ILE JYU SCRAPPIES project 1st local stakeholder group meeting

This time, our LSG group got to examine our freshly-made “snaps”, our short and simple windows to learning topics explored from the point of view of sustainability and through the use of recyclable “scrap” materials. We recorded invaluable feedback on our new learning materials and their use in teaching. As with every type of new material, its integration to the existing curricula is of utmost importance. Teachers are overwhelmed with tasks in their day to day occupation, and for something new to be introduced and used, the material needs to answer the learning goals of today’s education, be simple and effective for the teacher to implement, and offer something new and exciting for the learners to warrant the use of these new materials. The snaps aim to do exactly that.

Minna Suikkari and Mirka Havinga (local school teachers) discussing ideas for educational materials.

Some comments from our fruitful discussions from our educationalists:

"I think for teachers it would be otherwise they might not want to do something that takes something which isn't related. It could be just the competences (from the curriculum), but could it be possible to write the T's (targets) from the curriculum that they cover if possible. T4 for example, from the subjects that they need to reach. I am worried that teachers might think it is extra and not have time for it. I think adaptability is important, you don't have to do them exactly as they are written. - Gwyneth Koljonen, Elementary school teacher

"It would be a good idea to have the categories and themes because of the curriculum. Sometimes teachers use a lot of time searching and finding specific tasks, materials and exercises for specific topics, so I think there is no harm in having themes and categories for the snaps. One can still utilize the snaps in different ways and for different purposes. I love the idea of adaptibility of the snaps, because it leaves room for exploring the interests and ideas that arise from students. " -Susanna Kuusinen, Coordinator of international education growth and learning services of the City of Jyväskylä

"It is also my opinion that there is value in the content (the snaps) beyond the curriculum." - Hiroki Tokudome, Education specialist

Online participants Ayaka Miyashita, Hiroki Tokuduome, Gwyneth Koljonen, and Susanna Kuusinen listening to host Matias Mäki-Kuutti talking about upcoming piloting.

Snaps are graphically designed short lesson plans, which can be used as are, taken apart to use parts of them, or modified to suit your particular learning group and their needs. Each snap is a 1-2-page glimpse to a topic, including the following sections:

1. Icebreaker/Introductory fun
2. Box with Questions for Children
3. Did You Know That...?
4. Creative task
5. What could be useful?
6. Learning Outcomes

To go through a full snap may take anywhere from 1-3 full lessons, as some of the activities, especially the creative task may inspire the classroom to complete expansive projects together, should the learners and their teachers wish so. We envision that the snaps could be best used as a fun introduction or transitional exercise bundle when moving from one teaching subject to another, or perhaps as a fun hands-on creative project module for a topic instead of using conventional textbook and workbook methods. Your imagination is the limit though, the materials are yours to experiment with and use as you wish!

Toshinori Sasakura, Minna Suikkari and Mirka Havinga, along with online participants, checking out the "snaps" created by our JYU team.

Enhancing Creativity and Sustainable Attitudes of Children through Play and Recycled Materials, aka. the SCRAPPIES project, is an Erasmus+ funded project where we aim to increase awareness of sustainability education and develop new tools to make sustainability a fun and engaging topic for children to play with. Our main goal is to empower schools to foster creativity and divergent thinking using unconventional materials like scrap items (e.g. bottles, foil, caps, cardboar packaging). This approach helps students visualize lessons, making abstract concepts tangible and memorable for improved learning and retention.
Our project includes the development of a sustainability handbook for educators, a toolkit of plug-and-play educational materials around the topic of sustainability called “snaps”, and open access webinars with international guest speakers to tackle the subject of sustainability. The project contributors are University of Jyväskylä, Finland, Gratosfera Foundation, Poland, and Rogers Foundation, Hungary. Our webinar series can be found on the Innovative Learning Environments YouTube channel here.

For more information, please contact:
Matias Mäki-Kuutti, matias.m.j.maki-kuutti@jyu.fi 

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