Fostering business opportunity identification skills in secondary education via an orchestrated technology enhanced learning script

Proudly sharing the latest article of my colleague and friend Ioannis Stagias for his PhD Thesis on ICT supported learning scenarios for entrepreneurial education. Deeply thanking him for trusting in me to be a co-author. 

Read the article in ResearchGate

"Zoe" means Life, in Greek

Zoe, was the title of an eTwinning project that I run 2 years ago. It was about sustainability, an issue that inspires me in my teaching and moves me in my life.

Today, I proudly discovered that Zoe is featured in the annual eTwinning book "Classrooms in Action" , in the VET schools category . I'm more than happy about it! 

six thinking hats

The six hats technique provides a framework to help people think clearly and thoroughly by adopting and directing different modes of thinking in one direction at a time. These different modes of thinking are characterized by six different coloured hats. This is to enable more expansive, increased creativity and decision-making. 

Each hat is symbolic of a particular approach and way of thinking. 

The white hat is mutual and objective, it is concerned with facts and figures. 

When adopting white hat thinking, we have to be disciplined to stay neutral and objective. White hat thinking means concerning ourselves with the facts and figures of a given topic or subject area.

We restrain ourselves from asking why something has occurred, and only look at quantifiable information which can often invalidate an opinion. 

The green hat indicates creativity, under the green hat, you can come up with lots of ideas. 

The red hat gives the emotional point of view. Do we love an idea? Do we hate it? Does it make us feel anxious? Do we disapprove? Or are we disgusted by an idea? 

The black hat is cautious and careful. It is critical and identifies the weaknesses in an idea, with a view to making that idea stronger. 

The yellow hat it's sunny and positive. It helps us identify the value and benefits in an idea. 

The blue hat represents control and organization of the other hats.

One of the strengths of using the six hats technique is that it separates ego from performance.

Everyone involved in the meeting has to adopt a particular mode of thinking, so although an individual may be prone to think in a particular way, when using the six hats technique, they will have to appreciate each idea and look at it through a different lens, which may result in a previous opposing thinker of an idea, championing it.

Some of the key benefits of six thinking hats include that 

• the technique works and users see results immediately. 
• It's simple to learn and use. 
• It can be used by an individual or in a group, it modifies behaviors without undermining particular personalities, 
• It encourages cooperation, 
• It is extremely valuable for decision-making, and a suitable complement to the use of an evaluation matrix to ensure that a broad basis for a decision has been considered.

creativity 2 - brainstorming

On initial thought, brainstorming can be simply seen as a dedicated time for you to come up with ideas to solve a problem. Yet there are different methods of brainstorming, defined by a few rules and tools. Giving structure and guidance to a brainstorming session will, in turn, create an environment to develop many more ideas.

Methods of thinking have evolved and have been taught throughout history. These methods have been demonstrated by Ancient Greek philosophers such as Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, through to serial entrepreneurs changing our world today, such as Elon Musk and Richard Branson.

Let's start with Brainstorming. The aim of this tool is not to produce inventions for fully developed products, instead, it is used to assist with the generation of ideas. This can be done at any stage of the problem-solving process but tends to focus on problem exploration, idea generation, and concept evaluation.

Brainstorming is normally a group activity undertaken by an interdisciplinary team.
There are a series of well-established rules that can help a brainstorming session run smoothly. These include
having no more than 10 people present to aid effective group dynamics.
Don't criticize or mock-up any ideas, statements, or individuals during the session.
Have lots of flip charts, marker pens, pencils,and paper available.
Make sure you introduce and state the brief clearly, and define a set period of time for the session. The participants in brainstorming generally includes an interdisciplinary team, colleagues, external collaborators.
What about the boss? Whether or not you include your boss will depend upon the aims
of the session, and the willingness of people to open up in front of a manager.
How about intimidating personalities? Again, you may choose not to include people who have
an intimidating personality, as this can inhibit the free flowing nature of
a brainstorming session.
How about skeptics? Having people who are skeptical can be both a hindrance and positive. But can be handled by perhaps a private word beforehand, asking an individual to moderate their critical approach for the duration of a brainstorming session.
What about non-participants? If an individual is not willing to engage, then it may be better not
to have them present.
There are various types of brainstorming.

