RM@Schools: Fostering Students' Interest in Raw Materials and a Sustainable Society

Raw materials (RMs) are essential for the production of a broad range of goods and applications used in everyday life. In particular, the accelerating technological innovation and the rapid growth of emerging economies have led to a steadily increasing demand for a great numbers of metals and minerals. They are crucial also for fostering the transition towards a low-carbon economy. Thanks to a strategic European Partnership some learning paths for pupils aged 10 to 18 years were developed in the framework of Raw Matters Ambassadors at Schools (RM@Schools), a European project funded by the European Institute for Innovation and Technology (EIT) since 2016. These paths aim at increasing the understanding of how RMs are needed in modern society, and to make careers in RM more attractive. The RM@Schools learning integrated method enables the students to expand their background knowledge in this field outside the current curricular topics and allow interconnections with others subjects of study. Several educational approaches (i.e., learning-by-doing, team working, peer-to-peer, gamification, etc.) are used to foster students' interest in science and technology, in particular in circular economy and RM-related topics. Young people are trained to become science communicators (Young RM Ambassadors), and to create a "product" that can be communicated outside of the class. This method helps students to develop skills such as creativity, critical thinking, awareness of responsibility and teamwork, as well as to improve scientific knowledge on some scientific topics. The learning pathway covering the whole RMs value chain, from geology to electronic waste management, has a modular structure: (1) Lesson - introducing the students to relevant content knowledge; (2) Activity - experiments with RM-related hand-on kits; (3) Visit - to industry or research centers; (4) Create/Communicate - students are asked to communicate by creating a product designed to promote dialogue on a key message they have learnt; (5) Society - students are engaged in public events, such as science fairs, as well as in presenting their best dissemination products during an annual European Conference.