Aim

On completion of this activity, children will be able:

• To reflect on the best school environment they need to learn and develop
• To think critically and use their problem-solving skills
• To use appropriate ICT tools in order to achieve a goal
• To understand what is needed for all children, without distinction and discrimination, in any school environment

Source of the activity

Contributed by Cornelia Melcu (Free-to-speak-safe-to-learn)

Competences targeted by the activity

• Valuing human dignity and human rights
• Autonomous learning skills
• Analytical and critical thinking skills
• Co-operation skills
• Openness to cultural otherness and to other beliefs, world views and practices

Overview

Materials

• An online photo gallery of the children’s school and classrooms, provided¹³
• Web tools for collecting children’s answers¹⁴
• A web tool for choosing a few participants to present their notes¹⁵
• ICT tools for creating comix¹⁶
• An online wall¹⁷

Step-by-step instructions

• In preparation for the activity, ask the children to collect some photos of their school and the classrooms in it. The teacher may also contribute some photos to the gallery.
• To start the activity, the children watch the gallery, and write down:
  • three things they like about their school environment;
  • two things they might change;
  • one thing they don’t like about their school environment.
• Stimulate a brief discussion about what the children have seen and written. Some questions that could be used are:
  • Is your school friendly?
  • Do you like the way the classes are organised, most of the time, in your school?
  • Are the lessons varied and engaging?
  • Do you learn something new every day in your classes?
  • If you were a teacher, what would you do to make your children more motivated to study?

  Summarise the ideas that emerge.

• Ask the children to draw or to create a comic or cartoon in which they present their ideal school. Display the products either on a common online wall or put them together to create a brochure or magazine.
• Ask the children to consider the presentations that other members of their class have made, and to evaluate how practical or realistic they are.
• Summarise the children’s ideas about how important it is to learn in a safe and pleasant environment.

Debriefing and Evaluation

• Ask the children to comment on and discuss the learning process and the results that they have achieved. In addition, ask them to reflect on what they have learned as a result of the activity.
• Hold a debriefing session by asking some of the following questions:
  • What kind of experience was it for you to imagine your ideal school?
  • Has anything changed in your thinking after hearing about your friends’ ideas concerning their ideal school?
  • Did you learn anything about yourself?
  • Do you think your school is going to change, and if so, how?