The FEDORA handbook is a comprehensive and quick guide to the FEDORA project’s findings, insights, and recommendations for science educators, policymakers, and anyone interested in science education as a driver for sustainable futures. It presents a range of perspectives through our studies, recommendations, and frameworks, inviting you to apply them in various educational contexts. They are conceived as conceptual tools that can help educators imagine and design future-oriented, engaging, relevant, and meaningful science learning experiences for learners of all ages and backgrounds.

Please, download it here and help us disseminate it!: FEDORA_Handbook

From 7 to 13 September, the third edition of the summer school ONSCI (Officina di Narrazione della SCIenza) on science's storytelling and narratives was held at the Department of Physics and Astronomy of the University of Bologna in collaboration with the European project FEDORA.

On the occasion, the local FEDORA network organized “Workshop 2”, with the objective of expanding and strengthening FEDORA’s open schooling network, by involving, above all, teachers and educators, but also doctoral and master students.

In the workshop, three interdisciplinary activities guided the participants into reflecting on the role of knowledge as a source of competences to orient us in the complexity of the contemporary world and on how it is transmitted in a moment of profound transformation. After an initial shared reflection on FEDORA themes (interdisciplinarity, new languages, and future), participants were involved in educational activities focused on the intertwining between the languages of science and arts. Specifically, the participants could choose between three kinds of activities that were based on materials and approaches elaborated by teachers of the high school "Liceo Einstein" in Rimini (Sara Moresco, Paola Fantini, Maurizio Giuseppucci). In particular, the activities proposed were KAIROS and AI Atelier, previously tested by the teachers in the school context, and Mocku for change originally designed by Emma D'Orto for her master thesis work and implemented as part of an extracurricular course. All three involved high school students in their final years.

Kairos is a module designed by Sara Moresco and Paola Fantini of the Liceo “A. Einstein”, in collaboration with the group of Physics Education, represented by Francesco De Zuani Cassina, Veronica Ilari, and Olivia Levrini. The module was developed to reflect on the concept of time and its different nuances. The activity was designed to explore the many visions of time from the perspective of physics (circular time, Newtonian absolute time, linear time) and the perspective of Greek literature (aiòn, kairòs, eniautòs, chrònos). In particular, the kinds of time emerging from physics were addressed with the Greek literature perspectives of time, within a creative writing workshop. The participants were asked to start from the inspiration of physics times and then to write monologues centered around one of the Greek times; the writing process was mentored by a creative writing expert who introduced some writing techniques. The ambition of this workshop was to educate to different visions of time starting from the physics discipline since time and its features seem fundamental pillars of the post-modern society; furthermore, the role of creative writing was to enlarge the possible languages to be used when describing scientific concepts.

The AI Atelier is a module designed by Maurizio Giuseppucci of the Liceo “A. Einstein”, together with Michela Clementi, Fabio Filippi, and Paola Fantini of the same Liceo and in collaboration with the group of STEM Education, represented by Laura Branchetti, Micheal Lodi, Eleonora Barelli, Andrea Zanellati. The module was developed to reflect on the relationship between art, creativity, and artificial intelligence (AI) in the era of generative AI. The activity was designed to explore some open questions that marked the history of computers such as “Can machines think?”, “Can artificial intelligence be creative?” and “What are the differences between humans and artificial creativity?” through the reflection on the languages of contemporary art and the potential of Open A.I. platforms like chatGPT, midjourney, and DallE. During the activity, participants, after being introduced to some examples of contemporary arts, were guided to realize final artworks with the help of the Open AI platforms paving the way to reflections on the relationship between AI and ars as well as new possible and more sustainable relationships between humans and technology.

The Mocku for Change activity was designed by Emma D’Orto, together with Giulia Tasquier, of the research group in Physics Education and was developed to explore the use of the film-making genre known as “mockumentary” to address the topic of Climate Change. Mockumentaries are fictional stories that appropriate the aesthetics of the documentary genre, using their same codes and conventions. The genre was used to help students build “fictional yet realistic” Climate Change scenarios by reflecting upon the different forms of uncertainties that we need to address both from a scientific and an artistic/narrative point of view when we imagine our future. Participants were guided to explore the concept of uncertainty by analysing the differences between fiction and non-fiction, which meant reflecting both upon “scenario” as a projection of today’s scientific knowledge on Climate Change based on Climate models and “ scenario” as paths into the future guided by imagination and specific desirable goals.

Last week, the European Science Education Research Association, ESERA, Conference brought together researchers, educators, education professionals and policymakers from across the world; more than 100 nationalities were represented and shared the latest advancements in science education.

