Five European schools from Croatia, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and Romania have started the “STEAM Time – Solve UNESCO Crime” project, emanating from the increasing need to implement more attractive teaching methods which will allow further development of 21st century skills, while spreading European awareness and emphasizing the importance of the European UNESCO cultural heritage sites. The main goal of the project is to develop European citizenship through increased knowledge of other cultures by creating and exchanging interesting materials based on the European UNESCO cultural heritage theme. In addition, the aim is to implement innovative practices and to exchange experiences related to STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) on a European level. This will be accomplished by solving a UNESCO “crime” by means of performing various tasks which involve the STEAM area as well as UNESCO cultural heritage knowledge. These tasks will be carried out during five short-term exchanges of groups of pupils, over a timespan of two years, one in each partner school. All partner schools will participate at these exchanges with each six pupils aged 10-15 plus two teachers for a total of 150 pupils and 30 teachers. For the entire duration of the project, partner schools will involve pupils and teachers from the entire school, as well as parents, the local community, museums, associations and local crafts workers. During the project, the teachers will consult with one another on how to incorporate the cultural heritage theme into the math curriculum in each school. They will develop curricular materials by intertwining the knowledge and skills involved in teaching various subjects, and they will discuss the means available to improve pupils’ results in national mathematics tests. From the inception of this project, there will be a blog available and this will remain online after the project is completed. On this blog, each partner school will have a dedicated section where they will publish all the activities carried out, including tests, quizzes, questionnaires and their results, as well as information on each school, their town and the UNESCO cultural heritage sites of that country. Also, during the brief pupil exchanges live information will be posted about the exchange visits in each school. There will be a public seminar on the project and Erasmus+ during one of the exchange visits. This is when all partner schools hold presentations which will subsequently be published in a brochure. A brochure describing all the UNESCO cultural heritage sites visited during the project will also be published. The learning activities carried out during short-term exchanges of groups of pupils will be included in the future curriculum of each participant school. The mathematical tasks for solving the UNESCO “crime” will be used during maths classes, and the printed cultural heritage brochure will be used for geography and/or history classes. eTwinning and the Erasmus+ Project Results Platform will be used to publicise the results of the project. Twinspace will be used for communication between the pupils involved in the project. By being allowed the opportunity to get to know and compare the educational systems of the countries involved, each school will add a new European dimension to its curriculum. Participating teachers and pupils will acquire a positive attitude towards being a European citizen, as well as increase their respect for European UNESCO cultural heritage sites. This promotes multiculturalism and an international outlook on integration within the European community.
See above.