Group Division, choice of Topics and matching of groups with partner school
Before you can begin with the introduction (video), it is important to divide the students in your class into at least 4-5 groups of 4-5 students each Each group will then have to get acquainted with the different research topics. You could have them read about the different topics, but you could also discuss all the different topics in a short presentation so they have a clear idea about what they entail. In the end, students should make a top 3 of their preferred research topics. This will aid the matching up of groups between the two partner schools later on. It is important to get into contact with your partner school to match up the teams Your international coordinator will send you a list of the names, email and mobile numbers of the particpating teachers With the list of preferences from your own student group and that from your partner teacher, see if you can make logical connections. In the end, one group of Indian students and one group of European students will form one team working on the same topic but they use their own cultural background as their basis. If it is not possible to be in contact with the partner school, you can let your students choose a topic. As soon as the teams are complete, they should create a WhatsApp group consisting of Indian and European students to help the process of collaboration between students from both countries. In the end, students will be asked to share evidence of this collaboration as part of the final assessment. 4. Research methods, topics and main research questions per topic. Research Method The central research method for this project scenario is conducting interviews. Each topic explicitly states how many and what type of people ought to be interviewed. Mention the names and – if permitted- ages of the people interviewed. Ask permission to publish the photographs of the people interviewed. Topics and main research questions. You find all subquestions on the self-assessment sheet with instructions. Please read carefully before you start. Topic 1. Transport and traffic safety Main question: Are transport facilities sufficient for all groups in society in your region and what are the traffic safety issues for groups in your region? Topic 2. Local shops versus online shopping Main question: Do shop owners suffer due to the trend of online shopping? Topic 3. Facilities for youth Main question: Is your region a nice place for young people (6 - 22 years) to live in? Topic 4. Sports Main question: Are there enough sports facilities available for each age group? Topic 5. Medical facilities Main question: How well do the medical facilities meet the needs of the people in your region? Topic 6. Vandalism or Graffiti (of Public Properties) Main question: How well are public properties in your region maintained? Topic 7. Dances of the world Main question: How does dancing benefit our communities and our culture? Topic 8. Celebrations How important are celebrations in your family/community? Part one of the article. Introduction. Deadline October 15th After the groups have been formed and have picked your topic, you can make an introductory video about yourselves or make a written introductory document. Overall you are free to use any which format you please, but do make sure to:
Part two of the article - The Research/ Product - Deadline end of December The research report should contain the following sections: a. Methods. Describe in a detailed way which research activities the group members have conducted. Interviews, measurement, observation etc.. Interviews. How many people have been interviewed (mention names, age), summary of the outcomes etc. For some topics you might use a questionnaire (not compulsory!) Please explain in a few words
b. The results of the research. 1. Interviews. There is no need to transcribe the interviews. Summarize the answers in about 200 words per interview. 2. Videos. Can you use videos to record the interviews? Videos are nice but cannot replace the written report. If you have recorded (parts of) interviews, you still have to write the answers in a short written report. About 200 words per interview How to use a video. Make a selection of the interviews. Don’t record the interviews of all people. Don’t add the raw video footage of the whole interviews but the recording of the answers to a few questions. Lenght: not more than 3 min. per interview. Subtitling of questions and answers is very helpful, especially if the sound is not well audible due to background noise. 