Teacher Booklet
Most of the materials are available in Estonian and English (lesson plans are only in English).
Summary of the course structure can be seen in the lesson plans.
The approach of the whole course supports an active hands-on, experiential study process and thus works in different ways – the teachers study and create materials for a socio-scientific inquiry based learning (SSIBL) approach by learning through the same methods while integrating STEM, social sciences and other subjects.
The course is created on the foundation of practical assignments that have been developed according to a 3-step model which consists of the following phases:
- Introduction to the SSIBL study process in an open learning environment;
- Activities/exploration in an open learning environment, by creating study materials based on the SSIBL approach for different school age groups (main target group of the centre are children aged 7 – 12);
- Post-activities for reflection.
The introduction to topics is given in a lecture. After that most of the process is done by group work, individual or group homework (the latter can also be done remotely using file sharing applications that enable simultaneous file editing and chatting tools).
Occasional traditional follow-up seminars are conducted to provide sufficient support for the students, give them an opportunity to discuss their progress, and collaborate as a larger group during the study process.
The goals of the course for the participants are:
- To be able to apply socio-scientific inquiry-based learning (SSIBL) approaches;
- To be able to freely navigate through socio-scientific issues (SSIs);
- To be able to map controversies (including different stakeholders’ viewpoints and values);
- To be able to guide pupils in forming authentic questions;
- To link SSIBL and experiential learning practices to guide pupils through SSIBL authentic questions on SSIs;
- To link SSIBL to the science curriculum (e.g. new science modules, Concept-Context approach);
- To gain skills to develop a SSIBL lesson (or series of lessons in a study scenario) that can at least be partially used an in-formal setting.
