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"Learning Circles for Science Teaching"

The training event was organized at Johann-Heinrich-Voß-School (Eutin, Germany) on the 26th-30th September 2022. The meeting was opened by Mrs Tanja Dietrich, headmistress of Johann-Heinrich-Voß-School who expressed her appreciation and support for the Erasmus+ – project. Also, the Representative of the City Council of Eutin, Mr Dieter Holst, welcomed the participants and wished for good cooperation and success.

After this,  teachers were  led through the school and esp. the science departments, different approaches and equipment were discussed on the way.  Then the teachers took part in workshop I, discussing basic guidelines of learning circles in principle and a compilation of cooperative learning methods gathered by the German coordinator A. Szellinski. In the evening teachers came together again to attend workshop II, a teambuilding activity, and cooked together. Workshop III was conducted by Karl-Martin Ricker, Director of studies and Consultant of natural sciences in the Institute for the Development of Quality at Schools in Schleswig-Holstein, concentrating on “Cognitive Activation“. Teachers were working in groups and conducted small scientific experiments by using a developed form of the placemat-activity. Later during the week  professor Dr. Volkmar Helbig from Kiel University gave a lecture on hydrogen and its possible uses to solve our energy crisis, followed by a short discussion. On Wednesday the whole-day bus trip for teachers was designed around the topic of everyday natural-scientific phenomena and started near Husum with a very special habitat, the unique mudflats (UNESCO world natural heritage), where teachers  enjoyed a guided tour, mostly bare-footed. Then the group went on to Flensburg, where the “Phänomenta“ (an interactive science museum) was visited and the city centre was explored.  On Thursday  teachers  travelled to Lübeck (UNESCO world cultural heritage) and discovered the city centre in small groups with the help of “Key Zone city games“, where you have to solve a lot of  (mathematical, logical)riddles and have to be very attentive towards your surroundings.