Among the standout contributors was our EU Project FEDORA, which counted with the attendance of 12 dedicated partners. FEDORA not only participated actively but also presented research results organised a symposium, several presentations and a workshop centred on the future of science education in schools.

With the room full of participants, both the workshop and the symposium sparked questions and conversations among the attendees.  You can access all presentations here:

Workshop: PreConference Workshop - ESERA conference

Symposium: "Future-Oriented Science Education to Regenerate School Systems for the Society of Acceleration and Uncertainty":

Presentation about Interdisciplinarity: 1_WP1_Interdisciplinarity_Pucetaite_Jovarauskiene

Presentation about New Languages:  2_WP2-New Languages - Conti_Troncoso

Presentation about Futures' Thinking: 3_WP3_Future thinking_Laherto

Presentation about Delphi Study: 4_WP5_Delphi study_Chan

"Time is out of joint": Reimagining time-rituals in science teaching and learning: Levrini_Panel_Time in post-pandemic, ESERA 2023_v5

Epistemological implications of different methodological approaches in textual data analysis: Caramaschi_Zanellati_Levrini_oral_presentationESERA23

Educational reconstruction to promote (physics epistemic) identity: De Zuani_SIG5 symposium

The Quantum Atelier project: Results from an interdisciplinarity experience between art and science:Satanassi_Quantum Atelier

The ESERA Conference has long been recognized as a premier platform for sharing and discussing the latest research and developments in science education. We look forward, in two years, to meeting and sharing new findings in Copenhagen at ESERA 2025!

                                       

 

 

"Lenses for tomorrow", FEDORA's official podcast, is exploring our project main themes by interviewing both our project partners and some external experts. Join us to explore how to develop a future-oriented model for science education, to enable creative thinking, foresight and active hope in formal and informal environments!

In this last episode, together with Alfredo Jornet, Giulia Tasquier and Sibel Erduran we will discuss two topics that are transversal in respect to the main three research strands presented in the previous episodes. Firstly we will discover the concept of open schooling and then we will address the issue of policymakers' involvement in educational research.

Enjoy it!

The FEDORA handbook is a comprehensive and quick guide to the FEDORA project’s findings, insights, and recommendations for science educators, policymakers, and anyone interested in science education as a driver for sustainable futures. It presents a range of perspectives through our studies, recommendations, and frameworks, inviting you to apply them in various educational contexts. They are conceived as conceptual tools that can help educators imagine and design future-oriented, engaging, relevant, and meaningful science learning experiences for learners of all ages and backgrounds.

Please, download it here and help us disseminate it!: FEDORA_Handbook

"Lenses for tomorrow", FEDORA's official podcast, is exploring our project main themes by interviewing both our project partners and some external experts. Join us to explore how to develop a future-oriented model for science education, to enable creative thinking, foresight and active hope in formal and informal environments!

In the fourth episode, together with Jennifer Gidley, Erica Bol and Tapio Rasa we will discuss how a discipline called futures studies could join forces with science education to prepare students for the socio-scientific challenges of tomorrow.

Enjoy it!

With over 50 participants, including educators, researchers, policymakers, and experts in Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI), FEDORA’s project Final Event took place on May 25 and 26 at the Liaison Office of Lithuania in Brussels. 

The event marked the culmination of three years of dedicated research and practice to shake science education and address the existing mismatch in traditional teaching methodologies.

The FEDORA project sought to dismantle the barriers posed by rigid disciplinary education, linear narratives, and the lack of future orientation and agency among students. Through extensive collaboration and innovative approaches, FEDORA aimed to create a more inclusive, forward-thinking, and engaging educational framework.

During the Final Event, the FEDORA project team presented their frameworks, the Future Manifesto, especially applied to the contexts of open schooling. Attendees were provided with a comprehensive overview of the project's main achievements and were introduced to the results of the Delphi study conducted among education policymakers. The study aimed to gather valuable insights and perspectives to guide the development of future-oriented educational policies.

Participants had the opportunity to explore potential pathways and challenges in the field of science education. Additionally, renowned experts in Responsible Research and Innovation were invited to reflect on the FEDORA project's findings and discuss how they could be integrated into ongoing educational discussions, enriching the MORRI indicators.

The name "FEDORA" draws inspiration from Italo Calvino's literary masterpiece, "The Invisible Cities," where Fedora is one of the enchanting cities described within. This evocative name symbolizes the project's ambition to reshape the educational landscape and make science education more visible, accessible, and adaptable to the needs of future generations.

