by Alexandra Okada<\/p>\n
Understanding the impact of the pandemic on open schooling projects is a key topic of the European online event using “fishbowl approach” organised today March 24th\u00a0 by\u00a0 OStogether a network with nine European projects \u2013 all part of the European Commission Horizon 2020 programme – Science with and for society. The moderator was Maria Zolotonosa (from Make it Open). There were four speakers who started the debate.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The rapid spread of the new COVID-19 variants has put the world on alert. The various school lockdowns have affected the educational system<\/span> in our countries.\u00a0 Challenges and opportunities must be considered to better respond to these issues. How can our<\/span> open schooling<\/span> projects support schools during and post-pandemic? What can be done, and what can be done differently?<\/span><\/p>\n Open Schooling<\/b> (OS) is a key approach promoted by the <\/span>European Commission <\/span><\/i>through nine funded projects to support the cooperation between schools, scientists and local communities for youth <\/span>to become more engaged with science through real-world problems<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n These OS projects have been developing a variety of relevant approaches to bridge formal, non-formal and informal science education to improve students\u2019 experience in science. These approaches include a variety of relevant scenarios, themes, pedagogical methods, tools, environments and multi-actor platforms with high-quality resources, learning materials, and events, for example, workshops, courses, coaching and mentoring programmes.<\/span><\/p>\n A relevant issue suggested by a member of OStogether was<\/span><\/p>\n This question leads to many others.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Are schools interested in connecting with communities? What type of connections are they willing to establish? Will they benefit from cooperating with external partners? What are the advantages of cooperation for schools and partners involved in open schooling?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n To respond to these issues, more questions are necessary.<\/span><\/p>\n What are participants\u2019 needs (what they care)? What are their priorities (what they need to know)?\u00a0 What are their expectations (what they can do) <\/span>during and post-pandemic?<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n CONNECT is an open schooling project with 10 partners led by the AI enterprise EXUS\u00a0 responsible for project coordination and technology and the Open University responsible for scientific coordination, ethics and evaluation.<\/span><\/p>\n Our aim is to increase students\u2019 confidence towards using science in life now and future by connecting them with science professionals, family, and community members.<\/span><\/p>\n CONNECT is designed to facilitate teachers\u2019 work through the curriculum enhanced by multi actors\u2019 cooperation. Our open schooling model focuses on <\/span>socio-scientific issues and societal challenges that:<\/span><\/p>\n To facilitate connections and cooperation, schools are provided with future-oriented<\/span> support by scientists<\/span>, <\/span>engaging activities, fun participatory science tools, and more inclusive teaching strategies <\/span>with special attention to disadvantaged students, gender equality, and educational equity.<\/span><\/p>\n Pandemic has affected significantly the education system. Schools and universities had to move to distance education during various lockdowns. Many teachers and students were not prepared nor equipped to work with technology. A large number of disadvantaged students of state schools with free meals missed social relationships, learning, and food.<\/span><\/p>\n UNESCO (2021)<\/span><\/a> has been calling our attention to the human capital loss during COVID-19.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201c<\/span>Approximately half of the world\u2019s population (some 3.6 billion people) still lack an internet connection\u2026 463 million or nearly one-third of students around the globe cannot access remote learning<\/span>. The pandemic shows that connectivity has become a key factor to guarantee the right to education. Digital skills and learning must be incorporated into education systems in order address the injustice of the digital divide\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \u00a0<\/span>The context that we have now with COVID-19, school lockdowns and self-isolation,\u00a0 is completely different from when we develop our open schooling proposals. To identify the needs, priorities, and expectations the OU team developed three studies with students, open education researchers, and teachers during the pandemic.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The first study examined students\u2019\u00a0 views of an introductory module of the Open University (Okada & Sheehy, 2020<\/a>).\u00a0<\/span>We contacted 4,500 students, and 550 participated in our exploratory study about online learning during the first lockdown in the UK. Our aim was to understand their views about collaborative learning, cooperation with others, problem-solving and inquiry based-learning, traditional teaching approaches, and the value of fun\/enjoyment in distance education.\u00a0The OU is the largest university in the UK open to all learners with a significant number of disadvantaged students, 72% work full or p-time, 26% live in the 25% most from deprived areas, 34% of new students come from secondary schools or failed to complete it and 33% with a lower qualification at entry. (OU, Facts, and Figures)<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0Our findings revealed that more than 85% of students valued fun in learning to support well-being, motivation, and performance. However, approximately 15% indicated that fun within learning could result in distraction or loss of time. Three groups were identified \u00a0 (1) students who value fun in collaborative learning wish more\u00a0interacting activities and cooperating with others, (2) students who think that fun gets in the way of their individual learning prefer to learn at their own pace and on their own with useful activities problem solving and inquiry-based activities to succeed in their exams,\u00a0 (3) students who mentioned that there is no fun in online learning think that online learning is transmissive – focused on content, they do not want to waste time with discussions, teamwork, and participatory approaches. There are also students who cannot see the point of cooperation, fun and engagement. They\u00a0 are struggling to study, feeling depressed, or stressed, they mentioned that are not capable nor ready\u00a0to engage with collaborative projects\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n
\u201cHow could we help schools connect and cooperate with local communities through open schooling in science during COVID-19?\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/h2>\n
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