Detailed description of the National Association for School Support’s project entitled “Schoolteaching sensible energy management”, selected for completion by the National Fund forEnvironmental Protection and Water Management within the “Ecological education 2011” contest.

I. Project completion dates

September 1, 2011 - August 31, 2013

II. The scope of the project

Primary, junior secondary and secondary schools from the 16 Polish provinces.

III. The recipients of the project

1. The target group for the project, which shall participate in conferences, trainings, seminars and

workshops are the teachers of Environment, Biology, Geography, Chemistry and Environmental

Protection, working in primary, junior secondary and secondary schools. They teach children and

youth the basics of school ecological education. We aim at enriching their knowledge and capabilities

concerning creative and modern completion of curriculum minimum and pro-ecological education,

which means efficient use of curriculum to shape fixed attitudes and behaviour in children and young

people.

2. We assume that the final recipient of all our actions prepared within the Projects are the students

taught by the teachers who participate in the Project.

3. An important recipient of our actions are also users of edueko.pl website, where we publish

materials facilitating teachers in preparing innovative classes concerning sensible energy management.

IV. Main targets of the project.

1. The main target of the project is to prepare teachers participating in the projects for more efficient

shaping of habits referring to sensible energy management in children after the training. Presenting

how others do it abroad (in Denmark, Germany or Norway) and in leading Polish education and

upbringing entities shall enrich their knowledge and capabilities referring to implementation of good

examples in school practice.

2. The target facilitating the completion of the main target is to enable teachers participating in the

project to share experience and didactic material via edueko.pl. That way we will support professional

education of teachers in new areas of education, very important for the future of Polish economy.

3. Participation in the training and workshops will be a basis for 1600 teachers to receive certificates

confirming their new qualifications and knowledge, to make innovative classes and to learn innovative

ways of working with children and youth.

4. Another important target is to substantially help interested school in fulfilling requirements for

applying certain certificates.

5. What is also important, is to strengthen the position of Polish schools in making young people

living and working in the reality construed by the European Union ecologically aware. Inspiring

international exchange of teachers and student within frames of EU programs referring to sensible

energy management. Promoting and encouraging teachers and students to make substantial contacts in

that matter. Contributing to creating associations of schools promoting good examples and role models

of pro-ecological education.

6. Promoting a set of workshops “School with energy” in local environments through the website and

media sponsors as well as in press conferences promoting the results of the projects. That way we

would like to inspire also other teachers, not participating in the project, for innovative actions.

7. Developing a long-term concept of programming and organizational actions entitled “SCHOOL

WITH ENERGY” by the National Association for School Support. This concept shall be an important

element of the National Association for School Support’s activity after 2013. Such actions will enable

promotion of teaching how to consume energy sensibly and how to gain new partners for actions

to be completed after completion of the “School teaching sensible energy management” project in

educational environment, on the basis of results and achievements of the project. These actions will

also constitute a plane for making more contacts and widening of cooperation between schools and

energetic industry.

V. Social and environmental reasons for the project

1. Improving the level of ecological awareness and shaping ecological attitude by teaching young

people how to manage energy sensibly is the best and long-term investment, which may provide the

highest “return rate” from the funds used to cover the investment. Therefore we assume that training

and improving qualifications of teachers who teach the basics of ecology is an indispensable condition

of any important and lasting step to be made in that matter.

2. Children and youth attending schools now will be the virtual energy consumers in the future. It

is them in the first place who shall be taught why and how to use opportunities of sensible energy

management.

3. Such students should be taught by teachers prepared better to perform that task, teachers who

will also come up with an efficient way of shaping attitude and behaviours, since sensible energy

management is a continuous action involving every aspect of their lives and also jobs in the future.

Old Polish saying states, as you know, that “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks”. And the dog

refers in reality to the young people learning at school. Therefore both the teachers and Polish schools

must improve their preparation for educating and upbringing such young “dogs”.

4. Polish primary, junior secondary and secondary schools provide teaching Environment, Biology,

Geography, Chemistry and Environmental Protection by over 50 thousand of teachers. These teachers

shall also assume responsibility to teaching and presenting how to manage energy more sensibly. They

should skillfully show their students the economic effects of rationalization of actions and behaviours

for family, school or national budgets and how important are the results of our everyday habits for

the environment and energetic independence and safety of our country. We just need to help these

teachers and schools to prepare for the task better.