3. Questionnaire (not compulsory) Summarize the answers to the questionnaire. If you are using graphs to present the results, present them clearly. c. A clear conclusion to the main question + recommendations where applicable. d. Documentation of the research. Add relevant pictures, videos. E.g. pictures of people interviewed (ask permission). PART three of the article. - Communication - Report Deadline 15 January In the end, students are required to write a short report on their experiences regarding the collaboration with their peers. How did students stay in touch? Pictures of Zoom sessions, Skype Calls and screenshots of Whatsapp messages should be added as evidence. Videoconferences. How did students prepare the videoconferences? What did they learn from the videoconferences? What went well? Part four of the article - Comparison & Reflection - Report Deadline 30 January Comparison The final part of the assignment is the comparison of their findings to those of their international partner group. Research Content. What have the students learned about the topic in the other country? What are the main similarities and differences? Draw a conclusion and mention to what extent both countries are different with regard to the topic. Research methods Are the research methods similar? Number of people interviewed, videos, text Reflection time What went well? What would you do differently? Methods, group work, technical aspects, collaboration with partner school etc. Each student of the group has to write his/her own reflection (minim. 100 words) Assessment, Nomination and Certificates of Excellence When. December -Mid January. Students monitor progress using self-assessment sheet This monitoring may function as a wake-up call for the groups 1 – 10 February. Each student group fills in the self-evaluation for their chosen topic. Students tick the relevant boxes in the ‘done’ column and students give themselves a score VG: very good / G: Good/ S: Satisfactory/ A: Acceptable/ W: Weak on each of the following criteria (not on each of the Subquestions) Criteria: Attractive layout Part one. Group introduction Part two. Research. (a) Methods (b) Content. Interviews and other methods c) Conclusion d) Documented pictures-/video Part three. Evidence of communication Part four: Comparison and Reflection Teachers/school coordinators check the students’ work and self-evaluation. They score the students (VG/G/S/A/W) on each of the criteria How can the teacher nominate his/her student groups to get a certificate of excellence?
In case of doubt, the teacher sends in the self-assessment forms. Note: if a group has worked very hard but has not followed the assignments of the project scenario (methods/research questions), the group can unfortunately not get a certificate for its hard work. How to nominate the group? Please check if the name of the school, the title of the subtopic and the full names of the students have been filled in on the self assessment sheet and send the filled in self-assessment checklist as a Word file via mail to [email protected] If you want to nominate multiple student groups, combine the self-assessment sheets into one document. Name your document according to the following format: EUMIND_[schoolyear]_[project scenario]_[school].doc If students have filled in the self assessment sheet manually, please scan the document and send it as a jpg file. Eumind management cannot accept nominations sent in by teachers without self assessment sheets filled in students Eumind overall coordinators will make the initial selection and present it before the international jury, who will use the form to check the assessment against the criteria. Topics:
Topic 1. Transport and traffic safety Main question: Are transport facilities sufficient for all groups in society in your region and what are the traffic safety issues for groups in your region? Sub questions
Interviews: Interview 5 people out of which some own a private car and some travel by public transport. Mention name and profession of each person interviewed. Interview/ survey ten classmates how they travel to school. Interview the police of your region about traffic issues. Awareness activity Conduct an activity in your school to spread awareness regarding transport and traffic safety. Think of ways to promote maintaining traffic rules and reaching the destination safe and sound. Make a poster, a video clip, a song for the school assembly ... Be creative! Topic 2. Local shops versus online shopping Main question: Do shop owners suffer due to the trend of online shopping? Sub questions
Interviews: Interview three shop owners. Interview/ survey 8 people from various age groups about their ideas concerning this topic. Mention first names, age and profession. Topic 3. Facilities for youth Main question: Is your region a nice place for young people (6 - 22 years) to live in? Sub questions
Are these facilities ever misused? If yes, how?