The Final Event of the FEDORA project proved to be a resounding success, showcasing the transformative power of collaborative efforts and innovative thinking. The participants left inspired and equipped with the knowledge and tools to contribute to the advancement of science education.

For more information about the FEDORA project and its outcomes, please explore our website; you will find plenty of resources.

The Liceo Scientifico Einstein is carrying out an interdisciplinary curricular activity about the physics of complex systems and creative writing, co-designed by two secondary teachers and inspired by Fedora’s themes and principles. The activity, named Kairos, shares the "same philosophy" of a previous one, “Physics of clouds”: create a space to make students reflect on themselves and on their identities as members of a complex society.

The founding idea and motif of the activity concerns contemporary society, which has been defined by Rosa the “society of acceleration”, since the speed with which the changes take place at different levels (social, economic, cultural, technological...). People are asked  to reflect on the continuously evolving relationship between themselves and time, and how an accelerated time affects the ways in which individuals build their own experience. This complex intertwining between time, individuals, and society is the protagonist of the activity. Students are guided to explore time and its complex features as physical and anthropological categories. The complex relationship, which comes to life in an interdisciplinary literature-science context, is populated with meaning coming from the physics of complex systems and from the time conceptions of ancient Greeks (Chronos, Aios, Einautos, Kairos). The science of complex systems provides words and concepts such as uncertainty, unexpected, disorder, contradiction, possible scenarios, the interweaving of individual and collective, changes in spatial and temporal scale, and management of "different times", that can scaffold the thinking and help to better grapple with the “time-features” of contemporary society. Also the Greek conceptions of time shed light on these “time-features” but they also open a reflection on an anthropological perspective: as Seneca wrote - “Tempus tantum nostrum est” - namely our domain on time can be conceived as a capacity for qualitative and non-quantitative choice in relation to time. Hence the title of the project, Kairos: alongside the quantitative time of regular flow (Chronos), the eternal time (Aion), and the circular time (Einautos), there is qualitative time (Kairos) that incorporates a tension between present and future, a “hic et nunc” (here and now) that extends over time without losing the value of the present moment.  Kairos embodies the educational purpose of the activity: to know and choose a good time, the ethically appropriate opportunity in a simple flow of individual and social existence together. Students are fostered to reflect and explore the physical and anthropological categories of time and their complexities by writing a collective theatre pièce. The writing is the “place” where the merging of Greek times and science of complexity is realized, with the scaffolding of narrative rules. 

Kairos was born from the collaboration between the professors Sara Moresco (Italian literature teacher) and Paola Fantini (retired math and physics teacher), with the help of professor Nicola Ialeggio (in-service physics teacher), Emma Gabellini (responsible for the school chemistry laboratory), Veronica Ilari (master student involved in the FEDORA project), Francesco De Zuani (PhD student involved in the FEDORA project). The teachers chose to use curricular hours of Italian literature (about 50), since they wanted to create dynamics involving all the students and push for the activity to become structural in the next years, even if this brought huge challenges in fitting the Italian curriculum according to the activity. 

The activity consisted of 4 phases

In the first one prof. Fantini presented in class examples of complex systems, describing their novel features compared to classical systems, and stressing the idea that society itself can be considered a complex system, so can be looked at through the “lenses” scientists use to address complex systems. 

The next phase is composed of two laboratory experiences: i) one within the chemistry laboratory, where Prof. Gabellini showed a chemical oscillatory reaction; ii) one within the physics laboratory where Prof. Ialeggio helped students to reproduce the Bènard cells effect. The aim was to show temporal and spatial structures that were emerging from the microscopic interaction of system agents, a concept discussed previously in class. Some of the ideas at the basis of these two first steps come from the Educational Reconstruction made by Veronica Ilari in collaboration with Francesco De Zuani. 

In the third step prof. Fantini and prof. Moresco displayed to students how to connect the physics concepts encountered with the language of writing; specifically, they chose to exploit the four kinds of “time” that ancient Greeks had (Kairòs, Aiòn, Einautòs, Chrònos) since the features which distinguish them are features which emerge in the discourse about complexity (circularity, determinism, emergence…). These features were addressed while writing by using Pirandello’s conception of comic and humorous. 

Finally, the students were asked to write a theatre pièce made of 5 acts, each of which was assigned to a group of students. In the writing of the piece, students were asked to respect some constraints including dealing with the management of different temporalities. Professor Moresco is mentoring the writing process, editing the scenes, and also involving the whole class in deciding title, settings, characters, and so on. 

