March 2012

Astound your friends! Did you know that permafrost helped scientists unravel the genome of the deadly virus that caused the influenza pandemic of 1918-1919? You can have this and other amazing science facts at your fingertips, with The Amazing Science of SEED book. Learn how computer problems came to be called bugs, or why the desert sands look striped. This unique book is available from SEED in print and as an online flip book, in seven languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish.   Home Is Where the Art Is The theme of this year’s artwork program is Home Sweet Home! SEED wants to know what makes home special for its students, who live in 43 countries around the world, on mountains, in deserts, near jungles, within cities, and by the oceans. If you are a volunteer that lives in a country with SEED schools, you can help your coordinator by participating in this much loved tradition. Register for the opportunity on PlanetSEED now! SEED is also challenging the volunteer community to write a blog that “shows” us your home, whether it is the place that you sleep, the city that you live in, or the Earth itself. Tell us in words and with pictures what makes it unique in our universe. We’ll share your blogs with students at SEED schools around the world as they partake in this year’s competition. Inspire them with your thoughts, words, and pictures!

Science + SMART + Wisdom = Genius

Take three unique SEED offerings, add a school from Brazil, and mix it all together for one day. What do you get? Students educated in systems thinking who also understand their own learning strengths and apply what they learned to a science activity. That is exactly what happened at three Brazilian schools in December 2011. Linda Booth Sweeney, author of Connected Wisdom, joined Brazil coordinator Zenobio Matos, co-coordinators Miriam Cardoso and Vanessa Moura, and their crew of volunteers to pilot a next-generation workshop that combined the Connected Wisdom, SmartWired, and solar water heater SEEDKITS into one experience.

At first, the conditions at Escola Municipal Jose Calil Filho in Macae did not seem ideal to Linda. “It was hot, it was just before the holiday break, and students were crammed two to a seat,” she noted. But the fun started right away, when Linda and the volunteers handed the students bendable, sticky wax sticks called Wikki Stix and watched the students get creative, making flowers, spirals, even pretend eyeglasses. “It seems counterintuitive, but having something to do with their hands made it easier for them to focus on the presentation at the front of the room,” Linda recalled. Some students learn better if they keep their hands busy, so she explained the living systems principles while the students played with the waxy sticks.

The group compared a student volunteer with Lego bricks to help understand the differences between a living system, such as a person, and a heap, like a pile of Lego bricks. One SEED volunteer read stories from Connected Wisdom, and the group continued their discussion of systems. Soon it was time to get smart—SmartWired, that is. Using the SmartWired success presentation, the students worked in small groups to discover each student’s qualities that he or she uses to make success happen.  

The next step was for the students to apply what they learned using a systems game called “Healthy Chickens, Healthy Pastures.” Working in small groups the students began to see the connections between various animals and environments typically found on a farm. Linda explained that “the students had to figure out the connections—some obvious and some hidden—in an agricultural setting. Many students were surprised to discover, for instance, the link between chickens and healthy cow pastures. When chickens are allowed to roam and roost in a pasture, they eat the bugs and drop manure that feeds the pasture grasses. Healthier pastures mean healthier cows.” With a final discussion of the climate system, including a demonstration of the solar water heater SEEDKIT, Linda, Zenobio, and the other SEED volunteers went on their way. With newfound knowledge of living systems and an awareness of their own thinking talents, the students were left with a better understanding of themselves and the interconnections in the world around them.

This dual workshop was repeated two more times that week, at the Escola Municipal Professora Maria Isabel Damasceno Simão and at the Escola Municipal Tenente Antonio João, with equally successful and exciting results. Read more about these workshops on Linda’s blog.

By integrating these three SEEDKITS into one experience, a new trail is being blazed for SEED workshops of the future. The next generation workshop will offer a richer experience for the students and teachers, while retaining the learning-while-doing model that SEED is known for. The new workshop model also includes plans to take advantage of the changes in technology and the development of social networking. Brazil’s December workshops were the first steps on a new path for SEED.

REACH OUT! SEEDLINK is published monthly. To learn more about SEED, visit www.planetseed.com. We invite your suggestions, feedback, news and questions at seed@planetseed.com.

ABOUT SEED The Schlumberger Excellence in Educational Development (SEED) program is a global non-profit education program focused on students aged 10 to 18 in communities where Schlumberger people live and work. SEED offers a range of specialized learning tools delivered through a multilingual Web site, through face-to-face, experiential education workshops and through collaborative international projects. At the heart of SEED are our volunteers, who generously share their time, inspiration, knowledge and passion for science and learning.