Skills in science are becoming an increasingly important part of basic literacy in today’s knowledge economy. To keep Europe growing, there is strong need of science-aware citizens who can make informed decisions and develop critical thinking. As confirmed by numerous EU education policy strategies and research analysis, motivation should be fostered among young people in early education, as missing this opportunity leads to many interrelated challenges occurring at later stage of life, such as: underachievement in basic skills, low interest towards science-related further education and career choices, gap between the current technology-based labour market and existing competencies. On the other hand, the teacher is regarded as the key factor to impact current needs and system reform and strengthening the profile of the profession involves constant and continuous development. Reportedly, most teachers lack confidence to deliver science-related subjects at primary school level due to lack of resources, ideas on how to motivate learners, as well as specifics of the curriculum and syllabus. Therefore, the I-S.K.Y.P.E. project will be aiming at supporting primary school teachers with interactive and innovative teaching methods, resources and skills to increase kids’ and youngsters’ attainment and motivation levels in the field of science-related subjects. Additionally, our proposal foresees the development of concept for policy reform and curricula update to assist policy makers in their efforts to foster quality and applicability of school education at national and European level.To this aim, our consortium has formulated the following objectives:-to support primary education teachers in science-related subjects through innovative materials, tools fostering interactive learning, opportunity to share practice with European peers, as well as structured and evidence-base policy reforms (where teachers play the key role and initiate the process);-to increase achievement in the basic skills of science through more effective, innovative teaching methods to foster open and innovative education, embedded in the digital era;-to promote science at primary school level, in order to contribute for raising Europe's competitiveness and employability of young people.Our partnership joins the efforts of three primary schools, three renowned universities, a company offering innovative digital solutions to the education sector, as well as one of the leading education materials publishing houses. The tangible outputs to be produced are:I-S.K.Y.P.E. Methodical Handbook (guidelines for teachers in science-related subjects, class exercises and activities with pupils, methods and techniques of teaching);I-S.K.Y.P.E. Workshops (structured activities offering alternative and innovative ways of teaching science at primary school level); I-S.K.Y.P.E. Platform (OER serving two-fold: as platform for sharing ideas and best-practice, as well as online free-access interactive resource of project's materials, demo videos from workshops, testimonials of target group from testing and piloting phases)I-S.K.Y.P.E. Concept for Policy Reform and Curricula Update;I-S.K.Y.P.E. Dissemination Conference (large-scope international event).The I-S.K.Y.P.E. project foresees involving directly in project activities, more than 5500 primary teachers, pupils, school education stakeholders, high-level policy makers and academics. We envisage impact at various levels:-improved skills and competencies to teach science-related subjects to kids and youngsters at primary school level; - enhanced capacity to offer interactive ways of learning applying education methods embedded in the digital era;- raised professional profile to deliver high quality teaching through adopting new methods and tools, thus contributing to institutional and system development;-increased attainment levels in basic science skills;-enhanced critical thinking competencies and motivation for participating actively in the learning process;-higher inspiration to pursue science-oriented further education and subsequently career orientation.- increased awareness of importance to innovate science-related subjects curricula and syllabus at primary school level;-enhanced evidence base for initiating concrete actions to contribute to reaching EU common goals in the field of education and training;- increased knowledge on how to address pressing needs of the sector by introducing changes to traditional methods of delivery of science-related subjects at school.
Skills in science are becoming an increasingly important part of basic literacy in today’s knowledge economy. To keep Europe growing, there is strong need of science-aware citizens who can make informed decisions and develop critical thinking. As confirmed by numerous EU education policy strategies and research analysis, motivation should be fostered among young people in early education, as missing this opportunity leads to many interrelated challenges occurring at later stage of life, such as: underachievement in basic skills, low interest towards science-related further education and career choices, gap between the current technology-based labour market and existing competencies. The teacher is the key factor in this process. Reportedly, most teachers lack confidence to deliver science-related subjects at primary school level due to lack of resources, ideas on how to motivate learners, as well as specifics of the curriculum and syllabus. Since October 2016, the publishing house Dr. Josef Raabe Slovensko based in Bratislava started implementing the transnational project Interactive Science for Kids and Youngsters in Primary Education (I - S.K.Y.P.E.) to support primary school teachers with interactive and innovative teaching methods, resources and skills to increase kids’ and youngsters’ attainment and motivation levels in the field of science-related subjects. Our project put together 7 relevant organisations from 3 different countries (Slovakia, Czech Republic and Germany), namely 3 primary schools, 2 renowned universities, a company offering innovative digital solutions to the education sector, as well as one of the leading education materials publishing houses. The main aims of the project were to support primary education teachers in science-related subjects through innovative materials, tools fostering interactive learning, opportunity to share examples of good practices within Europe, as well as structured policy reforms proposals based on evidence achieved throughout the project lifetime. More than 5 500 pupils of the primary education, teachers of science-related subjects, people involved and interested in education, policy makers and academics participated in different project activities: creation of the outputs, their testing, validation, demonstration of them at workshops, targeted dissemination and the direct use of outputs in school practice. The project duration was 33 months and it will be followed by additional activities to ensure sustainability of results after its end. The project I – S.K.Y.P.E. covered the following activities and outputs: • design, development, testing and validation of I – S.K.Y.P.E. Methodical Handbook for Teachers of science-related subjects in primary education; • production of practical I- S.K.Y.P.E. Workshops for Teachers based on created methodical materials and their testing at schools, production of the videos from them; • design, development, testing and launch of the I – S.K.Y.P.E. Online platform which contains created methodical materials in digital form, workshops for teachers and also videos from chosen activities in 4 language versions – this will enable to use and sustain the project outputs in the future; • development of the concept for policy reform and curricula update based on knowledge and experiences gained during the process of the development of project intellectual outputs; • organisation of the final dissemination I – S.K.Y.P.E. conference for local and international participants and stakeholders where we presented created intellectual outputs to the public. Project impact and longer term benefits: TARGET GROUPS: *Teachers: - improved skills and competencies to teach science-related subjects; - enhanced capacity to offer interactive ways of learning; - raised professional profile of teacher; *Pupils: - increased attainment level in basic science skills; - enhanced critical thinking competencies and motivation for participating actively in the learning process; - higher inspiration to pursue science-oriented further education and subsequently career orientation; *High-level policy makers: - increased awareness of importance to innovate science-related subjects curricula and sylabus at primary school level; - increased knowledge on how to address pressing needs of the sector by introducing changes to traditional methods of teaching science-related subjects; OTHER STAKEHOLDERS: - increased level of cooperation between various sectors of education and training; - awareness of the inter-relation between science and all other basic skills; PROJECT PARTNERS: - strengthened reputation among the education sector through providing free innovative materials, methods and platform; - influencing the policy context to address a concrete challenge and potential for exploring new markets and expanding current activities.