Project ICAROS (Interdisciplinary and Collaborative themAtic leaRning of technOlogy and Science) aims to promote transnational teacher professional development by the sharing of methodology, best practice, collaborative approaches and results. The partnership is composed of five European upper secondary/VET schools for students between 15 and 20 years old.The ICAROS project is mainly aimed at enhancing educational practices that will lead to better motivated students with improved study-goal achievements, as well as preventing school drop-out due to low motivation. The assumption is that this can be done through thematic learning with an entrepreneurial learning approach, and student-led knowledge development through experimentation and real-world problem solving. Several of the partners have expressed the view that students tend to see subjects taught as “in isolation”, i. e. as individual, theoretical subjects, with little perceived bearing on real-world practical applications.The project nominally centers on the design, development, testing and operation of small radio controlled Quadcopters, popularly known as a “Drones”. The project thus makes use of modern technology that captures the imagination of the students, as well as innovative tools/methods spanning over several disciplines, to demonstrate the real-world applicability of STEM- and other related, and seemingly unrelated, school subjects. The disciplines of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) will be central for the project, and most of the project activities are based on high technology and ICT. Many related subject will benefit e. g. Computer Aided Design and Manufacture, Logistics, Web- and App-design, Electronics/Energy Systems, and Aviation Technology. Other less apparent subjects to be included are Business Economics and Administration, History, Social Sciences, Law, Ecology/Sustainable Development, Ethics, and English. The project aims to inspire the students to develop an entrepreneurial approach to technology and to encourage independent knowledge development through extensive use of high technology and ICT. The project is also expected to promote a general new interest in STEM-subjects amongst students. This will lead to a higher employability for the students, as their skills are better matched to the needs of future employers. In particular, the interest for technical education amongst girls is expected to increase. They are underrepresented in this field, in schools, higher technical education, and in high-tech companies. Teacher teams around the students will plan each area of activity together, to ensure that all possible subjects are involved, as the thematic learning process follows the development of the Quadcopter. Educational concepts with innovative use of ICT tools such as the “Flipped Classroom”-model, development of web-based lesson/session modules, instructional video clips and easy modular tasks, will be continuously shared on the project web-site and on You Tube. They will be accompanied by instructions for implementation of thematic learning centered on STEM-subjects, in combination with other subjects. A teachers’ manual, including best practice, applicable to other multidisciplinary school projects, will be produced and made available on the web-site and on social media.
Project ICAROS (Interdisciplinary and Collaborative tcahemAtic leaRning of technOlogy and Science) was created to promote transnational teacher professional development by the sharing of methodology, best practice, collaborative approaches and results. The partnership was composed of teachers from five European upper secondary/VET schools for students 15 to 20 years old. The ICAROS project has mainly aimed at enhancing educational practices leading to better motivated students with improved study-goal achievements, as well as preventing school drop-out due to low motivation. This has been achieved through thematic learning with an entrepreneurial learning approach and student-led knowledge development, through experimentation and real-world problem solving. Several of the partners expressed that students tended to see subjects taught as individual, theoretical subjects, with little perceived bearing on real-world practical applications. The project nominally centered on the design, development, testing and operation of small radio controlled Quadcopters, popularly known as a “Drones”. The drones and their specialised parts were elaborated in special workshops, but also in regular classes, thus providing a sustainable ground for the thematic learning. The project made use of modern technology capturing the imagination of the students, using innovative tools/methods spanning over several disciplines to demonstrate the real-world applicability of STEM- and other related, and seemingly unrelated, school subjects. The disciplines of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) were central for the project. Most of the project activities were based on high technology and ICT. Many related subjects have benefited; CAD/CAM, Logistics, Web- and App-design, programming, Electronics/Energy Systems, and Aviation Technology. Other subjects affected were Business Economics and Administration, History, Social Sciences, Law, Ecology/Sustainable Development, Ethics, and English. The students were inspired to develop an entrepreneurial approach to technology and independent knowledge development using high technology and ICT. The students responded well to this and have increased their ability to take initiative and responsibility. The project has also promoted an increased interest in STEM-subjects amongst students, promoting further studies. In particular the practical application of their knowledge has led to skills that are better matched to the needs of future employers. When possible the project has put emphasis on the inclusion of girls in project activities to increase their interest in STEM-subjects, in schools, higher technical education, and in high-tech companies. Where it has been possible to measure, the students have tended to attend the “ICAROS classes” more than other lessons, the students have also expressed that they have learned new ways of using their knowledge and understanding. Teacher teams around the students planned each area of activity together as the thematic learning process followed the development of the Quadcopters. Educational concepts with innovative use of ICT tools such as “Flipped Classroom”-model, development of web-based lesson/session modules, instructional video clips and easy modular tasks were continuously shared on the project communication tool “SLACK”, the project website and on You Tube. They were accompanied by instructions for implementation of thematic learning centered on STEM-subjects in combination with other subjects. A teachers’ manual applicable to other multidisciplinary school projects, was produced and made available on the website www.icarosproject.com. In addition to the originally planned project, a series of related mini-projects have been carried out during the project life-cycle, thus incorporating the aspects of sustainability, component recycling, energy use, and logistics. The project results and the potential use have been extensively disseminated on all sorts of levels in the partner countries. A short-term exchange of groups of pupils was carried out in connection with one of the transnational project meetings. Four students from each partner worked together to assemble drones from parts that had been produced by the different schools. They were also part of other joint activities. The students presented their experiences to their fellow students when they came back to their schools. The meeting was made with a big audience making it a major dissemination event. In addition to contributing to the use of thematic learning for older students, the project has been conductive towards increasing the interest for STEM-subjects amongst younger children and their teachers. The thematic learning and methods for practical application of knowledge is being integrated in the project schools. The majority of the partnership plans to apply for a follow-up project in 2019.