The European Commission has published a new Results Pack titled "Paving the way for innovative educational contexts in the EU," featuring nine EU-funded projects dedicated to fostering an open learning educational ecosystem. Among these projects are two initiatives, Make it Open and SALL, in which Ecsite and ten of its members have played instrumental roles.
The EU-funded projects showcased in the Results Pack offer tangible tools, frameworks, and methodologies aimed at opening schools to their communities and transforming the education system into an open learning ecosystem. They provide valuable resources such as lesson plans for teachers, methodologies for collaboration between schools and non-formal learning providers, and policy recommendations, among others.
In the context of today's rapidly evolving educational landscape, characterised by the diverse needs of 21st-century learners and the demand for new skills and fields such as problem-solving, critical thinking, computer science, AI, and environmental awareness, schools are urged to explore new learning dimensions. Open schooling emerges as a solution, advocating for a different approach to "what", "where", and "when" people learn.
Ecsite and its member organisations have been instrumental in driving forward the open schooling approach through projects like Make it Open and SALL.
Make it Open: This project engaged six science centres and museums affiliated with Ecsite to establish national hubs in their respective countries. These hubs served as educational incubators, facilitating the transformation of over 60 schools into open schooling environments and community spaces for well-being. Leveraging their extensive networks and professional connections, the hubs facilitated partnerships between schools and various stakeholders such as parent organisations, non-formal science education entities, maker spaces, civil society groups, enterprises, research labs, and local authorities.
SALL: Four science centres and museums affiliated with Ecsite collaborated on the SALL project, with the aim of turning schools into living labs. This open-innovation methodology empowered individuals to drive the innovation process, fostering partnerships between public and private entities as well as community participation. Through co-creation, exploration, experimentation, and evaluation phases, diverse stakeholders collaborated to develop new products, services, and solutions, leveraging the potential of real-life communities and settings.
These initiatives demonstrate the transformative potential of open schooling, inviting policymakers, schools, non-formal educatots, parents, communities, academia, and civil society organisations to collaborate in reshaping the educational experience and strengthening the link between learning and society. As the world navigates new and complex challenges, open schooling offers a pathway to innovative solutions and inclusivity in education.
Take a moment to explore the Results Pack and discover how your organisation could collaborate with Ecsite on future EU-funded projects!