eTwinning Project: Shaking Education – Earthquakes in Europe

Germany:

Corresponding Teachers:  Alexander Bertsch, Katrin Woesner

School Home Page: https://sickingengymnasium.de/

Iceland:

Corresponding Teachers: Hallur Hróarsson, Ólafur Jósefsson,

School Home Page:  https://grunnskoli.hveragerdi.is/

About the project

We are setting up an e-twinning project with Year 8 students, looking at the science and the cultural understanding of one of the most obvious and most intensely studied forms of geological hazard. With our partner schools we shall look at evidence of past earthquakes, present day earthquakes and hazards and what we are able to tell of the future. This project will work across a number of subjects including Computer Science, Geology, Science and Languages.

Sharing each country’s experiences about earthquakes – using evidence of earthquakes that have occurred in the past. Present day earthquake hazards and the future and prediction of earthquake hazards.

Aims

Development of skills in the following areas:

• Communications
• IT / Informatics
• Development of Scientific Literacy
• Languages
• Teamwork

Work process

STEP 1: Introduce students + form teams (students from both schools are in each team) - August – October (September 21st – October 26th)

“icebreaker” activities, emails/ letters, video conference

AUTUMN BREAK

STEP 2: Introduction to plate tectonics/ continental drift - October – December (November 2nd – December 18th) groups become “experts” on different aspects, e.g.

Group A: Convergent plate boundaries

Group B: Divergent plate boundaries

Group C: Transform plate boundaries

Students in both countries work independently on their assigned task. Thus, the “experts” can test and deepen their knowledge.

The groups present their topics to their classmates (in their own country) and share their knowledge.

CHRISTMAS BREAK

STEP 3: Transferring our knowledge about plate tectonics onto the situation in our own areas - January – March (January 4th – March 26th)

STEP 4: We develop a webpage together

April – July (April 19th – July

Expected results

We wish to develop a project webpage about each country's experience of earthquakes and their impact on culture and science. These will be in English. We also wish to provide an exchange space where students can communicate about geohazards with a number of different countries.