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Form - it "Take part in research"

Final Report Summary - FORM-IT (Form - it "Take part in research")

The overall aim of the FORM-IT project was to contribute to the promotion of interest of young people in science and to qualify them for a critical and complex way of thinking and learning.

The future of success of the European Research Area (ERA) is mainly depending on young people developing skills and competencies to tackle future challenges. The key competencies needed today are self-motivated and self-directed learning strategies, team-working and communication skills and above all the capacity to differentiate, select, apply and update information from the immense and daily growing global knowledge base. Therefore science education in school is confronted with a high pressure to replace outdated teaching approaches by modern concepts.

One very promising model of new learning designs is the model of Research and Education Cooperation (REC) activities. A REC stands for a cooperation between at least one research partner (e.g. public or private science or technology research institutes, museums, individual researchers) and at least one educational partner (e.g. schools, individual teachers, pupils or students, teacher education, school authorities).

FORM-IT provided a Specific Support Action (SSA) for networking experts who work with and on new didactic concepts for science teaching. The consortium assembled experienced institutions out of the three essential player groups of REC activities: collaborators, researchers and promoters / financiers.

The objectives of the FORM-IT consortium were:
- supporting the collaboration among institutions running RECs by setting up a European network of experts in science education and education research;
- increasing the efficiency of national and European science education strategies by identifying and promoting the success factors of REC projects in Europe;
- raising the awareness for the essential framework conditions for initiating, realising and embedding REC;
- increasing the commitment of policymakers and other decision-makers in educational issues by promoting the value of the implementation of REC;
- supporting the development of joint EU research projects related to 'Science and Society' by identifying relevant research questions on REC as a new model of science teaching.

To achieve these objectives four main activities were realised.
- Analysing REC cooperation activities in the eight consortium member countries (Austria, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Switzerland, and the UK) and assembling the found examples in a survey. Based upon this survey a catalogue of good practice examples of research and education cooperation was developed.
- More than 120 participants discussed the concept of quality criteria underlying the good practice examples at the international conference: 'Bridging the gap between research and science education', Vienna, from 12 to 14 March 2008.
- Networking in expert working groups, at workshops and at the International Conference: Networking activities were realised to exchange national experience in science education, to develop a joint strategy for research and education cooperation (REC) in Europe and to build up strong partnerships for future cooperation and research in this area.
- Increasing public awareness for excellence in science education: detailed knowledge on innovative REC activities in Europe was disseminated to encourage the implementation of modern science education.

One essential result of the first part of the project was the report on REC in Europe. The partners of FORM-IT carried out a survey on the situation of REC activities in their countries. The report was the basis for the catalogue of good practice examples, a collection of 31 outstanding RECs. Taking into account the very specific national conditions, the selection was carried out country by country on the basis of a common framework and a shared concept of the quality criteria to be used. The main aim was to illustrate the various issues, teaching methods and types of partnerships that were found within the survey.

The report on REC in Europe consisted of three parts.
- Part A: Report on REC in Europe (general report summarising the national survey reports and drawing first conclusions with respect to success factors, recommendations, and quality criteria. Author Universität Zürich - Institut für Gymnasial- und Berufspädagogik).
- Part B: National survey reports (from the eight Member States represented in the FORM-IT consortium. Editor Universität Zürich - Institut für Gymnasial- und Berufspädagogik)
- Part C: Questionnaires (used for the survey, in five languages. Editor Universität Zürich - Institut für Gymnasial- und Berufspädagogik).

The catalogue of good practice examples of REC activities represents the variety of possibilities that REC can offer: from short but replicable examples to long-term collaborations, from examples limited to a small number of schools to large networks, from examples that need strong support and funding to very low cost examples. A large variety of ages, types of school, types of partners, school subjects, thematic orientation and educational methods are assembled within the catalogue of good practice examples of REC activities. The 31 examples collected in the consortium Member States and based on the survey are documented in detail, including photos and statements of participants of the collaborations.

The catalogue functions as a promotion tool increasing visibility and accessibility of REC in EU Member and non-Member States, and as a reflective tool for a deeper understanding of the possibilities given by these kind of innovative didactic model.

The practical guidelines are addressed to teachers / schools and researchers / universities and aim to support them in starting and maintaining successful REC activities. Based on the discussions of the national surveys, the framework 'Evaluation of research and education cooperation (REC): Evaluation areas, project phases and criteria' and the good practice examples within the FORM-IT consortium a set of guidelines was compiled in order to support interested research and educational partners in setting up cooperation as well as improving existing cooperation.

The practical guidelines include references to the national initiatives of countries participating in the FORM-IT project and to outputs of the project - the 'Report on REC in Europe' and the 'Catalogue of good practice examples'.

All project activities resulted in the formulation of practical guidelines for teachers and researchers for initiating, realising and embedding REC. A joint paper on recommendations for policymakers was addressed to national and European decision-makers within the educational system and the research community to support the realisation of this cooperation. More information on the project work and results are available on the project website, found at http://www.form-it.eu online.

The model of REC is potentially an ideal interface between research and education. It allows a direct contact between researchers and pupils as well as between researchers and teachers. Pupils experience science in context and get an authentic picture of scientists and scientific work. While researchers receive an insight into the reality of the school and learn how to pass on their knowledge to society, teachers can establish their expertise as mediators between the scientific world and the pupils' world and enhance their knowledge of up-to-date research and innovative teaching methods.

REC projects should be supported robustly and systematically as an integrated part of how European educational systems connect with science in future. In the view of the FORM-IT consortium, the aim should be that pupils of all ages and backgrounds, girls and boys, should be able to repeatedly experience REC during their school education.

FORM-IT demonstrated that REC is an emerging and dynamic form of education that can significantly contribute to increasing the interest of young people in science. Both, the framework in which these cooperation activities are placed in and the relations within them, are essential factors in this new didactic concept that helps the educational system to close the gap between science and education.