KA2 “Raising STEAM in education” is an educational innovation aimed at facilitating learning difficult subjects such as natural Sciences, Technology, Engineering and Maths through Art by taking a more interdisciplinary and hollistic approach and basing on the practical hands-on experience, experiment, learning by doing as well as enabling artistic expression. What do we want to achieve? • Develop key competences (the so-called soft skills), co-operation and collaboration in the international environment, multiculturalism, team work, problem solving, ICT (including multimedia), presentation in foreign languages • Communication in English, improving foreign language skills • Civic education and the European dimension in school education • Learning about the European heritage – examples of works of art, famous engineering masterpieces, outstanding scientists, also UNESCO sites • Digital society – ICT employed in the school practice at different subjects and in art, multimedia, learning apps in practice • Tolerance and openness to otherness • Innovative teaching methods building spans between sciences, maths and humanistic subjects, holistic and interdisciplinary teaching • Inclusive education – including and engaging girls and artistically orientated students as well as more scientific and engineering students in reception, understanding and popularisation of art • Facilitating understanding of principles of maths and development of mathematical skills • Teaching students responsibility for environmental issues and raising their awareness of healthy lifestyle and combining these with practical knowledge (biology, chemistry, physics), plus combining this knowledge with artistic expression • Preparing students for the job market by improving their employability – practising key competences, exploring and enhancing versatility of interests and skills – different subjects, interdisciplinary dimension of education Methods, ways: • Putting particular stress on practical experience and connection between theory and the surrounding world – learning by doing • CLIL – biology, chemistry, physics, maths, geography, history, civics, architecture, art • Flipped classroom and peer teaching / learning – lesson scenarios designed by students and applied in the school practice during short-term exchanges of groups of students and in co-operation with the local communities in-between the project mobilities, e.g. in primary schools or lower grades of middle schools and using these methods as incentives and facilitating ways of acquiring knowledge and understanding of sciences and maths by pupils and thus preventing early dropout from school • Project work, project management, recognising by students their predispositions and roles in a team or project • Non-formal education – project activities will be carried out not only at school but also in partnerships / collaboration with museums, galleries, scientific institutions, national parks, industry, etc. and by exploring and using the urban environment in which we all exist – city games, field games, land-art events Dissemination of the project results – lesson plans, flipped classroom, innovative educational presentations and filmed innovative lessons, exhibitions of students’ artistic expression, co-operation with the media, local communities and institutions not connected with education and/or local government, school websites, project website, Selfie+, social media, Erasmus+ Project Results Platform Products / activities • Tasks to perform during mobilities and in-between them: 1. Festival of Science in the school – meeting online via skype or other communicators performing or presenting tasks designed by partner schools as follow-up and/or preparatory activities for next mobilities 2. Lesson scenarios in the form of multimedia presentations or filmed lessons (experiments) to be uploaded on the project website or YouTube 3. Students produce videos on a certain topic – mutually agreed in the project preparation stage - and present them during each mobility. All the videos are uploaded on the Project website 4. During the mobility students work on an online newsletter and e-book – they collect materials, take pictures and later, after the meeting, prepare the final version to be uploaded 5. Project website where all results of the project are uploaded – videos, presentations, reports, articles, works of art, etc. 6. Students participate in various activities and experiments, debates, role-plays, workshops, field games, visits to scientific and academic institutions, museums and art galleries, artistic events designed or arranged especially for the project by participating schools. Outcomes of these activities are uploaded on project website and social media 7. Selfie+ and/or other photo shows Evaluation – surveys designed by co-ordinators and conducted after each mobility, reflective diaries of teachers, comments and reflections of students and parents.
KA2 “Raising STEAM in education” was an educational innovation aimed at facilitating learning difficult subjects such as natural Sciences, Technology, Engineering and Maths through Art by taking a more interdisciplinary and holistic approach and basing on the practical hands-on experience, experiment, learning by doing as well as enabling artistic expression. It included secondary schools from Poland, Cyprus, Italy, Greece and Slovakia. Each school recruited 12 students aged 15 - 18 years old, in Slovakia 16 (according to the Application Form). The Project gained acceptance and support of most of the pedagogical and teaching staff in the partner schools, but its coordination and implementation was mainly carried out by an international team of ca. 12 teachers. The STEAM Project promoted inclusive education through a bigger engagement of girls and students orientated at humanities and arts into learning natural sciences, as well as an increase in interest, understanding and popularization of art among students more eagerly learning natural sciences and engineering, and also at facilitating understanding of the principles of maths and development of mathematical skills. It developed key competences: cooperation and collaboration in an international environment, multiculturalism, team work, problem and conflict solving through negotiation, time management, digital and multimedia skills (ICT), making presentations in a foreign language in front of an international audience, tolerance and openness to otherness. The working language of the Project was English, that is why its participants improved their communication skills in everyday situations as well as expanded their topic vocabulary of the STEAM subjects (biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, engineering, geography, history, architecture, art) in English. Each partner school prepared a programme of their short-term international students’ exchange devoted to and exploring one of the STEM subjects and combined them with art. A big impact was put on the development of civic competences and European dimension in education through practical teaching about the cultural heritage and biodiversity of Europe with the use of works of art, achievements of engineering, distinguished scientists and artists and potential of the sites from the UNESCO World Heritage List available and connected with the Project partner countries. Thanks to the character of some of the Project results (multimedia presentations and videos) it enabled students to improve their digital skills – ICT tools, multimedia and learning applications were employed in interdisciplinary teaching of STEAM subjects and in artistic expression. The Project participants learnt responsibility for sustained development combining practical knowledge from biology, chemistry, physics, robotics, engineering with artistic expression. The Project helped better prepare students to function on the job market and increased their employability in the future, because apart from developing global competences it stressed the importance of versatile interests and skills – within the scope of different subjects the Project introduced interdisciplinary education and holistic approach to the contents taught. Among the teachers in partner schools the Project contributed to an increased interest in innovations in education and willingness to undertake new international cooperation initiatives, which led to striking up new Erasmus+ KA2 and eTwinning partnerships.