The BLOOM School Box
The BLOOM School Box is a collection of bioeconomy related teaching resources which educators can use to introduce the concept of bioeconomy in their classrooms as a trigger to raise student interest in science subjects and their awareness of important societal challenges. The basis of the BLOOM School Box are five innovative learning scenarios, created and tested in classrooms by the 20 BLOOM expert teachers from Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Greece, Italy, Israel, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden. These Future Classroom Scenarios were developed using the Future Classroom Toolkit methodology (http://fcl.eun.org/toolkit). Six additional bioeconomy teaching resources were selected to be included in the BLOOM School Box following the BLOOM “Teach bioeconomy!” competition
Bloom your school with your biofuel and soap lab
Link to the resource (en): Click here
View this in: pl- es- sv- nl- fi- de
Teachers: Sweden & Greece
Subjects covered: Science, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Technology and Arts
Age of students: 13 - 16 years old
This learning scenarios aims at an overarching understanding of bioeconomy by connecting everyday life examples to the topic at hand, then developing further into an entire project. First, learners create a poster on bio-based products they found in the market. Then, they are involved in experimental laboratory work. Students conduct three experiments, collect data and make conclusions according to the instructions given in three worksheets:
• 1st Experiment: Making your Biodiesel
• 2nd Experiment: Testing your Biodiesel
• 3rd Experiment: Making your Soap
Finally, students produce a 1-minute-long creative advertisement.
Examining the thermal properties of bio-based building materials
Link to the resource (en): Click here
View this in: pl- es- sv- nl- fi- de
Teachers: Poland & Austria
Subjects covered: Physics (standard and higher level), Mathematics, Chemistry, Biology
Age of students: 16 – 19 years old
This learning scenario connects bioeconomy to temperature and heat flow.The learning scenario is divided into three lessons. The first lesson, Knowledge Café, aims to provide a definition on bio-economy. The second lesson, Experimental Laboratory, aims to introduce students to thermal insulation. Students will undertake experiments to investigate the thermal insulation of bio-based and non-bio-based building materials. The third lesson, Mathematical Analysis in PC-Lab aims to teach students how to conduct empirical analysis using suitable mathematical techniques.
Building a new environmental Future
Link to the resource (en): Click here
View this in: pl- es- sv- nl- fi- de
Teachers: Portugal & Israel
Subjects covered: Biology, Chemistry, Biochemistry, Geology, Natural Science
Age of students: Adaptable for different levels and ages, primary and secondary.
• For younger students (13 -15 years old)
• For older students (15 -17 years old)
This learning scenario is divided into three parts. The first part introduces bioeconomy. After watching a short clip about bioeconomy, students receive different objects that they have to categorize according to them being bio-based or non-bio-based. The second part involves finding ways to use different energy sources with minimal waste. For older students, this part can also include a visit to a local industry. The third part for younger students involves planning an exhibition or science fair; for older students: planning a science project, together with local stakeholders.
Growing plastic and new life for plastic
Link to the resource (en): Click here
View this in: pl- es- sv- nl- fi- de
Teachers: Belgium & Italy
Subjects covered: Biology, Technology, Engineering, Environmental Education, Chemistry, Statistics
Age of students: 11-18 years old
This learning scenario tackles the issue of plastic pollution and aims to familiarize students with bioplastic. First, students analyse pictures about plastic pollution. The teacher follows up with a discussion. Then, the class identifies a solution: biopolymers. Students investigate bioplastics and their properties. Students work in the lab: during this activity, students make plastic from potato starch and other foods. Then, students investigate the effect that adding a ‘plasticiser’ has on the properties of the polymer that they make. Finally, the class creates a 3D model, using a 3D printer.
How poop will change the world
Link to the resource (en): Click here
View this in: pl- es- sv- nl- fi- de
Teachers: Croatia & Spain
Subjects covered: Physics, Chemistry and Biology
Age of students: 13-15 years old or 10-12 years old.
This learning scenario aims to engage younger students in the topic energy and ways we can produce energy. First, this lesson starts with a discussion about energy and about the production of energy in the future (including human waste and animal waste). Secondly, students listen to a lecture about bioeconomy. Then, they engage in an exercise: the creation of a brochure about fossil fuels, biomass and renewable energy sources. Then, they present their findings and their brochures. Finally, there is a quiz about energy and bioeconomy.
Don’t waste your waste! - Raising Bioeconomy awareness
Link to the resource (en): Click here
Subjects covered: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
Age of students: 12 - 16 years old.
This learning scenario received the first prize in the BLOOM ‘Teach bioeconomy” competition organised in 2019. Through videos, games, and discussion, students explore the concept of bioeconomy, produce and test bio-products, discover careers in the field and become the ones raising awareness about bioeconomy.
Yeast, biofuels and novel biotechnology techniques’
Link to the resource (en): Click here
Subjects covered: Science, Biology, Chemistry
Age of students: 16 – 18 years old.
This learning scenario received the second prize in the BLOOM ‘Teach bioeconomy” competition organised in 2019. Using discussion methods, lab experiments, data analyses, it gives students an introduction to bio-based product and their use for energy production.
Let's talk about bioenergy and our lives!
