Project Details

Project Name: Research on water resources and

per capita consumption

Name & Surname:- Raffaele Nardella

Address/Nation: Milan (ITALY)

E-mail ranardel@libero.it

Profession: English Teacher in ITIS Giorgi di Milano

Role in the initiative/project: tutor

 Brief description of the initiative/project

The project’s objective is to make young people aware about water

saving and sustainable growth. The students will collect data about the
use of water in their families, carry out conceptual mapping, diagrams
and charts synthesising all the information they have gathered; at the
end of the project they will create a multimedia presentation.
Subjects included: natural science, maths, computer science,
physics/chemistry, law.

Target: 2 year course in a II degree Secondary Schools.

 Brief description of the adopted methodology

Outline of the problem

Human life and other forms of life all depend on water.

Resources are limited
Use/consumption is increasing daily.
Can Man/Water relationship be rationalised/modified?
Is our behaviour within the family environment primary in determining
positive results in the use/consumption of water resources?
 Brief description of the adopted methodology

Objectives

Set up a research method

Collect and transmit data
Data reprocessing after transmission
Consider water as a resource and outline problems linked with water
saving, pollution and sustainable growth.
 Brief description of the adopted methodology

Activities, steps and timetable

Presentation of the project (1h)

Division in groups (3 students -1/2h)
Handing out of material for web research (1/2h)
Handing out of material to measure and collect data on a family’s water
consumption (1/2 h)
Web research in class and /or at home (4h)
Research at home (1/2h for 7 days)
Presentation, analysis and processing of collected data (4h)
Outline and processing of data and drawing up of charts and diagrams
(2h)
Power Point presentation with students’ conclusions and proposals (5h)
 Brief description of the adopted methodology

Details

The projects will be divided into 9 steps. Starting from the 5th step
(guided research on suggested websites) the students, after having
collected the relevant data, will skim the most important information,
critically elaborate it and draw up a conceptual map which will be
included in the presentation. At the same time each student, through the
use of the material they’ve received, will start collecting information on
their family’s water consumption and will jointly draw up the relevant
charts and diagrams (using Excel) They will also analyse the data,
discuss and elaborate the concepts that will be included in the final
report and in the multimedia presentation
 Brief description of the adopted methodology

Requirements

Knowledge of the state of matter and physical change

Components of the atom and chemical bonds
Knowledge of the words: law/legal rules, environmental offences,
sustainable growth
Use of software programs (Word, excel, power Point) and computer
graphic programs (Microsoft Photo editor)
Knowledge and use of physic quantity and units.
Know how to carry out spreadsheet calculations
 Brief description of the adopted methodology

Technological Setting

Computer room equipped with internet and workstations for each student
or more.
Programs: Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Microsoft Photo editor/Adobe
photoshop
Conceptual maps ( a free CMap program to develop and visualise via
internet conceptual maps created by the Institute for Human and
Machine Cognition, University of West Florida, downloadable from
http://cmap.ihmc.us/download/)
 Brief description of the adopted methodology

Abilities, introduced or consolidated

Research, analyse and process information .

Measure and find data.
Show, set up and format documentation for multimedia presentation.
Graphic preparation of texts.
Insert still or moving images (diagrams, charts)
Editing and proofreading.
Plan the presentation.
Create a multimedia presentation.
Brief description of the adopted methodology

Table of analysis

Web research
Measurements
Collecting and processing of data
Sources
Organisation
Contents
Originality
Workload
 Brief description of the adopted methodology

SWOT ANALYSIS

STRENGHTS (Focus on innovation)/

CRITICALITIES (Focus on barriers and difficulties)/

OPPORTUNITIES (Focus on added values)/

THREATS (Focus on limits of time, space, country….)/