Report from Biodiversity workshop held in Germany, September 2009
The Biodiversity workshop "Biodiversity in Education for Sustainable Development: Reflection on school - research cooperation" took place in Fuldatal near Kassel (Germany), 24-27 September, 2009. The workshop was organized by the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research- UFZ (www.ufz.de), as part of the SUPPORT project. Here follows a short summary. To download the activity report, click here.
It was attended by 32 participants from 13 countries. The meeting aimed to explore how schools and researchers can collaborate to create high quality education on biological diversity, building a bridge between scientific theory and educational practice. The workshop was intended for teachers and teacher trainers with experience in biodiversity education who wanted to learn more about how schools can collaborate fruitfully with research to improve education. Scientists and specialists involved in biodiversity education and education for sustainable development were also encouraged to attend. As a result of the discussion most participants increased their own competence about how schools can collaborate fruitfully with research to improve ESD. Also, the majority of them became more aware of the usefulness of intercultural exchange and established useful contacts with other participants.
By trying out four concrete internet educational and communication Tools (ICT) participants got informed about their great potential for ESD. They learned how to apply ICT to formal and informal education. Students will gain competencies and skills such as (i) acquiring scientific knowledge and applying it to practical activities and (ii) communicating and evaluating results of interactive search and simulation. One important outcome was that using ICT students can be motivated to go “from the computer to nature”.
The workshop succeeded in creating a meeting place for teachers, teacher trainers, scientists and education specialists. Good opportunities were given for sharing own experiences and for crosspollination of ideas and perspectives.