The Go-Lab project
Working Group:Early InquiryCountry:Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Greece, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, United KingdomLanguages:Czech, Dutch, English, French, German, Greek, ItalianAge of students (target group/s):13-14, 15-18Links, resources:http://www.go-lab-project.eu/
Go-Lab creates an infrastructure (the Go-Lab Portal) to provide access to online laboratories run by research centres and universities worldwide in the areas of Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, Earth science, Electronics, Engineering, Environmental sciences, Materials science, Maths, Physics and Technology . These online labs can be used, among others, by schools, instructors and students to extend regular learning activities with scientific experiments, giving students a real experience of research work. The Go-Lab Project offers a federation of remote laboratories, virtual experiments, and data-sets (together referred to as "online labs"), as well as facilities for teachers to embed these online labs in pedagogically structured learning spaces. Go-Lab also provides teachers with pedagogical and technical plug (ease of integration), play (ease of use), and share (ease of consolidation) methodologies and infrastructures. Go-Lab's resources come from large scientific organisations, universities and research institutions, as well as from dedicated companies. Go-Lab offers these lab-owners to easily plug their real experiments online and construct their virtual didactic counterparts. To further support teachers in using online labs, Go-Lab offers workshops to introduce online virtual experimentations and remote laboratories as well as inquiry-based science teaching techniques.Strong points and opportunities:• The project's approach promotes a reversal of school science teaching pedagogy from mainly deductive to inquiry-based methods, which is more likely to increase students' interest and attainment in science.
• The direct interaction with science reflects a fundamental pedagogy of the Go-Lab project to provide learners with personal and direct experiences they can build upon in their own ways.
• The Go-Lab Portal - offers students the opportunity to perform personalizsd scientific experiments with online labs, whereas teachers may enrich their classroom activities with demonstrations and disseminate best practices in a web-based pedagogic community.Limitations:The programme has just completed its first pilot phase. Αssessment and /or evaluation data may not yet be available.Added value with regards to the 3 topics of the MASS project:Τhe provision of tools that familiarize students with research work and allows them to create knowledge through inquiry is very important for their motivation to science. Furthermore the inclusion of pedagogy structures allows for the better exploitation of the means provided by teachers, for the benefit of their students.Any prerequisites needed:Joining the project online _schools wanted for the second base pilot activity- PCs and Internet connection.




MASS project intends to identify, analyze, evaluate and disseminate practical tools and methods in teaching science which will effectively lead to arise students' motivation and acquire higher level of basic skills in science. We will explore what happens in science lessons at schools and increase the knowledge of good practice in teaching science in three research areas: Science for Digital Learners, Early Inquiry and Low achievers in Science (See more: Main topics).

 

Main project activities include:

1. Identification of the national examples of good practices
The initial phase of the project is to analyze the strengths, weaknesses and potential in the particular area of science education method in each partner country. It will include identification of good practices on raising students motivation for science on the national level. Examples identified will be collected in the online database.

See more: Good practices repository

 

2. Development of pilot teaching materials and testing phase
Findings from the research phase of the project will form the ground for development of the pilot version of educational materials in each Working Group.

Piloting stage of the project, with the involvement of target group, will raise the quality and exploitability of the products.

 

3. Development of the final version of teaching materials
Final version of educational products will be developed after summing up the piloting phase. They will be available in each partner language. The final project results will bring a change at the classroom level. Teachers will be aware of the key factor for motivation of their students to learn science. They will use a wide range of methods effectively and appropriately to the learning needs and preferences of their students. More teachers will be confident and successful in use such of methods. They will make teaching science more relevant and accessible to students.

Final products will be widely presented and disseminated during the Open Conference III in the middle of 2016.

To help teachers to become empowered, skillful and self-confident, we work on:

for Digital Learners, Early Inquiry and Low Achievers in Science.

 

If you want to help us to improve these materials by taking part in piloting, please contact leader of each Working Group:

   Leonie de Vries (Digital Learners), e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

   Lenka Pachmanova (Early Inquiry), e mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

   Daiga Kalnina (Low Achievers), e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

or the MASS project partner in your country:

   Czech Republic, TEREZA Educational Center 

   Lenka Pachmanova e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

   Cyprus, Cyprus Center for Environmental Research and Education (CY.C.E.R.E.)

   Chrisis Kleovoulou, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

   Estonia, Estonian Physical Society

   Kaido Reivelt, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

   Germany, University of Cologne Geographical Institute

   Astrid Hensel, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

   Greece, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens

   Thalia Mavrakou, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

   Latvia, Children's Environmental School

   Inese Liepina, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

   Netherlands, SME Advies

   Bregje van den Brand, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

   Poland, UNEP/GRID-Warsaw Centre

   Elżbieta Wołoszyńska-Wiśniewska, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.