Brainstorming tools

The Flip Chart approach serves as a great entry activity to a brainstorming session. For example, it can be used to determine the important areas of a problem. The group can "Flip Chart" brainstorm these for several minutes.

Post-its were born for brainstorming. They are a great size to focus and record a single idea. As Post-its can be peeled off a surface and re-applied several times, the ideas can then be rearranged and ordered into groups of similar ideas. The approach encourages a group to come together and generate ideas simultaneously.

As the name suggests, in an Alphabet brainstorming session, participants are invited to work through the alphabet letter by letter. With one set parameter, the letter itself, it inspires a wide range of ideas. It also encourages the creative use of the letter to form a sentence or phrase, rather than an idea that is one or two words.

The session should always be concluded by reviewing the ideas generated. If necessary, this can be immediately followed by exploring opportunities to combine ideas and seeing whether any of the suggestions provoke additional avenues for exploration.

Brainwriting is a series of techniques developed by Horst Geschka at the Batelle Institute in Frankfurt (Geschka, 1993). Most of the session is done in silence as it encourages a group of participants to develop ideas in parallel.

During Grid brainstorming, a 3 by 3 grid is recommended. The number of columns dictates the number of ideas needed to initiate the process. The number of rows dictates how many times the idea is passed on and developed. By the end of a session, many ideas have been generated and developed by using the inspiration of previously generated ideas.

creativity 1

If necessity is the mother of invention, then opportunity is the father.

Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay

What is creativity? 

There have been many definitions of creativity in literature and academia. For example, creativity is the forming of associative elements into new combinations which either meet requirements or

are in some way useful. Creativity denotes a person's capacity to produce new or original ideas, insights, inventions or artistic products which are accepted by experts as being of scientific, aesthetic, social or technical value, and one I particularly like with a modern twist on values that creativity is imagination with responsibility. 

Creativity is often thought to exist on at least two levels, big C versus little c, eminent versus every day. 

Creativity is the ability to imagine or invent something new or value where the value may be personal, societal, financial or some combination of these. Creativity is not the ability to create something out of nothing, but the ability to generate new ideas by combining, changing or reapplying

existing ideas. Some creative ideas are astonishing and brilliant while others are just simple good practical ideas that no one seems to have thought of yet.

In the consideration of creativity, it's important to think about both body and mind. Attention and stress are intertwined. While stress arousal is useful for real emergency, as an ongoing state, it can be a disaster. If you want people to be able to consider novel ideas, you need to take care of the potential stress response. A stress response can, through the release of endorphins, prevent people from being able to think about new ideas. So we need to create a low stress environment, to encourage creative thinking. Physical and mental environments need to be considered. This can be achieved by protecting participants from the consequences of considering new ideas. Reassurance should be given

that if a new idea is followed, then the whole group will provide support. And will try and solve any problems that arise. Generating high trust is essential.

When do we get ideas? The common feature of the situations when we get ideas is that we are relaxed. And our subconscious is highly active. This aides communication between our consciousness and subconscious. And hence the production and realizations of ideas.

from Coursera MOOC: Creative Thinking: Techniques and Tools for Success - Imperial College London

hands on Entrepreneurial Education

My personal way to Entrepreneurial Education was long. From my father's business, to the position of General Manager in KYRVAS S.A. (an agricultural supplies company in Iearpetra) some 27 years ago and then, as a teacher,  consciously choosing to teach agricultural economy related subjects, in my vocational school. Now, as a life-long learner, I find myself proudly collaborating with Ioannis Stagias on ICT supported learning scenarios for entrepreneurial education.
I'm also proudly sharing with you to read, his latest article on "Secondary school students build multiple skills in evaluating business opportunities via technology‑enhanced learning activities".