Hence, the objective of Kairos was to construct some lenses from the physics of complexity, by which being able to look at a world that is complex, to see how individuals are agents within a society that has circular causal mechanisms and emergent phenomena, develop ways, by the use of writing, to make sense of the complexity around and develop our identity as agents within that.

"Lenses for tomorrow", FEDORA's official podcast, is exploring our project main themes by interviewing both our project partners and some external experts. Join us to explore how to develop a future-oriented model for science education to enable creative thinking, foresight and active hope in formal and informal environments.

In the third episode, together with Elisabetta Tola and Andri Magnason we discussed the need for science education to explore new languages and art forms to nurture young people imagination in addressing contemporary socio-scientific challenges.

Enjoy it!

Despite the difficult weather conditions, last Thursday (18/05/23) the A. Einstein high school in Rimini (Italy) was able to organise the final exhibition at the end of the “AI atelier”, an interdisciplinary laboratory and extra-curricular activity designed by a group of five teachers and inspired by FEDORA’s themes and principles. The activity addressed the relationship between art, creativity, and artificial intelligence with the "same philosophy" of the Quantum Atelier project: create a space in which to experience an authentic dialogue between scientific and artistic disciplines.

The objective of the activity was to reflect on some themes that have characterised important debates since the birth of computers, such as: “Can we build intelligent machines? Can machines think?”. With the advent of neural networks and generative algorithms, also other questions become crucial: “Can artificial intelligence be creative?”, “What are the differences between humans and artificial creativity?”. During the activity, students were guided to address these questions through the reflection on the languages of contemporary art and the potential of the Open A.I. platforms like chatGPT, midjourney, and DallE. As reported by the teachers, the AI Atelier, which has, as one of the key design principles, this comparison between different creativities (the artistic one and that of AI), has become a context in which to sustain students in exploring these deep questions with the language of contemporary art. Furthermore, the Atelier was conceived as a chance to promote students’ awareness of the digital environment in which they live and to develop critical thinking on the relationship between AI and ars as well as on a possible and more sustainable relationship between humans and technology.

The collaboration between the professors Giuseppucci (Literature and Art), Gianfelici (Philosophy), Clementi, Filippi (both Math and Physics teachers), and Fantini (retired Math and Physic teacher), made this activity an interesting experiment of co-teaching, a practice not well established within the Italian school system.

The AI atelier included three phases. In the first phase, students are introduced to the theme of creativity in human artistic thinking and in the artificial one and to some technical and critical aspects of artificial intelligence. More specifically, the first lesson, guided by Professor Giuseppucci, was dedicated to the examination of some exemplary results of human creativity in the artistic field and their comparison with some AI generated ones. In the second lesson, prof. Gianfelici presented philosophical and critical-aesthetic hypotheses highlighted over the past century regarding machine intelligence. Professors Clementi, Fantini, and Filippi intervened during those introductory moments, stimulating discussion between the participants and raising or highlighting further aspects of a scientific and technical nature in order to clarify the interpretation of AI technology. On that basis students and teachers together tried to characterise what it means, for human beings, to be creative/think creatively and confronted it with artificial processes as we know them today. The first concept raised and discussed concerned the “conditioning and consciousness of the context” that AI technologies lack in their process of creation. Discussing the relationship with the context brought to other two concepts: “limitedness”, linked to every human experience for the very fact of being at the same time “mind” and “body”; and “reality”, linked to the illusion that the impressive quantity of information, data, texts, and images, that artificial intelligences can record and manipulate, represents all the reality.

In a subsequent phase, the students were divided into groups and, assisted and advised by all professors, were invited to re-elaborate in an artistic and creative sense the concepts that had most struck them and to finally elaborate an artwork. In the last phase, in addition to considering various exhibition choices and their related communicative effectiveness, all participants were asked to draft a text about their artwork and their workshop experience.

 

In the following lines, there is a brief description of the artworks produced:

In the final exhibition, held Friday the 18th, students presented the artworks to the rest of the school, their parents, and anyone else interested.

The exhibition catalog, curated by Professor Maurizio Giuseppucci, is available at this link (the document is in Italian).

 

 

FEDORA, Future-oriented Science Education to enhance Responsibility and Engagement in the society of acceleration and uncertainty, is a 3-year EU-funded project. It started in September 2020 and will deploy its activities until August 2023. It gathers 6 partner institutions from 5 European countries.
FEDORA has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement no. 872841
crossmenuchevron-down linkedin facebook pinterest youtube rss twitter instagram facebook-blank rss-blank linkedin-blank pinterest youtube twitter instagram