The Association “Friends of Education,” as part of the “School Plastic Free Movement” project, supported by the Erasmus+ KA3 program of the European Union, announced
an AWARD COMPETITION titled “Young Scientists Save Planet Earth” for activities aimed at helping free schools from plastic.
The national competition started on January 23, 2023, and ended on May 31, 2023. Students from first to ninth grade, along with their class and subject teachers from primary and special primary schools across the Republic of North Macedonia, were eligible to participate.
To enter the “Young Scientists Save Planet Earth” competition, teachers were required to fill out forms with their personal information, job profile, the institution they work at, lesson content, and a description of the implemented activity. Along with the application, the teacher needed to submit 5-10 photos or a video lasting 3-5 minutes that showcased the relevant activity, as well as a poster or slide presentation.
Applications were to be submitted no later than May 31, 2023, exclusively via email to the address of the Association “Friends of Education” at spemmacedonia@gmail.com, with the subject line: “Participation in Competition for SPEM Workshop.” Photos or videos of the relevant activity were to be sent along with the form to the same email.
The competition was aimed at research teams consisting of five students and one teacher from a single class. The submitted project activity was evaluated by an international jury composed of proven educational experts from the “School Plastic Free Movement” project. All teachers who applied for the “Young Scientists Save Planet Earth” competition received a certificate for participating in a workshop of the international Erasmus+ KA3 program of the European Union.
The winning team of five students and one teacher will present their project at the International Conference in Verona, Italy, in October 2023. The financial support for participating in the International Conference in Verona is provided by the Association “Friends of Education.”
The project activities submitted to the competition were intended to highlight creativity and raise awareness about the negative impact of plastic use in schools. Students were encouraged to create a school brand as a symbol aligned with the project name. The goal of the project was for students to research, study, and create an eco-friendly project to replace plastic items they use daily at school, as well as to develop their project independently.
During this process, students described the creation of their eco-project in an original way. Throughout the activities, mentor teachers guided and encouraged the students until the goal was achieved. While the project activities were ongoing, teachers documented the entire process chronologically, focusing on the following key points:
- What did we learn from this unit on the SPEM model?
- What was positive about our learning process?
- Why did we choose these specific SPEM activities?
- What would we improve in the learning process based on our mistakes?
- How did we feel when presenting knowledge and skills on ecological materials and items?
- What challenges did we face?
- What is the problem?
- What do we need to know/do/my actions to solve it?
- Does everyone share the same opinion on how to solve the problem?
- How can I contribute to solving the problem?
- What was the most challenging part of the project?
- How can I engage my surroundings/community to help solve the problem?