"Design a garden" STEM learning scenario

My love for Landscape Architecture and my experience on teaching the relevant subject in my vocational high school for years,  led me to develop a learning scenario with the title "Design a garden for your community".
The “STEM Is Everywhere!” MOOC, that was carried out by SCIENTIX and hosted on the EUN Academy gave me the chance to submit my learning scenario and after two rounds of reviewing, here it is, in the SCIENTIX repository for STEM resources.

Related subjects are:
Botany, Maths and ICT.
Additionally, for vocational education: gardening, landscaping, digital design.

By the end of  the learning activities students are expected:

• to know how to measure with accuracy, to scale and to digitally draw a small garden plot
• to know how to choose plants suitable for their garden and 
• to develop their creativity and their collaborative skills. 

Students will be allowed to make their own choices and this will help them develop entrepreneurial skills (according to the EntreComp framework).

If you plan to run a project on Sustainable development, consider that designing (and creating) public green spaces can be related to SDG11, target 11.7 (By 2030, provide universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible, green and public spaces, in particular for women and children, older persons and persons with disabilities)

This is a digital garden design that my students have made in the frames of the eTwinning project "Two island inspire" and I'm sharing it with you as an example of a project where the learning scenario can be used.
 I'm sure that you can find a lot of ideas to use my learning scenario in your projects.

Design a garden for your community

Inquiry-Based Teaching in Life Sciences

What is IBL?

Self reflection tool 

Example of classroom impementation

The initial situation is presented to the class in the form of a challenge: supposedly isolated in a hostile environment, the students have no fuel left to find help. They have to feed themselves and have enough material left to burn as fuel. Their resources are reduced to one package of nuts and one package of wheat noodles. The challenge is how to get the most energy from these foods.

The main pedagogical methods to encourage investigation in the classroom

• prepare an open challenge
• manage time, space, ways of working
• encourage independance
• allow students to take ownership of the problem
• become aware of the students' state of thinking
• organize the ways in which the students communicate
• welcome ideas in neutral way
• structure the inquiry
• when interacting with small groups: ask open-ended questions, guide students thinking
• refocus students' thinking
• ask for clarification
• vary the organization of the sessions
• build students confidence
• value errors
• allow trial and error testing
• encourage quantification
• encourage note-taking
• allow time for communication of results
• prepare results sharing
• articulate investigation with more traditional teaching methods
• explain elements of the scientific approach

Very useful tips and advice on how to manage an IBSE project with your students

from Laura Matthys, agronomist engineer who is in charge of theScience Expo project of the Jeunesses Scientifiques organization in Belgium

                                      

Thinking includes a number of important elements that a facilitator can model and encourage to provide forward movement in a discussion. The facilitator is there to provide positive cognitive interventions that help move the discussion forward.

During the discussion, the facilitator needs to be aware of opportunities to focus attention on the key elements of thinking.

These include:

Questioning – asking good questions to provide a focus for the inquiry.

Reasoning – requesting reasons or evidence to support arguments and judgements.

Defining – clarifying concepts through making connections, distinctions and comparisons.

Speculating – generating ideas and alternative viewpoints through imaginative thinking.

Testing for truth – gathering information, evaluating evidence, examples and counterexamples.

Expanding ideas – sustaining and extending lines of thought and argument.

Summarising – abstracting key points or general rules from a number of ideas or instances.

Strategies to extend and develop student thinking include:

Thinking time – encourage pauses for thought or some moments of quiet meditation on a topic. Remember to provide at least 3 seconds thinking time after you have asked a question and 3 seconds thinking time after a child gives an answer.

Think—pair—share – allow individual thinking time for a question, invite discussion of the question with a partner, then open up for class discussion.

