Science Across the World: Examples from Italy
By Prof. Alba DiCarlo, Liceo Majorana, Torino, Italy
etmajor1@arpnet.it
with additional information from: http://www.bp.com/saw/english/core.html
  Science Across the World
Many of the issues we face, such as energy supply, water quality and diet and health, are of common concern and related to scientific problems. However, perspectives on their causes and resolution differ from country to country.
Studying these problems in an international context provides schools with an excellent opportunity to stimulate interest in science by taking the larger dimension into account. As countries draw closer together it is important to raise our student's awareness of attitudes and values in other societies. By joining Science Across the World, students can compare their findings with others world-wide.

Science Across The World publishes a series of units on scientific issues and provides an associated database of participating schools. The units and the database provide a forum where students may exchange facts and opinions with students in other countries.

What is involved?
Once you have obtained a unit(s) you need to register as soon as possible so that you can join in the project. The joining fee includes the costs of registration, and you will also be included on the project's database. This gives you access to the details of over 1500 schools worldwide. Just as importantly, other schools will also be able to see which Units you are following, and in which months you are available to exchange information. Your students will then work on collecting the information needed for the exchange with other schools. This may be part of the usual classroom work or an extracurricular activity, taking approximately 3-5 hours to complete.

All individual or small group information is combined and entered on the Exchange Form, which is included in the unit. Before sending the Exchange Form, many teachers and students choose to make a preliminary, exploratory contact with their selected schools, using a First Contact Form, to confirm that they are still planning to use the unit during the stated month. This is advisable to ensure that students are not disappointed by a lack of response. In addition, in order to enrich the exchange experience, some students send extra information about their schools, their local community and other details of general interest. In many cases, this initial contact, forms the basis for fruitful, longer term links/projects and partnerships between schools.

Science Across the World...

•  An exciting way to help teach science, languages and general studies
•  Easy to use
•  Interesting and relevant to students' concerns
•  Promotes discussion
•  Flexible - will complement any curriculum
•  Gives access to the Science Across The World global network of schools and colleges

To enable you to stay in touch with SAW developments in your own region, we have provided pages which list each region's contact details, such as email address, phone and fax numbers.
For all regions, there are contact details for each country's co-ordinator(s) as well as for regional co-ordinators. So, for more detailed information on SAW in your region, simply visit:

http://www.bp.com/saw/english/core.html

and contact your country’s or region’s coordinator.

SAW at Liceo Majorana, Turin (Italy)
Prof. Alba DiCarlo (teacher responsible of SAW at Liceo Majorana), e-mail: etmajor1@arpnet.it

At Liceo Majorana, we are using the SAW units “Drinking water” and “Acid rain” since four years. These units are the starting points for a wider project about environmental education in the school. The subject matters involved are: arts, geography, natural science, mathematics, foreign languages). The units are implemented both in the curriculum and as extra-curriculum activities with 14/15 years old students; with 16/18 years old students, the units are used by interest group as extra-curricular activities.
Our experience shows that the units have two main values:
1) the students – as active part of a particular survey - became directly aware of a more general problem of the environment they live in.
2) At a cognitive level, the students learn that scientific “ideas” have a status only when corroborated by experimental data.
The awareness - the students acquire about the issues discussed in the units- does lead to some changes in personal behaviour as far as Environment Protection is concerned.
For more information, please contact Prof. Alba DiCarlo at  etmajor@arpnet.it
 

SAW at Instituto “Regina Margherita”, Turin Italy
Prof. Ronco Antonella (teacher of mathematics and physics), e-mail  regmarg@arpent.it

During the school year 1997/98, I proposed the unit "Keeping Healthy" to my fourth year students, 25 girls attending a linguistic high school. As I am a mathematics teacher, we tackled the unit from a mathematical point of view.
My students are very interested in studying foreign languages, but they do not have a strong motivation for scientifically subjects. Therefore I  always look for new ideas to try and involve students in mathematical studies.

Last year, to conclude our work on descriptive statistics, I proposed the unit above mentioned to give students a chance of applying what they had learnt in theory to a practical field. The students accepted my proposal and worked with enthusiasm; also those girls who normally show little interest in the subject I teach, took an active part in the activities.

In May, after analysing the graphic representations and the main statistical indexes of a survey, the students worked in groups on the unit, each group focusing on a single part.
As we had little time, the data we worked on were drawn only from the class.
Each of the six parts of the unit was given the most suitable graphic representation.
Unfortunately the whole work was finished only at the end of the school year, so we couldn't compare the results we obtained with those of other schools.

For more information, please contact Proof. Ronco Antonella and Prof. Bruschi at Regmarg@arpnet.it