In January 2021, in the midst of a pandemic crisis and when we were all sceptical about the possible results of an online workshop, 30 people from Schools as Living Labs met to dream together a methodology to help schools transforming themselves into agent of the community wellbeing and empowering students so that they start thinking of themselves as change-makers.
The results of our discussion? A roadmap for teachers presenting the SALL methodology that has already been tested by some pilot schools. By acting as a starting point, this road map gives the main elements to help teachers and educators plan and implement open-schooling projects in (but mostly outside) their classroom. There are 2 main sections: how to prepare the implementation of a SALL project and the 4 steps of the SALL methodology.
The SALL methodology is based on the Living Lab approach, an approach inspired by software design, urban planning and other industries professionals who some years ago decided to involve users in designing better answers to their own needs. This approach is generally defined as a user-centred, iterative, open-innovation ecosystem and often operating in a territorial context.
Therefore, within the SALL methodology, students are active participants, more than passive learners and tackle real problems with innovative solutions and collaboration. Those real problems must engage student’s and teacher’s social environment and motivate them to work closely with other societal actors.
The conditions that make a project a SALL project are not so many:
- Work on a real problem to find a real solution;
- Allow everyone to actively participate;
- Prototype and evaluate on the fly!
In the best living-lab spirit, between 14-17 June this year, we are meeting again to analyse, adjust and improve this methodology and also for sharing some tools developed by the partners to implement and support the fieldwork.
You can participate in this collective work: download the roadmap, use it, and tell us what you think.
More info or feedbacks to share? Contact Claudia from AssoTraces
More about SALL: SALL is a European project gathering the expertise of 10 different countries to propose a new approach to open schooling. By adapting the principles of the Living Labs, SALL supports schools in the implementation of projects which link with their local communities and addresses locally relevant issues related to the food system in all its dimensions (production, distribution, waste management, health, economy, etc.