Ask follow-ups – ask students to extend or qualify what they said by asking questions that challenge their thinking, such as ’Why?’, ‘Do you agree or disagree?’, ’Can you say more?’, ’Can you give an example?’, ’Describe how you arrived at that answer’.

Withhold judgement – respond to student answers in a non-evaluative way, e.g. a positive but neutral response such as ‘Thank you’, ‘Ok’, ‘That’s interesting’, ‘A-ha’, ‘I see’.

Invite the whole group to respond – encourage a response from the whole group by saying things such as; ‘How many people agree/disagree with that point of view?’ (hands/thumbs up, down or to side). You can also ask questions such as ‘Having heard that, what questions might we ask?’

Ask for a summary – promote active listening by asking for a summary of what has been said, e.g. ‘Could you summarise Kim’s point?’, ‘Can you explain what Jane has just said?’, ‘Can you tell me the arguments so far?’

Play devil’s advocate – challenge students to give reasons for their views by presenting opposing points of view, or by asking students to be devil’s advocates, e.g., ‘Who can think of a different point of view / an argument against that?’

Invite a range of responses – model open-mindedness by inviting students to consider different viewpoints: ‘There is no single correct answer to this question. I want you to consider alternatives’.

Encourage student questioning – invite students to ask their own questions before/during and/or after discussion. ’Does anyone have a question about what has been said?’, etc.

(from Fisher R, ‘Teaching Thinking’, Cassell 1998)

There is a wide range of writing strategies that can be used in learning and teaching processes. These activities can generally be grouped into three groups according to the affective and cognitive engagement:

Poetic writing can be defined as the language of novels and poems. The aim of writing poetry is to separate yourself from action and to think reflectively about experiences and feelings.

Expressive writing both includes information and reflections about that information. Since expressive writing is usually done informally, without concern for the judgment of others, the writer may concentrate on making connections with prior knowledge, clarifying understanding, and otherwise “explaining the matter to oneself” (Britton et al., 1975, p. 28). Because expressive writing can be a very powerful tool for associating concepts with language, it has come to be known as writing to learn (Connally, 1989).

Transactional writing, which is mostly used by science writers, is characterized by the voice of the participant in action. Transactional forms of writing have often been called “writing to inform” or “writing to communicate” (Freisinger, 1980).

The experimenter report is a tool that helps teachers to document, reflect and share their IBSE activity. Teachers document their implementation of an IBSE lesson in an online space to which both students and teacher have access, and on which peer feedback can be provided by other teachers.

Bioeconomy in the classroom

Five innovative learning scenarios in the BLOOM School Box and relevant pedagogical methods

Bloom your school with your biofuel and soap lab

Project-based learning (PBL) involves shifting the focus from traditional education, where students are passive receivers of information and the teacher is the (only) source of knowledge. Project-based learning simply means learning through projects. It involves learner-centred decision-making: students are able to plan their own project, instead of following a set of instructions. PBL can and should be based on student inquiry. Note, that PBL can be implemented with many different pedagogical methods, such as inquiry-based learning (IBL). Ideally, it also includes peer and self-assessment, rather than only relying on teacher assessment. Finally, the ownership of the project ultimately belongs to the student, as opposed to the teacher, whose role is that of a moderator.
The Buck Institute for Education identifies the following seven steps of PBL:
Challenging problem or question. The project has to start with something that is considered truly engaging for students.
Sustained inquiry. Students are continuously involved in asking questions, finding answers and researching.
Authenticity. It’s advisable to choose a topic that students feel close to, but also to take their chosen project seriously. For example, having an exhibition for the school’s community at the end of the project, as something to work towards.
Student voice and choice. Students need to be able to guide their own project.
Reflection. Apart from the final assessment, it is advisable to have reflection activities along the way.
Critique and revision. Students have to receive and give peer critique and revise constantly.
Public product. At the end of the project, students should have an end-product they can exhibit.

