Background of the project: Environmental problems are among the main problems that concern the whole world. Unfortunately, many of the different institutions' work on this issue is only about raising awareness of it. Providing a solution to this problem with engineering based disciplines will provide mutual benefits. It will draw attention to realistic solutions to environmental problems and engineering approaches which is a field that students generally do not prefer. With our project, we aim to produce engineering-oriented solutions with STEM understanding to real environmental problems. Objectives: to establish the theoretical framework, to ensure that different countries cooperate with each other in order to solve environmental problems and to develop solutions to global problems by acting from close environmental problems. In other words, to provide solutions to solve big problems with small STEPs. Number and profile of participants: It is a strategic partnership project consisting of 5 different countries. 4 students and 2 teachers from each country will participate in the project activities. 2 project experts will participate in the activities to ensure project management. All of the participants have been involved in STEM studies and able to speak English. Description of activities: Our main activity is to visit every partner country, to determine the environmental problem affecting that region and to produce solutions by using the STEM approach. The implementation of the solution will be done by the host country itself after the visit is over. They will share the report on it with the others on the next visit. Infrastructure studies of the dissemination and sustainability plan will be carried out during these activities. Dissemination plan is to create STEM school clubs. In sustainability, these clubs will be transformed into an international network clubs . Methodology: The main activity methodology is the context-based method. In our project that we started with the understanding of STEM, different solutions will be developed according to specific context. Our main activity, which first started with theoretical frameworks, will then be transformed into practice and contributed to the development of creative solutions. Results: At the end of the project, STEM-focused solutions will be developed for each country's environmental problem. Participants will develop the ability to produce engineering-based solutions to environmental problems and they develop basic skills, creating a culture of collaborative work. Cooperations between regions will increase, theoretical framework will be established, they will be more sensitive to environmental problems. All work will be collected in a booklet. The book name will be "Story of Small STEPs".All activities will be shared with stakeholders through project web page and social media tools . Project brochure will be prepared. STEM social club instructions will be prepared. Impact: It is planned to share the project results with the project booklet, social media tools, project web page, at regional and international level. The effects will also be spread over a wide area. Local collaboration will increase, tendency to engineering disciplines will increase, they will increase different teaching and learning methods. Developing engineering-based solutions to environmental problems will increase the knowledge, skills and awareness of students towards this field. It will be used as a reference for future projects that will be implemented for environmental problems. In addition, school STEM social clubs will enable schools to use project outputs. Long term benefits: Project outputs will continue to be used after the end of the project thanks to the international STEM club to be founded. In addition, project work will continue to be used in school festivals and related school exhibitions.
Background of the project: environmental issues are among the main problems that the whole world is concerned about. Providing solutions to these problems with engineering-based disciplines con provide outstanding benefits. The project has drawn attention to realistic solutions to environmental problems and engineering approaches which is a field that students generally do not prefer. With our project, we aimed to produce engineering-oriented solutions with STEM understanding to real environmental problems. To thrive in a world that is changing rapidly and dramatically, we need education to inspire students to innovate, find solutions, love and enjoy learning, make an impact on the current situation and to make a big change for a better future. Objectives: to establish the theoretical framework, to ensure that different countries cooperate with each other in order to solve environmental problems and develop solutions to global problems by addressing local environmental problems. In other words, the goal is to provide solutions for big problems making small STEPs in each participating country. Number and profile of participants: it is a strategic partnership project implemented by 5 European countries, namely, Latvia, Turkey, Romania, Bulgaria, and Poland. Travelling restrictions during Covid-19 pandemic opened the opportunities to increase the number of participants. There were organized virtual mobilities therefore it was possible to increase the number of participants from 160 to 228. 2 project experts were engaged in the project to ensure project management. The participants for all mobilities were chosen by certain criteria: their academic success, interest in STEM and environmental issues, their engagement in school and extracurricular activities, communication skills, ability to tolerate other nationalities and cultures, good command of English language and no limitation to travel. Description of activities: our main activity was to visit every partner country, to determine the environmental problem affecting the region and to produce solutions by using STEM approach. The implementation of the solution was carried out by the hosting country after the visit is over. The report on the progress was shared with other partners during the next visit. Dissemination and sustainability plan was carried out during these activities. Dissemination plan was to create STEM school clubs. In sustainability, these clubs will be transformed into an international network club. Methodology: in our Project, we applied context-based methodology during our main activities. We intended to raise individuals’ awareness on how to do a research, to query, to analyze and the most importantly to learn through real life context. Context based learning has focused on making teaching-learning process active, enabling individuals to reflect experiences and relate studying to real life situations and making it possible to apply the acquired knowledge to real life. Secondly, in the very first meeting, there was formed a conceptual framework and then it was transformed into practice. So, we followed the method of "from theory to practice." This method also helped to concretize the concepts. Results: at the end of the project, STEM-focused solutions were developed for each country's environmental problems. Participants enhanced their ability to produce engineering-based solutions to environmental problems and they developed basic skills, creating a culture of collaborative work. Cooperation between countries increased and participants and stakeholders have become more sensitive to environmental problems. In order to provide the dissemination of project results, the best practice samples have been collected in a booklet "Story of Small STEPs" and published in the project website, project Facebook site and partners' websites. The project brochure and STEM social club instructions were prepared and disseminated via project website and Facebook page. Impact: through project activities and the development of STEM club participants have raised their awareness of local and global environmental issues, have learned STEM strategies, improved their grades at school in STEM subjects. Development and promotion of relevant and high-quality STEM skills and competences was indicated as the priority of the project. With this project, we aimed to improve the competences and skills of students in science, technology, mathematics and engineering and raise their awareness of the importance of STEM subjects at school and when pursuing the future career. Hands-on environmental education projects enrich STEM learning and offer an exciting opportunity to engage more students in STEM. Long term benefits: Project outputs will continue to be used after the end of the project thanks to the international STEM club to be founded. In addition, project work will continue to be used in school events and related school exhibitions.