The story of our project
HEALTHY FOOD IN EUROPE
December 2015 - May 2016
Healthy food in Europe: an opportunity opening multicultural and, at the same time, an opportunity to enhance the students cultural identity through the exchange and comparison with other cultures. The aim was to create a virtual community to share information and experiences on their territory, especially on aspects related to the specialization of their school. In particular, the main topic some regional food (PDO or PGI products) and investigated them from the health-nutritional point of view (the most significant molecules contained in the food and its health benefits).
Seven partners, from different parts of Europe: Italy (founder), Portugal (founder), Austria, Greece, Latvia, Romania, Turkey. An assorted group. We did not know before. We met in the forum for eTwinning projects and through contact direct requests by emails, between October and November. Some of us on the first project, someone else with more experience ... Some of us teach the main subjects of the project (chemistry and biology), some not but they had the collaboration of science colleagues... All of us found the topic interesting and we started this project with enthusiasm.
114 students, a big and heterogenous community. Aged 14-19. Students from Lyceum, Technical and vocational school. For some students, the core topic of the project was an integrated part of the school curriculum, for others a deepening.
Six tasks, plus the logo competition.
Task1: Nice to meet you!
Task2: Our school and our region
Logo Competition
Task3: Products of our region
Task4: What do we really know about typical food of other countries?
Task5: Show us your dishes!!
Task6: Evaluate the project
A broad timetable for all the project (tasks, period, work process) was established from the beginning...
However, along the months, before every task, we faced in deciding how to proceed specifically and what tools to use. Throughout the project, the main goal was that students had to share their products and to compare and identify differences and similarities between countries and they had to interact and to put observations.
Task 1 was a presentation to breaking ice. To facilitate the start of the communication between students of different nationalities, we have choosen to set up task1 as a game. Each class took a picture, with a number on each student. Each student had to put own physical and moral description on this padlet wall. Then, we made teams with some students from each nationality. And in the forum, they had to interact with each other to find out who is who (to associate number in photo-description). The students really liked this setting as a game, but the interaction in the forum is not processed well as we hoped and it was difficult to conclude the task (especially because the forum is a mean of asynchronous communication and students should be more flexible in conversation). But, beyond the difficulties, we achieved the goal of breaking the ice! We used: Padlet, ThingLink.
In task2, each partner have presented own school, town and region. We used: Padlet, ThingLink, Powerpoint, MapMaker, Video. In this task, students continued to discuss in the forum. They posted observations, made questions, ... Students learned a lot about the other schools and regions where they are located. It was interesting to see how each group has chosen to present and advertise their region and their schools. Teachers and students have compared not only content but also how to present them. It was an enrichment for everyone.
In the meantime, while the first two tasks were carried out, there were the Christmas holidays (someone posted video and photos) and the logo competition.Logo competition (students had to propose a logo for the project) was a success: students of different country have tried to translate the meaning of the project in an effective image and they did a great job! Furthermore, it was nice that many pupils have voted the logo that really was best for them, even though it was of another nation. For voting, we used GoogleForm. We repeated the vote twice, because at the first not everyone had understood the voting rules exactly.
With task3, we got to the core of our project: our typical and healthy food! We divided this task in two parts:
- a common part, about common basic topics, necessary to understand the project and the next section, in which each country had to prepare a presentation to explain a common topic to all other teams;
- a second part in which each nation had to choose one/two products between PDO/PGI list of own region and to investigate their botanical characteristic and chemical composition and to deepen the most significant molecules contained in the food and its health benefits.
We tried to do this task in an innovative way from the pedagogical/didactical point of view. In fact, we used regional products from different countries to teach chemical and biological concepts. Furthermore, we set the first part of this task (the common topics) as "peer education", because students of a team had to teach a topic to students of other teams. In this task, we used: Padlet, Powerpoint, Video, Prezi. To put comments about materials of other countries, we created a padlet wall. This was the most interesting and tiring task! Students have worked very hard to prepare presentations, because it is not easy to prepare an appropriate work from the scientific point of view and at the same time clear and endearing! But they did it! They have explained the theory and shown laboratory activities too! They enjoyed to explain to others and learn from others! So, we, all of us, students and teachers, learned a lot of new things!
We also created a page on legumes, since 2016 is the International year of pulses!
In task4, we put observations on a padlet wall, to reflect on what do we really know about typical food of other countries. After seeing the work of other countries, each have to investigate and reflect about these questions: "Do we know typical regional food of the other countries? Are they sold in our market? Do you have similar products? With the same nutraceutical molecules?". We discuss that often in our market we don't' find product from the other region, but we have similar product, especially if weather is similar or it is similar the culinary tradition. Because lack of time, in this comparison, we didn't investigated deeply the nutraceutical aspects.
None of the team partners does a specialization in the kitchen, so it was very funny to try to invent a recipe and cook a dish in the task5! The dish had to include products that all of us have treated in task3. This task was also useful to make a summary of all the products treated in the project. We used: Powerpoint, Video.
As a conclusion, in the task6, we have prepared two types of quiz:
- a test to check if the students have learned the information on food;
- a survey to evaluate the project (one for students, one for teachers), to understand what worked well and what did not work so well.
Final tests were useful tools to understand what to improve in the next project. To prepare quiz, we used: LearningApp and Googleform.
Interaction. Chat meetings, private emails, teacher bulletin, project journal: we teachers used all these media to communicate, to set tasks and monitoring the project. We supported and encouraged each other constantly. About students,we chose to have them interact with means visible to everyone. So, they interacted mainly with each other in the multinational forums, by post on padlet, but someone also by private mails or on facebook.
We used different tools to accomplish tha tasks: Thinglink, Padlet, PowerPoint, Learningapps, Prezi, Emaze, Googleform, MapMaker. Except powerpoint (who all knew), most of us teachers had never used before many of these tools, and even our students. So, this project has improved ICT skills of teachers and students. By mail and Bulletin teachers, we support and help each other to learn the new tools.
TwinSpace. At the beginning of each task, we created a page with the job board to do and then we built and filled pages and folders as they were developing the project . So, little by little, the TwinSpace became filled.
A tiring and stimulating project. Almost everything that was predicted at the beginning has been made. We didn't do a videoconference and we could not send a own product to other schools by mail, for technical reasons and for lack of time. On the other hand, we made the logo competition, not expected at the beginning. We proceeded slowly, often taking longer than expected (specially for firsts tasks), to allow everyone to participate and conclude tasks.
Critical issues. We expected more interaction among students in the forums. Lack of time and the heterogeneity of the workgroup (such as age and curriculum of study) were the greater difficulties. Unfortunately, for personal and school reasons, some partners were not able to complete all the tasks...
Strenghts and conclusions. The project had ups and downs but it was gradually fulfilling the goals... Some component has left the project along the way, but all of us have contribute to the construction of the project. All of us put materials on TwinSpace. Work was hard, but the efforts paid off, as we produced very valuable materials (appropriate from the scientific point of view and at the same time clear and endearing) that now we can publicize. Nutraceutical foods are the preventive medicine of the future. All of us, teachers and students, learned really new things. We learned a lot from each other.
We reach our goals!
Production of documents on the topics discussed.
An improvement in science, English, ICT and social skills.
A greater awareness of the excellent food of own region.
A better understanding of the other European countries and a greater community spirit.