February – July 2020

and

September – December 2020

About the project

What do state partners Baden-Württemberg and California have in common? They’re both GOING GREEN, of course!

The d.a.i. Tübingen (in collaboration with the DAZ Stuttgart, CSH Freiburg and DAI Heidelberg) is excited to have the opportunity to organize an exciting new transatlantic classroom collaboration project for sustainability!

"Going Green - Baden-Württemberg Meets California" is an exciting new blended-learning project and sister project of “Going Green – Education for Sustainability” developed by Teach About U.S.. The sister-state franchise has been made possible by a generous grant of the State Ministry of Baden-Württemberg.  

Classrooms in Baden-Württemberg and California are paired up to learn together about sustainability with the aid of an online learning platform and encouraged to plan and implement Green Action Plans in their community. At the end of each project iteration, each German/American class pair has the chance to win a prize for best project!

Right NOW, we are searching for high school teachers and classes in both Baden-Württemberg and California to partner up, to learn together about sustainability, and to develop Green Action Plans in their communities!

How do the "Going Green" Partnerships work?

Teachers from Baden-Württemberg and California partner classrooms decide together the form and scope that is right for their classes. These project collaborations are flexible and can be conceptualized as:

• a 6-week / 4 hours-per-week
• a 1-week/5 hours-per-day lesson unit
• conducted as an after-school club

A full “Going Green” curriculum developed by Leuphana University (Lüneburg) and funded by the U.S. Embassy Berlin is available for teachers from Baden-Württemberg and California on the Teach About U.S. website. Upon registration, a secure classroom and full access to the curriculum is provided on the online Moodle platform and project collaboration between classrooms is possible. 

For which school subjects is "Going Green" suitable?

“Going Green” integrates well into the curriculum of several school subjects, particularly English, (bilingual) Geography, Science, Math, Engineering and Informatics. Alongside promoting English language skills, “Going Green” also supports skill development in using CALL – Computer Assisted Learning and MALL - Mobile Assisted Learning systems, as well as in media literacy. Community action plans from previous Going Green participant schools range from the installation of refill stations, to the planning of community awareness events, to the development of web campaigns.

(© Joannis Kaliampos, Leuphana Universität)

(© Joannis Kaliampos, Leuphana Universität)

TIMELINE

During two iterations of the collaborations, one from March – July 2020 and one from September – December 2020, California and Baden-Württemberg high school classrooms are partnered up to learn about sustainability together and create their very own Green Action Plans.

In both July 2020 and December 2020, all Baden-Württemberg and California classroom action plans will be submitted to a state-wide competition for a PRIZE and to be awarded at a ceremony here in Baden-Württemberg! Participating classrooms which submit a project before the end of May 2020 also have a chance to participate in the national project competition of the Teach About U.S. program!

From now until Monday, March 2nd we are accepting registrations for one of the Going Green Teacher Trainings being offered in multiple cities in Baden-Württemberg.

Project Deadlines

Registration Deadlines

• Registration Deadline for Going Green Teacher Trainings: Monday, March 2nd
• Registration Deadline for Iteration 1: May 29th, 2020 (extended deadline)
• Registration Deadline for Iteration 2: September 10th, 2020

Going Green Iteration 1: March – July 2020

• March 5-6th and March 9-10th: Going Green Teacher Trainings (more information below)
• March – end of June: Project work time for Baden-Württemberg and California classroom partners
• (optional early submission) Sunday, May 31st: Submission of Going Green projects to national competition
• Friday, July 3rd (extended deadline): PROJECT SUBMISSION DEADLINE for Going Green: Baden-Württemberg Meets California, Iteration 1
• Early September: Awards Ceremony for Going Green: Baden-Württemberg Meets California Project Winners, Iteration 1

Going Green Iteration 2: September – December 2020

• Early September: Registration deadline for Going Green teacher information sessions
• Mid-September: Going Green teacher information sessions
• Mid-September – December: Project work time for Baden-Württemberg and California classroom partners
• Early December: PROJECT SUBMISSION DEADLINE for Going Green: Baden-Württemberg Meets California, Iteration 2
• Mid-December: Awards Ceremony for Going Green: Baden-Württemberg Meets California Project Winners, Iteration 2

"Going Green" Teacher Training

Baden-Württemberg teachers that would like to take part in the project should attend a “Going Green Teacher Training” held at each of the German-American institutes in Baden-Württemberg. Even if you are just interested and not yet sure if you can take part in Going Green, you are welcome to attend the Teacher Training. 

Teacher Seminar "Going Green – Education for Sustainability in the EFL and STEM/MINT Classroom" by Joannis Kaliampos, Research Assistant and PhD candidate, Leuphana University Lüneburg

• Thursday, March 5th, 5:00-8:00 pm @ Deutsch-Amerikanisches Zentrum Stuttgart
• Friday, March 6th, 5:00-8:00 pm @ Deutsch-Amerikanisches Institut Heidelberg
• Monday, March 9th, 5:00-8:00 pm @ Deutsch-Amerikanisches Institut Tübingen
• Tuesday, March 10th, 2:30-5:30 pm @ Carl-Schurz-Haus Freiburg

Why are we „Going Green“?

The State Ministry of Baden-Württemberg, our sponsor for the project, seeks to bring the California – Baden-Württemberg state partnership to the civic level in an unprecedented form. Our aim is to give students and teachers the opportunity to make a connection with a classroom across the globe to both foster international understanding and teach students to work together to create innovative solutions to climate change and pollution in their respective communities.

Contact

Please contact Sarah Taylor at Sarah.Taylor@dai-tuebingen.de to register for one of the Teacher Trainings by Monday, March 2nd!

Project Background

The project “Going Green - Baden-Württemberg Meets California” is funded entirely by the State Ministry of Baden-Württemberg for the promotion of the Baden-Württemberg – California state partnership and generously supported by Teach About U.S.. The publisher is solely responsible for the content.

A huge “vielen Dank” to the Staatsministerium Baden-Württemberg for the financial support of this project!

An additional thanks to our partners at Teach About U.S., the intercultural blended-learning platform used for the Going Green – Education for Sustainability project. Teach About U.S. is a cooperation by the U.S. Embassy Berlin, Leuphana University Lüneburg, and LIFE e.V.

Thank you to our collaboration partners at the DAZ Stuttgart, the CSH Freiburg and the DAI Heidelberg!

For more information get in touch with us and check out our flyer!