Link to the resource (en): Click here
Subjects covered: Physics, Technology, Engineering, Environmental Education, Chemistry, Statistics
Age of students: 11 -15 years old
This learning scenario received third prize in the BLOOM ‘Teach bioeconomy” competition organised in 2019. It introduces students to the general concept of bioeconomy and bioenergy. Students research the impact of fossil fuels and bioenergy and how their daily decisions about energy will affect their quality of life, personally and globally.
The benefits of composting – How we can produce organic fertilizer in our school garden
Link to the resource (en): Click here
Subjects covered: Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics and Bioeconomy
Age of students: 15-18 years old.
This learning scenario is one of the finalists of the BLOOM ‘Teach bioeconomy” competition organised in 2019. After an introduction about bioeconomy and its purpose, students learn about biomass and biomass-based products. Then, they compare chemical and organic fertilizers and discuss both positive and negative effects. Students also create their own composting with the school’s organic waste.
Biofuel production from fruit waste
Link to the resource (en): Click here
Subjects covered: Science, Biology, Chemistry, Physics
Age of students: 12-16 years old
This learning scenario is one of the finalists of the BLOOM ‘Teach bioeconomy” competition organised in 2019. Using different teaching methods such as digital classroom, collaborative, visual and search learning, students discover the basic concepts of bio-based fuels and fruit waste, conduct experiments in a laboratory environment, and continue to learn outside school.
Back to the Future
Link to the resource (en): Click here
Subjects covered: Biology, Environmental Science, Chemistry, Physics
Age of students: 14-17 years old
This learning scenario is one of the finalists of the BLOOM ‘Teach bioeconomy” competition organised in 2019. The learning scenario introduces bioeconomy to students and gives them the opportunity to think about what they can do in the future.
UNplasticize
Link to the resource (en): Click here
Subjects covered: Chemistry, Environmental Education
Age of students: 15-16 years old
This story of implementation is one of the winners of the ‘BLOOM Stories’ competition organised in 2020. The aim of the activity is to make students aware of the amount of (micro) plastics present in essential goods of common use. Thus, the students investigated the microplastics present in personal hygiene products, in their clothes, in the washing waters of their clothes and in the waters of the beach. They also assessed the amount of waste they produce at home, as well as the main waste from local industries. Finally, students were invited to present solutions to minimize the impact of waste and plastic on the environment.
Bioeconomy for a Sustainable Future
Link to the resource (en): Click here
Subjects covered: Science, Art, Environmental Awareness
Age of students: 9-12 years old
This story of implementation is one of the winners of the ‘BLOOM Stories’ competition organised in 2020. Through active participation, students discover about the concept of bioeconomy and contribute to bioeconomy by transforming the organic wastes they have created in their homes into new products that can be used in their daily lives.
Stay home and learn bioeconomy
Link to the resource (en): Click here
Subjects covered: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
Age of students: 12-14 years old
This story of implementation is one of the finalists of the ‘BLOOM Stories’ competition organised in 2020. Implemented with online tools, the aim of this project was for students to learn about bioeconomy and how organic waste can be used to create new products and learn about different career opportunities in bioeconomy.
My Kitchen Without Food Waste
Link to the resource (en): Click here
Subjects covered: STEM, Art, Sustainable Development Goals
Age of students: 10-11 years old
This story of implementation is one of the finalists of the ‘BLOOM Stories’ competition organised in 2020. Through activities in the kitchen, and following SDGs learning, students learn how to be responsible for the environment to reduce household food waste. The activities they carried out in their homes are preparing meals from surplus foods, preparing meals without creating waste, or showing how they and their householders reduce food waste in their homes.
Bioeconomics and Fruit
Link to the resource (en): Click here
Subjects covered: Science, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, Computer Science.
Age of students: 12-13 years old
This story of implementation is one of the finalists of the ‘BLOOM Stories’ competition organised in 2020. This project aims to prepare students for future realities by organizing an event where students learn about bioeconomy, basic concepts of biofuels, fertilizers, and fruit wastes. The lessons also help them understand the development directions of the future world economy.
Copernico in Bloom
Link to the resource (en): Click here
Subjects covered: Science, Mathematics, English
Age of students: 14-15 years old
This story of implementation is one of the finalists of the ‘BLOOM Stories’ competition organised in 2020. The aims of this lesson is to promote awareness of environmental issues and develop more sustainable and eco-sensitive attitudes and behaviours, both as educators and learners.
Why bioenergy?
Link to the resource (en): Click here
Subjects covered: Physics, Technology, Environmental Education
Age of students: 12-13 years old
This story of implementation is one of the finalists of the ‘BLOOM Stories’ competition organised in 2020. This online GoLab ILS (Inquiry Learning Space) lesson teaches students about different energy forms and bioenergy and involves them by letting them create a informative poster for their peers.
Sustainable development
Link to the resource (en): Click here
Subjects covered: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
Age of students: 14 years old
This story of implementation is one of the finalists of the ‘BLOOM Stories’ competition organised in 2020. In this lesson, students are introduced to the topic of bioeconomy by exploring three topics: renewable energy, biomass, and fossil fuels.