ERASMUS+ PROJECTERASMUS+ PROJECTLET THE SCIENCE DISCOVER USLET THE SCIENCE DISCOVER US

TEACHER TRAINING MEETING TEACHER TRAINING MEETING

AT PARTNER SCHOOL AT PARTNER SCHOOL

ISIS VALDARNOISIS VALDARNO

SAN GIOVANNI VALDARNO ITALYSAN GIOVANNI VALDARNO ITALY

MARCH 05 2017 - MARCH 11 2017MARCH 05 2017 - MARCH 11 2017

Multilateral Partnership ProjectMultilateral Partnership Project“Let The Science Discover Us”

Five schools from five different countries meeting and working togetherFive schools from five different countries meeting and working together

Istituto Tecnico Commerciale Statale "F. Severi"C/o ISIS Valdarno

San Giovanni Valdarno Tuscany

ItalyOfficial school website

LEARNING AND TRAINING EVENTS FOR TEACHERS

● Visit to the three schools making up ISIS Valdarno in Visit to the three schools making up ISIS Valdarno in S. Giovanni Valdarno, to the town and area of S. Giovanni Valdarno, to the town and area of Valdarno, Chianti and TuscanyValdarno, Chianti and Tuscany

● Visit to geotechnology science university faculty in S. Visit to geotechnology science university faculty in S. Giovanni and to the main science museum of Giovanni and to the main science museum of Florence universityFlorence university

● 3 days of meetings, team work and presentations at 3 days of meetings, team work and presentations at ITE Severi school about Pisa 2012 results and about ITE Severi school about Pisa 2012 results and about innovative teaching methods on sciencesinnovative teaching methods on sciences

Day 1 arrivals

● On day 1 the four groups of teachers arrived in Florence, at the Hotel Universo, just a few hundred metres from Florence's main train station, Firenze Santa Maria Novella and opposite the Cathedral by the same name. Its position was chosen as it's strategical in reaching the main destinations in Tuscany that we added to the program. Art, History and Science are indistinguishable in Tuscany, the homeland of Leonardo and Galileo.

4 groups 2 different travelling modes

While the Czech and the Hungarian group found more convenient to travel by van from their towns and around Tuscany, our partners from Barcellona and Hatay came by plane and travelled by train or were kindly hosted on the partners' van whenever possible

Day 2 visit to the town and school

The schools

ISIS Valdarno is an institution composed of three different schools. The system imposes to the schools that have less than 500 students to merge in order to share basic services for reasons of spending reductions.

So San Giovanni Valdarno is home to three secondary education institutions called ITE Severi (business and administration school), IPSIA G. Marconi and ITIS Ferraris.

Day 2 visit to vocational school IPSIA Marconi

The schools have so many laboratories in all three with equipment of all types. The partner groups visited ITE Severi first, where the teachers and students taking part in the project are based and then they were led through the mechanics, electronics and tailorship laboratories at IPSIA Marconi and then visited the chemistry, robotics and electronics laboratories at ITIS Ferraris, many times competition winners in the field of advanced technologies. There they could admire little robots being programmed by students, 3d printers, earthquake detector and a solar panel that follows the sun. All designed and built by students.

● At ITIS Ferraris they were received by our headmaster, Mr. Lorenzo Pierazzi who led them through the facilities and introduced his team of collaborators. Six teachers help him in the difficult task of managing ISIS Valdarno, two collaborators for each school

Day 2 visit to ITIS Ferraris

Technical training an teaching

ITT Ferraris is one of the many secondary schools that form and train technicians for various industries. The facility is rich in equipment such as Electronics, ICT, Chemistry, Mechanics laboratories.

The school was eager to show our group its resources and assets as well as its teaching methods, mainly belonging to the learning by doing approach.

Hi Tech

Some of the most recent developments of technology were on display, like a 3d printer, an interactive alcohol tester with mobile phone connection a seismometer, a solar panel with sun follower etc.

High technology on display

The 3 D printer designed and built at ITIS Ferraris.

Mr. Pierazzi entertaining our guests

The 3 D printer designed and built at ITIS Ferraris.

Mr. Pierazzi entertaining our guests

Chemistry and technology laboratories

● The laboratories we can use are very large and well light. The equipment is judged as sufficient for the experiments that are made. We can't say they are not used by the teachers. The school can boast dedicated technicians that take care of them.

● The youth are our future and we must prepare them for their future, that is “terra incognita” to us. We don't know what the future may bring to the next generations and yet we do our best in planning our teaching. Our school system allows institutions a certain degree of autonomy in planning. So our school has implemented courses in robotics, personal care and in other professions that can be very useful to society.

Robotics

● In our robotics class the student were working on the programming of small robots that perform different actions according to the indications inserted in their software. A demonstration on how they work was given to the groups. The robots come in kits and are assembled by the students themselves.

Day 2 experiments at school

On our second day of activities we performed On our second day of activities we performed some practical lesson demonstration with some practical lesson demonstration with various experiments. The setting for this various experiments. The setting for this activity was our laboratory at ITE Severi.activity was our laboratory at ITE Severi.

A golden occasion for learning

● Our partners were showed some examples of how we perform our teaching activities. They sure looked very interested and attentive. It's always interesting to see others do the same things we do every day and to be able to compare, exchange and share experiences and knowledge

Interviewed by the local press

Our project attracted the interest of theOur project attracted the interest of theLocal media that came to interview theLocal media that came to interview the

Participants. Our interview was recordedParticipants. Our interview was recordedAnd broadcast by a couple of local TVAnd broadcast by a couple of local TVArticles also were written on variousArticles also were written on various

Blogs.Blogs.

Day 2, afternoon visit to the geotechnology centre of Siena

University in S. Giovanni Valdarno

Welcome by the Mayor, Mr. Vigilardi

● The Mayor of San Giovanni welcomed the groups with a speech in English at the Geo-technology centre.

Presentation of the centre

A state-of-the-art centre

● The researchers at the University centre for Geo-technology were welcoming in illustrating their work and the latest developments of geology and geomatics. A drone for probes from the air was also shown to the groups

Researchers illustrating their work

The era of drones

Science and History

● Afte the lunch at a local self service restaurant the groups set of for a visit to the nearby town of Loro Ciuffenna and to Arezzo through a 30 km trip along the famous seven bridge road that in ancient times was part of the Roman Cassia road

Day 3Visit to

Science and History

● Afte the lunch at a local self service restaurant the groups set of for a visit to the nearby town of Loro Ciuffenna and to Arezzo through a 30km trips along the famous seven bridge road that in ancient times was part of the Cassia Roman road

The Gioconda Background

● The seven bridge road is said to contain some sights that are present in the background of Leonardo da Vinci's Gioconda, namely the barren landscape made of clay and earth excavated by the rain called “Le balze” and the bridge on the river Arno called Ponte a Buriano

The cradle of science

● Florence in the renaissance is one of the main centres of scientific and philosophic investigation in Europe. The museum of La Specola with its collection of specimen from the past represent the progress of science throughout the centuries till the end of the nineteenth century when its role changed from a centre of research to a museum

The astronomic turret

● The astronomic turret in particular contains lots of interesting instruments and documents about the exploration of the sky in the past times and of the slow but inexorable progress of the knowledge of the Universe obtained also thanks to the great scholars that lived and worked in the town of Florence.

Day 3, group presentations

● "The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsi­ble for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.