Project Hello, Spring http:tere'kevad'edu'ee

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Project Hello, Spring!http//tere.kevad.edu.ee

• Terje Tuisk ltttuisk_at_ut.eegt,
• Janika Ruusmaa ltjanikar_at_ut.eegt
• IEARN Estonia

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Why Spring?

• The arrival of the Spring is very special for
  Nordic people
• Days get longer, there is more sunshine and light
• Migratory birds that left us in the Autumn are
  coming back from South
• Snow is melting, nature is awakening and first
  flowers appear

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Basic idea main goals

• Fenological observations of the arrival and
  development of the Spring in the nature
• Goals
• Learn basic nature-observation skills
• Learn more about common plant, bird and animal
  species living around us
• Integration of different subjects
• Practice the teamwork and collaboration with
  students from other schools
• Create database of fenological data gathered by
  students

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Course of the project I

• Participants teachers with their 1-7 grade
  students from nearly 50 schools
• Groups consisted from 3 to 35 students
• Course of the project
• Indicator species the first messengers of the
  Spring
• Students had to look for these species and enter
  the date when they noticed it for the first time
  in their neighbourhood.
• Data where entered through on-line form directly
  to database and results appeared instantly to the
  web.

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Course of the project II

• Additional activities
• Poems, drawings and web-creation created
  cooperation between different teachers
• E-mail list for the project where were sent
• Announcements of the course of the project
• Descriptions of the species as their time
  approached
• Students poetry
• Students and organizers personal notes about what
  they have seen in the nature
• Also teachers sent their messages if they had
  some kind of problems that they thought might
  interest others

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Feedback plans for the future

• General feedback was very positive
• students and even teachers and parents learned a
  lot about Spring and nature,
• students had possibility to practice teamwork
  what is not very common in our ed.system,
• it was good that students were able to follow
  other students work and results

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Plans for the future I

• Ideas for the future from the teachers feedback
  questionnaire
• Students could write stories about their
  observation experiences
• There could be also some kind of quiz or
  competition for students this would motivate
  them even more. This could be compiled by
  students themselves
• Summer-camp for participants where they can learn
  more about nature .
• Photo-competition

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Plans for the future II

• More plans
• To translate our web-site to English
• To have an international participation in the
  project from next Spring
• To develop plan for international project by the
  end of this year
• most probably the list of species will be open,
• there will be more additional activities that
  would make students more active and would make
  them more communicate with each other,
• etc.