Interviews: Interview/survey 8 young people from different backgrounds concerning their opinion on the matter. Interview two owners/managers of facilities. Awareness activity If you feel that there are not enough spaces for young people to enjoy themselves in your region, think about ways to ask attention for this. You could make a video for the municipality, write formal letter etc. Try to be creative! Topic 4. Sports Main question: Are people in your region aware of the need to exercise regularly to stay fit? Subquestions
Interviews: Interview one owners/managers of a sports facility. Interview/survey 5 adult people from various backgrounds. Interview/survey 10 students from your school. Awareness activity Conduct an activity in your school to spread awareness regarding sport facilities. Think of ways to promote trying out a new sport. Make posters, a video clip, a song for the school assembly ... Be creative! Topic 5. Medical facilities Main question: How well do the medical facilities meet the needs of the people in your region? Subquestions
Interviews: Interview two people working in health care (doctor/nurse...). Interview 4 families (at least one parent and one child) from different backgrounds. Awareness activity In case you feel that there are not enough medical facilities to support the people in your region, think of a way to raise awareness concerning this issue. Make posters, a video clip, a song for the school assembly ... Be creative! Topic 6. Vandalism or Graffiti (of Public Properties) Main question: How well are public properties in your region maintained? Subquestions
Interviews: Interview with a public authority Interview with the caretaker/concierge of the school Interview with 8 people (4 adults and 4 students). Mention names, age level, profession (adults). Awareness activity Carry out an activity or put a plan in action to actually stop vandalism and graffiti in school or elsewhere. 4. Introduction After your groups have been formed and they have picked their lists of topics, they can make an introductory video about themselves or make a written introductory document. Overall you are free to use any which format you please, but do make sure to:
For European schools: owing to the new AVG (GDPR = General Data Protection Regulation ) regulations you might need written permission from parents, so it might be wise to start this process at the start of the schoolyear. You can also check out the portal for our AVG (GDPR) policy. When all groups are done, you can upload the introduction to the Weebly so they will be accessible for your Indian partner school. TIP: On the Eumind portal you can find the Weebly web pages from groups that participated last year. You can find their final products as well as examples of their introductions. 5. Group Matches Eventually it is important to actually start working on the research. It is thus important to get into contact with your partner school. Your international coordinator will help you with this, but in the end, the teacher-to-teacher contact will proof very important for your own experience and the success of the product. With the list of preferences from your own student group and that from your partner teacher, make teams. Each team will consist of one group of Indian students and one group of European students. Together they will work on the same topic, but use their own cultural background as their basis. As soon as the teams are complete, they should create a communal Whatsapp group (so with both Indian and European students) to help aid the process of collaboration between the students from both countries. In the end, students will be asked to share evidence of this collaboration as part of the final assessment. They can now start working on creating part 2 of the final product. 6. Part II - The Research/ Product - Deadline end of December For the next couple of weeks, the students will be working on their research assignment. It is important that there is communication between both countries. Examples of things to discuss for them are:
The research report should contain the following sections: a. What is the main question? b. Process. Describe in a detailed way which research activities the group members have conducted. How many people have been interviewed (mention names, age). A summary of the outcomes. Number, age level of people who have filled in a questionnaire (if applicable) etc. c. What are the results of your data gathering? d. Explain what the tangible outcomes are of the collaboration with the students from the other country. e. A clear conclusion and possible answer to the main question + recommendations where applicable. 7. PART III - Collaboration - Report Deadline 30 January In the section above, we already shortly explain the importance of evidence of the students’ mutual collaboration. Apart from the usage of Whatsapp, Skype or Zoom, and communal questions, more steps can be taken in the carrying out of the actual research. Some examples are: Topic 1. à Students could make a videoclip of their experience in public transport to possible help the formulation of a new subquestion Topic 4. à Students could share information about a (popular) national sports activity and their teammates could ask their PE teacher if they could play it as well. Topic 5 à Students could provide their partners with a real life casus. Have any of them ever been in a hospital for a procedure or do they know of a family member of friend that has? What steps would this person have to have taken if they would have been in the other country? In the end, students are required to write a short report on their experiences regarding the collaboration with their peers. What went well? How did they stay in touch? Pictures of Zoom sessions, Skype Calls and screenshots of Whatsapp messages should be added as evidence. 8. PART IV - Comparison & Reflection - Report Deadline 30 January The final part of the assignment is the comparison of their findings to those of their international partner group. What are the main similarities and differences between both countries and their experiences? Lastly, a short entry should be written in which students reflect on the experience as a whole. They should discuss both the process of creating a research report/product and on working together with students from another country. |