Svante – the educational robot

Arduino Verkstad AB/ Sara Therner

We would like to take this opportunity to develop Svante, an open source educational robot and a graphical programming language that will serve as a new pedagogical tool in schools. We believe that Svante will solve the requests from teachers, students and parents on modernising the way technology is taught in schools. Svante will be a first class product that will support the younger users in learning about technology. Svante will be targeted at children of lower secondary level (mellanstadiet) as a platform to learn mechanics, electronics, robotics and programming. The graphical software language will be customized to this user group; it will be a mix of graphical and text based interfaces.

To know what it takes …….

Martin Granbom

The pressure on teachers to change teaching methods has become increasingly intense. Many schools devote countless hours to educational discussions that aim to develop teachers’ teaching methods and thus raise the meeting of objectives of the students. At the secondary school Spyken in Lund, several studies have been conducted with students in order to form a picture of how they view their studies. One of the issues was how well students understood what was expected of them in the different subjects. The result was lower than desired, so focus is on changing the teaching in this area. School development has been a hot topic recently, and several studies have been presented that show which factors are most important to a pupil’s achievement and knowledge. High on the list of important factors is the understanding of what is required to cope with the task.

Your Voice Will ECHO! – continuation of the project

Jassim Ahmadi

Your Voice Will ECHO! comprises Jassim Ahmadi who is a trained social worker and skills analyst working at Rosengård School in Malmö as school counsellor and Alaa Mouhsen a trained dental technician who works as a fitness coach and companion to the disabled. We both grew up in Rosengård. The vision that every individual should have the opportunity to develop to their full potential, but also produce resources, potential and properties that may be useful to the person and society. Everyone is needed. The project aims to highlight both teachers and pupils to discover their full potential and strive to do their best. The aim is to provide teachers with methods and tools to be able to develop themselves as well as contribute to development while working with pupils via a book and working materials that form the basis of the project.

Your invisible neighbour – workshop and study materials for schools on food and climate

Hanna Jönsson and Emma Swensson

Your invisible neighbour is an admired piece of music, and a children’s show about food and climate which has since early autumn 2015 been performed at many schools round Skåne. This project aims to build on Your invisible neighbour a workshop and a related study on food and climate. The workshop will include exercises and games with music, art and storytelling to convey that culture is for everyone, giving children the opportunity at school to express themselves through art and culture and develop their own creativity. Through the topic, food and climate this project will help children get a better understanding of the number of people and the kind of work that lie behind the food in the stores, put a face to these, feel a greater responsibility as a consumer and grasp how their actions can impact the whole world.

Makerspace event in Malmö

Cool Minds AB / Farzin Saber

The aim of this project is to collaborate, promote and develop young people’s interest and knowledge within technology and science. Cool Minds and 4yourkids will together create an exciting new way to incorporate the art and science world by using digital and aesthetic expression. A children / youth perspective will be in focus and contain a great educational aspect, which will be conveyed in a fun and stimulating manner. This will be done by organising two Makerspace in 2016 and 2017. Creative Makerspace is gaining ground. All around the world, such meeting places are opening up where creative people with an interest in creating and developing different kinds of physical products, meet and collaborate with each other.

Action-Oriented Entrepreneurship Training Series for New Arriving Immigrants

Solomon Akele Abebe

This project aims to provide action-oriented training to help 25 newly arrived immigrants in Skåne get the skills in entrepreneurship that can increase their personal development and job prospects. Adapting, sensitising and modifying experiences and techniques from the international master’s programme in New Venture Creation at Lund University. Participating in the program means they will increase their personal confidences, business skills, network, and team working, all of which are relevant for either their future entrepreneurial prospects or career.

Students with low achievement in mathematics

Ingemar Karlsson

The last seven years have been devoted to studies in educational sciences specialising in didactics of mathematics. Research has focused on the reasons why students show low performance in mathematics. The project intends designing course materials for the instruction of how to teach such students. Via separate training days in the 11 municipalities of Northwest Skåne, this pedagogic method will be introduced in the municipalities where the empirical data for the forthcoming thesis has been collected. In this project a popular version of the doctoral thesis is used, written so that it caters to working teachers and with a supplement that contains methodology on how we can work with measures for students with low achievement in mathematics. Experience from these programmes will be included in the methodological section in a forthcoming textbook.

What everyone should know about science

VIS, Science in schools / Maria Brännström

The Education Act states that education must be based on scientific foundation. A scientific approach is highlighted in the policy documents for most subjects. Through interviews with among others representatives of various school subjects and research areas what can and should be included in “scientific literacy” is clarified and a comprehensive model is outlined to show how, in particular, upper secondary schools can contribute so that scientific literacy can be considerably improved. Interest in research would thus increase among the public. Crucial to the project are schools whose teaching is currently too fragmented in terms of providing understanding of scientific issues. Also, more can be done, through the so-called upper secondary school assignment, to increase students’ scientific awareness. This project will stir an interest among decision-makers and those who influence to achieve changes in schools that will eventually lead to increased scientific literacy in society.

Teachers as leaders

City of Malmö / Linda Sikström

If teachers show good leadership in and outside the classroom they increase a pupil’s a chance of quiet study time, focus and to learning development. Through the project “Teachers as Leaders” teachers are given tools that provide students the prerequisites for this. Research shows that a teacher’s skills, ability and commitment are the factors that most strongly influence a student’s performance. The aim of the project is to develop teacher leadership skills in and outside the classroom. Leadership skills that take advantage of a pupil’s potential and increase his/her chance of quiet time to study, focus and learning developing as well as meeting objectives. The project desires to foster new ways to develop schools where the impact of teacher participation in further education results in a direct, lasting and significant impact on student achievement and equality.

Eco-city Augustenborg – The large classroom for sustainable development

Scandinavian Green Roof Institute / Jonatan Malmberg

Eco-city Augustenborg is a unique residential community with a variety of green solutions, technical innovations and social initiatives among its tenants. Europe’s first demo-plant for green roofs, Augustenborg Roof Garden was installed here. It was the first time in Sweden that the outdoor environment of an older residential area was remodelled with dams and canals to deal with flooding. The development of the Eco-city has continued thanks to the quality of the project and the role of the area as an inspirational destination. The project aims to contribute to active and fun learning about sustainable development for pupils at elementary school level. With the support of the school curriculum promote understanding of environmental problems, but at the same time with a very solution-oriented focus. Environmental problems such as climate threats, toxins and pollutants are likely to create anxiety and despondency if they are explained only in terms of problems. Eco-city Augustenborg as a classroom for sustainable development can make sustainable development understandable by problem solving.