5. Thousands of Polish teachers gain new qualifications and capabilities every year. Teachers must

improve their professional skills, that is one of their professional duties. Active participation in the

project we may facilitate 1600 teachers gaining such new qualifications. They will become initiators

of innovative solutions and forms of working with their students in their schools. They will be “living

proof” that you can work differently, and it’s worth it!!

VI. Most important actions prepared for completion within the project

1. Within the project we will perform trainings and workshops for teachers and create a website:

edueko.pl which shall enhance the performance of these trainings and workshops. We will focus

mainly on the following:

a/ training activity on the national and local/provincial level,

b/ preparing educational and didactic publications supporting the trainings,

c/ promotional and informational activity inside and outside the educational environment, which shall

promote targets and results of our tasks,

d/ reviewing the practical utility of programs and scenarios developed for school practice by gathering

feedback in that matter,

e/ promoting technical solutions which shall be introduced in school to authenticate its actions for

sensible energy management and in order to apply for receiving certain certificates.

2. To accomplish the targets and results assumed in the Project we will complete the following tasks:

a/ National Methodological and Programming Conference focusing on the “Ways of improving school

efficacy and efficiency in shaping attitudes for sensible energy management – national and European

perspective and experience” in January 2012.

b/ 32nd workshop entitled “School with energy – how to teach sensible energy management more

efficiently” for 1600 teachers: in May-June 2012.

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c/ 16 provincial conferences summarizing and promoting the workshop “School with energy…” for

1280 participants; March/April 2013.

d/ National conference summarizing the results of the Project entitled “School teaching..” in May 2013

e/ we will create a team of lecturers and coaches and prepare them to conduct workshop classes for

teachers in accordance with the requirements of the Project;

f/ we will publish a set of programming and didactic materials as well as promotional and

informational materials made of 3 items, each in 2000 issues; in February 2012.

g/ we will create a website edueko.pl open for everyone who is interested in the Project main topic; in

November 2011.

3. We assume that the participants of workshop classes, 1600 teachers (including 800 teachers of

primary schools and 800 teachers of junior secondary and secondary schools) will conduct innovative

classes in the 1st semester of the school year 2012-2013 using the skills and knowledge gained during

the workshop. We plan, that such classes will be attended by ca. 160 000 of student.

VII Substantial results of the project.

1. The durability of the project prepared by us will be confirmed in the methodological and didactic

area in the form of new qualifications gained by 1600 teachers of Environment, Biology, Geography,

Chemistry and Environmental Protection participating in that project.

2. Material results confirming the project’s utility will be:

a/ the operation of edueko.pl surviving also after the completion of the Project

b/ creating a library of scenarios for classes and putting it on the edueko.pl website, what will make it

available for everyone who is interested as long as the website exists,

c/preparing additional materials for classes and making them available on edueko.pl, what will make

them available for all teachers and students interested during and after the Project,

d/ preparing and publishing (2000 issues) of the following publications:

-Information brochure for the participants of the training,

-Methodological and didactic handbook “School with energy”

-Informational leaflet concerning the Project.

3. The organizational confirmation of the project’s efficacy will be completing a new didactic and

educational program “School with energy” by the National Association for School Support starting

in 2013 after the completion of workshops within the Projects “School teaching sensible energy

management”. The aim of the new project will be to involve as many schools as possible in actions

related to sensible energy management and bringing new programming and educational initiatives

shaping attitudes of students in that matter.

4. Skills and experience gained by 1600 teachers participating in workshops within the project shall

enable them to work with young people and shape their attitude more effectively. Assuming that each

teacher works with 4 classes during one school year in average, and that each class has averagely

25 students in it, then through the teachers participating in the project we can reach at least 160000

students during one school year.

5. The attitudes and behavior of these students shaped by the teachers participating in the

Project will stand for the best evidence and test for the “School teaching sensible energy

management” Project’s durability.

The National Association for School Support

Warsaw, October 2011