Energy

The 2021–2023 global energy crisis began in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, with much of the globe facing shortages and increased prices in oil, gas, and electricity markets. Reducing energy waste and help saving money on energy consumption became important topics for the EU community.

In this activity, we engaged the students in the learning process about energy-related issues not only through hands-on work in energy experiments but also through research. We carried out activities on different school subjects to ensure the absorption of the topic. Furthermore, a blended learning environment allows the students to personalize their learning process towards reaching the curriculum objectives regarding energy as well as encourages student teamwork and the creation of their own original products, ideas, and concepts, some of them even made games to in scratch so all the partners could play. 

Click the picture and try!

For the topic of Mobility and the celebration of Mobility Day, we can use various methods of teaching and create practical experiences for students. Through hands-on science, creative thinking, and teamwork, students learn different skills in different subjects. The main goals are socializing interdisciplinary learning, and collaboration between students from different countries in Europe.

Experiential learning with tangible materials empowers students. It gives them more lasting knowledge and facilitates the transition to abstract ideas. Another important advantage of this way of learning is allowing the students to develop critical thinking about pollution, and healthy living, which ultimately reduces the student`s stress, leading to a less stressful school environment.

One part of learning about energy was the Logbook of 3R Energy. Every student recorded energy usage of ones own family for one week. The students had to fill out energy logbooks which showcased approximate energy consumption in their houselhold per week. They monitored energy consumption regarding various appliances such as a washing machine, a dishwasher, a TV and computer screens, lights etc. The students filled out questionnaires and we displayed them in Padlet so that students from partner countries could compare household energy consumption among each other. Follow-up discussion could highlight observed similarities and differences in the students households as well as leave space for reflextion on the possible solutions for lowering energy consumption in their own households (and in general terms in their own local community etc.). The results were then downloaded in Padlet.

Study about the energy consumption of our schools

We researched the electrical consumption of each school and compared the consumption of electricity in November 2021:

• Polish school 23847 KWh/1080 pupils,

• Finnish school 37610 kWh/220 pupils,

• German school 109 000 kwh/500 pupils,

• Italian school: 41.040 kWh/380 pupils,

• Slovenian school 34206 kWh/450 pupils.

Why does the Polish school have the lowest electric energy consumption?

Polish school has a new, modern building with environmentally friendly solutions, including solar panels that generate energy for heating water in the facility and a water recovery system, automatic light switches, and photoelectric cells/daylight harvesting sensors to control lights near windows. When sufficient daylight is available, lights are turned off or switched to night-light mode.

It is important for the students to raise awareness about energy management and its sustainability. With energy costs rising, we are looking for ways to increase the energy efficiency of our energy resources. In that way, we can save more energy and follow the principles of the Circular Economy in energy management.