOAL 14: Life Below Water, GOAL 15: Life on Land, GOAL 17: Partnerships to achieve the Goal
The purpose of the initiative is to create a prototype of the educational institution (kindergarten or non-formal educational center), which will be based on learning in nature and for nature. In order to achieve this goal, a functional organization network must first be built in the field (target places for visits, transportation, food, housing, clothing) and a curriculum compatible with public school programs, which will keep the focus of students, families and society in generally. In the next step, the focus will be on providing the necessary educational equipment (we are developing eco-sets for soft skills development), the evaluation strategy and the concept for the promotion of the idea on a large scale, inside and outside the country. We consider that this initiative would be a healthy basis in the transformation of the mind from classical classes to classes in reality!
