The IRRESISTIBLE team from Israel had the honor to participate in the closing exhibition of the IRRESISTIBLE Project in Kiel. Our team included the four of us, Israeli high school chemistry teachers, along with two science educators from the Weizmann Institute of Science (Figure 1).
We brought with us an exhibition composed of various exhibitions built by Israeli high school chemistry students and teachers on the subject of the RRI module we developed in Israel. The guiding question of the exhibition was "To what extent would you agree to have perovskite-based solar cells on the windows of your school?" Through games, posters and short videos we presented the relevant scientific knowledge and invited the exhibition visitors to consider the different RRI dimensions, in order to make their decisions.
Figure 1: The Israeli Team with the exhibition, in Kiel University, Germany
Our encounter with the other participating groups was fruitful and enriching. Having the opportunity to meet other project teachers from other countries and to learn how they coped with similar challenges was an extraordinary experience.
During the development of our module, we found that integrating RRI into it was our biggest challenge. If we had to point out the most impressive aspect of the IRRESISTIBLE exhibition in Kiel, it was, without doubt, the rich and creative ways in which RRI was integrated into the other modules. For example, the teams from Portugal and Turkey integrated RRI into their modules by using a variety of colorful games that invited the public to experiment with issues involving thinking in terms of the RRI. These games, developed by the students in both countries, presented a structured and experiential method of teaching the complexities of RRI. We learned from their work, and there is no doubt that we adopt it in the future with our own students in Israel.
The hexagonal table presented by the Greek team was impressive and intriguing. Through explanations and an invitation to make decisions, the talented students led us gradually from general information through questions to specific examples, and thus suggested another creative and interesting way to teach RRI.
Figure 2: Ron Blonder from Weizmann Institute of Science with the hexagonal table
presented by the Greek team.
The exhibits from the Netherlands, Germany and Finland used display cases from Ikea , which provided an impressive way to invite visitors to observe and learn. Unfortunately, we were limited in our understanding of these exhibits, since most of the information presented was in the original language.
The final session of the IRRESISTIBLE Project created for us, four teachers from Israel, the opportunity to talk with our chemistry teacher colleagues from various European countries. Our conversations with them focused on different approaches to similar challenges. For example, in Germany, many parents and teachers are opposed to 12 years of schooling, and prefer instead spreading the same studies over 13 years. This approach would allow students to enjoy afterschool activities. Also, we discussed the advantages and disadvantages of different school curricula and how these curricula might be best adapted to the current era.