Comenius European Quality Label for Dutch school Marianum

Frans Carelsen, Dutch coordinator of Science Across the World, was rewarded with the European Quality Label by Dr. Henk Oonk, retiring chairman of the Dutch National Agency. The price was presented in the Hague in the 'Ridderzaal', the beautiful formal centre of the Dutch government. This annual prize is awarded to a European educational organisation with outstanding results in a Comeniusproject.

Schools partnership
The Comenius project 'Biodiversity Across Europe' (2001-2004) was carried out with students and teachers of comprehensive school Marianum in Groenlo, in the Eastern part of the Netherlands, in partnership with schools in Spain, Czech Republic, Italy, United Kingdom and Austria. The project took advantage of our topic ‘Biodiversity Around Us’: the students studied their own environment.

Virtual exchanges
They compared plants and animals living in Groenlo now with plants and animals living there 50 years ago. Students in the partner schools got the same assignment and after exchanging results they started comparing the situation in the different countries.

Physical exchanges
The Comenius schools partnership also facilitates physical exchange. During the three project years teachers can meet annually to discuss results and future activities. Twice a year a few teachers and students of all schools can visit a school abroad with the aim to study each others way of teaching and learning and collaborate on local possibilities. Most of these exchanges use home hosting. It's 'cheap' (more teachers and students can take part) and it immerses both and students and teachers in the other culture.

Frans Carelsen co-ordinated the whole project.

Interested? We reported already about the project: Biodiversity Across Europe: a Comenius schools partnership.

June 2006

Text and pictures: Lida Schoen