My students have gathered extensive knowledge beyond the scope of their normal studies. They became acquainted with new technological procedures and laboratory methods. They worked with the technical and scientific literature and with computers. They learned to take up contacts with people in various institutions and establishments. They learned teamwork, because individual tasks belonging to this large project had to be divided but the results achieved by individual groups needed to be pooled. Perhaps the most important gain was that they had to see individual pieces of information and of reality in their mutual relationships. They learned how to search for information and how to process it. They saw that each topic can be elaborated both in-depth and extensively, and that quest for knowledge is a unique adventure.
In each partial topic, the students were particularly interested in the problems of wastes and environmental protection. They learned how to think in a "European and global way" - became acquainted with the development of standards for emissions and fuels, with accreditation of laboratories and facilities according to ISO standards. In the car factory, they saw the results of co-operation with the German partner, in recycling facilities they saw the functioning of a common European project.
My students are in the final year of their studies, and their main concern is to pass the final exams. Despite this, they put in the extra work on the project because they enjoyed it. The last year’s project was presented at a Students´ Professional Conference on 23 October 1997, and put on the Internet page www.msschem.cz. They want to do the same thing with this project because they know that it is important not only to perform the work, but also to publish it.
In conclusion, I should like to say that, when working with the students
on such a project, the teacher also learns many new things and can then
use this newly acquired knowledge in teaching other students.
The students:
| Jaroslav Bauer | Jakub Pilař |
| Tomáš Kočí | Soňa Pudilová |
| Daniela Maláčová | Tomáš Svoboda |
| Tomáš Minařík | Pavel Tužina |
| Radek Pernica | Vojtěch Vojík |
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