Reference centre

lamap44.ac-nantes.fr

The Ecole des Mines de Nantes forms engineers and researchers to serve and anticipate the needs of industry. Its close relationship with the corporate world offers a double guarantee: to companies, both SMEs and large groups from diverse sectors, that they will always find graduates from the School with profiles necessary for their development; and to students, the certainty of exciting careers.

Directly administered by the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Employment the vocation of the Ecole des Mines de Nantes is to be the natural partner for companies, in terms of training, research and technology transfer. To carry out these missions, it is not alone: it is part of the GEM, the Groupe des Ecoles des Mines, a network of 7 establishments united around the same values and a common vision.

For further information (key figures and strengths), see : www.mines-nantes.fr/en/L-Ecole/Presentation-generale

Ecole des Mines de Nantes (EMN) has been involved for the last 14 years in building an original partnership with local primary schools and educational institutions. This partnership aims at encouraging and facilitating inquiry-based science learning at primary and secondary school. It consists of:

• - Teacher support to primary school teachers by engineering students and professors,
• - Workshops for primary school teachers training,
• - Teacher support to secondary school teachers by phD students.

Web site in french: www.emn.fr/z-de/science-peda/MALP/index%20malp.htm

The central goal is to make primary teachers more self-confident in scientific teaching, after working in pairs for few months, and to help secondary teachers carry out experimental inquiry in their classroom.

Concerning its engineering students, EMN has developed some specific courses, called “multidisciplinary space” (for 1st year students) and “crossdisciplinary project” (2nd year students), 150 working hours for each, that follow exactly the same educational principles as the IBSE principles developed for primary education.

EMN has provided support to 800 classes (20 000 pupils) in 400 primary schools and for 7 years to 20 classes in 6 secondary middle schools. Engineering students, PHD students or scientists provide support to class teachers before, during and after the science class.

At primary and secondary levels, EMN has developed specific IBSE training and coaching activities for teachers and classes. 800 primary and secondary teachers have followed a practical training for IBSE (at least half a day) at EMN.

EMN has also trained French delegations (national teacher trainers, engineering schools and university teachers ...) and international partners (from China, Brazil, Madagascar). EMN has organized workshops on IBSE and has contributed to various national conferences on this topic.

Dans le cadre d’un partenariat avec l’éducation nationale française, l’Ecole des Mines de Nantes (http://www.mines-nantes.fr/) met son savoir-faire en matière de pédagogie inductive, d’apprentissage actif et d’intégration des connaissances, à disposition des enseignants, formateurs et scientifiques désireux de comprendre la valeur et l’intérêt de ces méthodes d’enseignement.

L’EMN peut intervenir sur demande à tous les niveaux de la formation: école primaire (http://www.emn.fr/z-de/science-peda/MALP/index%20malp.htm), collège, lycée, classes préparatoires scientifiques, universités et grandes écoles.

Within the frame of its experience in La main à la pâte and for its own students, EMN has got expertness in inductive teaching, hands-on and active learning methods, applied on every level from primary schools to university and graduate schools.

EMN aims at letting teachers experience by themself that breaking the boundaries and working, on these topics, with partners from other levels (not only teachers, but also scientists and other professionals) is a positive and benficial strategy for everybody. Also scientists may discover in such situations that wondering about learning processes will improve their own research.