Examining the thermal properties of bio-based building materials

Knowledge Café or World Café is a method often used in education that involves participants discussing a topic in smaller circles, with one participant periodically rotating to the next circle, where they are introduced to the previous discussion, by the “table host”.
When using this method with students, it is important to encourage each of them to speak by creating a physical and mental space where they feel comfortable to share opinions. You can starts the lesson by sharing pre-defined questions to guide the discussion or just let the discussion enfold. Note that solutions and outcomes should not be predefined.

Building a new environmental Future

Inquiry-based learning (IBL) is an educational strategy through which students follow methods and practices similar to those of professional scientists in order to construct knowledge (Keselman, 2003). One of the benefits of using IBL is that the students are an active part of their own learning process: they must suggest an experimental activity to peers and design it. IBL is organised into different steps, in which teachers guide the students to think about an experimental idea, design the experiment and present the results to their peers.
Banchi and Bell (2008) defined the four levels of inquiry-based learning:
Confirmation inquiry: At this level, the teacher uses inquiry as confirmation for already acquired knowledge. For example, the teacher gives a lesson about a topic, then prepares an activity by posing questions, and guides students through it to an answer that is already known by them.
Structured inquiry: The teacher provides the scientific question and guidelines, or structure to the investigation. Students are required to explain their findings.
Guided inquiry: The teacher only provides the research question. Students are responsible for designing their own experiments and validating data at the end of the process.
Open or true inquiry: Students formulate their own research questions, design the experiment and present their findings

Growing plastic and new life for plastic

Interdisciplinary education allows students “to learn by making connections between ideas and concepts across different disciplinary boundaries” (Open Edu, 2015).
One of the main benefits of interdisciplinary learning is that students tend to have a better understanding of the connection between what they are learning and the real world. It can also enhance confidence in subjects that are deemed more difficult by students, especially because they are taught not as separate, but in tandem, therefore, different skills of students are made use of. These are just the first benefits, interdisciplinary classes also improve collaboration skills in students and carry a lot of professional development value for teachers and staff. What is more, it encourages students to learn in a playful manner.
Interdisciplinary learning therefore:
Helps students to think critically,
Develops their lifelong learning and problem-solving skills
Increases passion for learning and develops communication skills and creativity.

How poop will change the world

Boosting Bioeconomy Knowledge in Schools

New MOOC by the European Schoolnet Academy

1. Let's start with the definition: What is bioeconomy?

“A bioeconomy can be defined as an economy where the basic building blocks for materials, chemicals and energy are derived from renewable biological resources.” (McKinsey, 2013)

“The bioeconomy covers all sectors and systems that rely on biological resources (animals, plants, micro-organisms and derived biomass, including organic waste), their functions and principles. It includes and interlinks: land and marine ecosystems and the services they provide; all primary production sectors that use and produce biological resources (agriculture, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture); and all economic and industrial sectors that use biological resources and processes to produce food, feed, biobased products, energy and services. To be successful, the European bioeconomy needs to have sustainability and circularity at its heart. This will drive the renewal of our industries, the modernisation of our primary production systems, the protection of the environment and will enhance biodiversity.” (The Bioeconomy Strategy, European Commission 2018)

The bioeconomy in everyday life

Take a look at some biobased products listed here and here

Biobased products and education 

Biobased products have the power to change even the way we teach!

Laundry detergents use enzymes. The use of enzymes in the washing and cleaning process means that less energy is required to achieve the same result. Why not create an environmentally friendly laundry detergent with our students? We only need four simple ingredients and the classroom activity is ready! Let's try this activity with our class!

The main reason why raising awareness about biobased products and processes is important, is that our students will also grow up to be or already are consumers. And, when it comes to deciding which product they use, it is important to make well-informed and environmentally sustainable choices. As our students are the workforce of the future, knowing about opportunities in the field of bioeconomy is vital. Regions, companies and educational institutes are all searching for motivated and skilled youth to work in the bioeconomy sector.

The branches of bioeconomy