INTEGER Intelligent and Green

INTEGER Education - “From the classroom into the World of Construction and Sustainability”

The INTEGER Education Project seeks to provide a framework to stimulate pupil’s interest and understanding of real-world activities by integrating these into both theoretical and practical parts of their National Curriculum activities. This is achieved by creating partnerships and collaboration between the construction industry and those involved in teaching to provide teaching aids, arranging site visits to construction sites.

As part of this activity, a pilot was set up to promote links between education and local regeneration in 8 schools and colleges in Sandwell in the West Midlands. The programme of work focused on the INTEGER housing within the Urban Regeneration Area which had been designed and constructed to maximise sustainability, respect for the environment and energy efficiency. The programme included site visits at key stages during the life of the project, developing the technological innovation on the projects into education modules, and looking at career opportunities.

Children from Sandwell visit Downing Street

The INTEGER Education Project has been created with the experience and expertise of architects, engineers, designers, quantity surveyors, builders; with education input from classroom teachers and curriculum specialists in schools in Sandwell.

The UK Government in acknowledgement of the pilot project’s success funded the production of a comprehensive suite of INTEGER learning materials to enhance students’ engagement with the construction industry.

Learning materials

A range of learning resources were produced with funding from the DTI's Partners In Innovation Fast Track Programme. Learning materials include:

•An education pack with learning materials covering all aspects of the National Curriculum.

•A website designed and developed as an on-line teaching resource to be used in conjunction with the pack.

•Virtual Reality models of the INTEGER Millennium House at Watford and the Hong Kong INTEGER Pavilion

•A programme of workshops for teachers delivering the lessons.

All the materials produced contain lesson plans for teachers, written and on-line learning materials for pupils, teachers and parents.

A copy of the education pack can be downloaded from the resources section of this website.

The online education resource can be found at:

www.longleypublications.co.uk
www.schools.sandwell.net/charter/

Following on from this initial work the project has developed in many directions:

Sandwell

In Sandwell the INTEGER Education Project continues to grow each year. Highlights from the 12 months include teachers from Sandwell visiting Hong Kong to deliver workshops on the INTEGER Education Project to teachers involved with the British Council lead INTEGER Hong Kong Pavilion Education programme.

Another first was the INTEGER Sandwell Global Citizenship Project – ‘Have your say on the future of our planet!’. The project was developed in schools focusing on Citizenship, Globalisation and Sustainable development. A teaching and learning resource pack was developed in preparation for the Johannesburg Summit. The materials helped students formulate a statement which, was sent to World Leaders at the end of August 2002. The pupils created wish lists for the Summit Agenda, the wish lists were then sent to Kofi Annan.

The project culminated in a visit to Westminster that included a:

• A tour of Portcullis House

• A meeting with Baroness Kennedy in the House of Lords

• A visit to No. 10 Downing Street to hand over the statements

• A tour of the House of Commons with Adrian Bailey MP, the local Sandwell MP

Classroom of the future in telford

The INTEGER Education Project has been introduced to the two schools involved in the Classroom of the Future project in Telford. INTEGER and the INTEGER Education Project were involved in the Department for Education and Skills initiative to develop a 'classroom of the future', looking at the built environment of the classroom, and the technologies for teaching and learning in the future.

This project culminated in the production of two prototype buildings. The aim was to develop top class buildings which are environmentally friendly using the most advanced construction techniques and the latest technology to create the very best teaching and learning spaces.

Teachers and children from the schools in Telford that now occupy the classrooms of the future have played an integral part in the whole research and development process.

Westminster

In Westminster INTEGER are working on the intelligent and green refurbishment of a 20-storey residential tower-block. As part of this project the INTEGER Education Project has been introduced into five local schools.

My INTEGER School Design Project

The ‘MY INTEGER SCHOOL’ design project has involved students from Hong Kong and the UK working together on a school design project.

Students working in groups with their teachers were asked to redesign their school using the concepts of sustainability, the environment and technology featured in INTEGER projects. Students were invited to create three spaces in their new school design; a space for inspiration, a space for learning and a space to be yourself. Project design boxes that contain guidelines on school re-design and other practical information were given to the groups involved in the UK and Hong Kong.

Two groups of students one from Sandwell and one from Hong Kong met up in London in early July 2003 to discuss their ideas and designs for an ‘intelligent and green’ school. The group of 10 students from Hong Kong were on an educational visit to the UK, after winning the ‘MY INTEGER SCHOOL’ design competition. The ‘MY INTEGER SCHOOL’ design project has involved students and teachers from Sandwell and Hong Kong working on designs for an environmentally friendly dream school that uses the latest technology.

Children from Sandwell and Hong Kong on the Millennium Eye

The aim of the visit was to understand the INTEGER project in Hong Kong and the UK, to exchange the INTEGER experience and environmental challenges between the two countries, to create links between Hong Kong schools and UK schools and to experience UK culture and lifestyle.

On 14th July, the Hong Kong students met up with the students from Sandwell who participated in the project to present their designs to each other at the INTEGER Westminster Towers project in Pimlico.

INTEGER Education Programme in Hong Kong

The British Council has managed the INTEGER Education programme in Hong Kong on behalf of INTEGER; activities have included mural painting on World Environment Day, school visits to the INTEGER Hong Kong pavilion, teacher workshops, environmental summer camps and the MY INTEGER SCHOOL design project.

The programme of school visit to the INTEGER pavilion reached over 30,000 primary and secondary students, and 400 teachers of different subjects, including English, science, arts and music, design and technology, geography and social studies.

Number of children and young people working on the INTEGER Education Project

Sandwell - 6 high schools, 100 primary schools and 2 special schools.
Westminster - 1 high school and 4 primary schools.
Telford - 1 high school and 1 primary school.
Hong Kong - where INTEGER built the environmental Pavilion for the Hong Kong government 30,000 school children have been involved so far.