Advancing in STEAM & Healthy Habits

1. CONTEXT a) Albert Einstein Gymnasium located in Sankt Augustin is located near Cologne (Germany). The school, with its 950 students from 5th to 12th grade and 80 teachers, prepares students to go to university („Abitur“). In times of progressive globalization, they place great value on intercultural skills (Europaschule) and sustainable development (Schule der Zukunft): they offer the bilingual modality in English and special programs in Science (MINT). This school does not have any kind of experience in Erasmus + projects. b) The Fernando III secondary school is located in the south of Spain in the town of Martos (Jaén). The economy is largely based on agriculture and the agricultural industry; In addition to the plastic and automobile factories add to the economy of the city. Our institution has about 650 students and 55 teachers. We have qualifications that include compulsory secondary education, baccalaureate and vocational training. Approximately 30% of the students come from a neighborhood with a very low economic status and about a third of them belong to disadvantaged families at risk of social exclusion, with a high rate of unemployment and problems associated with this situation (marginalization, rate high school dropout rates), gender inequality, etc). We have extensive experience in Erasmus + projects: KA101, Ka102, KA103 and KA229. After carrying out an exhaustive analysis of our strengths and weaknesses, we decided to embark on this project to share good practices. 2. OBJECTIVES - Increase the number of girls in robotics and in the rest of STEM subjects. - Use the new technologies acquired by each of the institutions resulting from this project, participate together in various robotics contests such as Robocup, WRO or FLL. -Improve teaching methodologies associated with bilingualism at the IES Fernando III. - Increase the technological competence of STEM teachers. -For the Spanish institution to improve healthy lifestyles, specifically those related to sports, dance, among others. -For the German institution to improve eating habits, to achieve a healthy diet. - Reduce the dropout rate in the Spanish school. - Establish social inclusion policies in IES Fernando III. 3. PARTICIPANTS. IES FERNANDO III: 12 Professors from the departments of technology, art, physics and chemistry, and mathematics, and the Director and Secretary. 120 students belonging to courses from 2nd year of ESO (robotics) to 1st year of Baccalaureate (healthy habits) have participated. ALBERT EINSTEIN GYMNASIUM: 8 professors from the departments of technology, physical education, chemistry and biology, and the Director. 95 students have participated. 4. DESCRIPTION OF THE ACTIVITIES At this point it is necessary to point out that the exchanges were very significantly affected by the pandemic situation and the consequent restrictions on mobility that we suffered during 2020 and 2021. The first mobility of German students and teachers took place in March 2020, at Few days after the population confinements took place throughout Europe and the mobilities planned for the IES Fernando III de Martos took place in March 2022, in such a way that Spanish students whose families received German students could not enjoy the mobility to Sankt Augustin. Some of the activities that have been developed are: a) Spanish teachers who will teach in Germany / Job Shadowing. Regarding this section, the mobility carried out in 2022 to Germany has given Spanish teachers the opportunity to participate as observers in classes at the host center and verify the similarities and differences between them and those of their country. Variables such as: - the ratio of students per classroom - organization of spaces - the resources used - the different methodological approaches After this process of job shadowing during the first days, the two participating teachers began teaching in the areas of robotics and healthy habits at the Albert Einstein Gymnasium in Sankt Augustin. b) Exchange of good practices in Robotics - Robocup Championship. In both mobilities, host students and teachers showed the visitors their respective facilities (robotics workshops), detailed the most significant aspects of their design and construction process, explained their operation and presented the details of the championships and competitions in which they participate. c) German students will participate in the WRO Championship. Both teams participated in the championship, after preparing for months online to be able to carry out the robot missions required by the competition. It was a good joint project from which all the students were able to learn procedures from their classmates. In addition, the accompanying teachers also improved their knowledge of the Spanish educational system and became involved in joint work. The German professor Peter Scholl has shown his willingness to offer classes in mathematics or physics and chemistry to Spanish groups. d) Spanish students will participate in the Robocup championship. In the period that concerns us, the registrations of the German and Spanish teams in the championships indicated above have not been made firm for reasons of their suppression due to the pandemic, but both the German and Spanish teams have shown their commitment and willingness to participate in future editions and, if possible, jointly. e) Exchange of knowledge, culture and healthy habits. This was the area in which activities abounded the most in both exchanges. In the one held in Martos in March 2020, the following activities were carried out: Students and teachers attend the classrooms of the IES Fernando III as observers of the dynamics used in their development, the methodological approaches, and other aspects related to the ratio, the distribution of students in the classroom, the availability of resources, etc. . Activities developed with the promotion of healthy lifestyle habits were carried out, such as the tasting of a typical Mediterranean breakfast by German students and teachers, and a day of hiking in natural spaces near the town of Martos. Likewise, the center has facilities for the artisanal production of olive oil to which the German team had access, verifying first-hand the mechanisms of the process and the virtues of an oil produced in this way. In the cultural sphere, guided visits were made - some of them bilingual - to monuments and places of interest in the city of Martos itself (guided tour of the city), Jaén (bilingual guided tour of the old part of the capital, the Baños Arabs, the Palace of Villadompardo and the cathedral), Córdoba (visit to the old town and the Mosque-Cathedral) and Granada (visit to the old town and the Alhambra). In the mobility that took place in Sankt Augustin in March 2022, the activities carried out included in the section at hand consisted of: Guided tour at the destination center (Albert Einstein Gymnasium) and rally of the students in it, in order to learn first-hand about the structure of the school, its organization and the resources it enjoys. Observation by the teaching staff of the Spanish team of the German classrooms, the dynamics and methodology used in the development of the classes, the common spaces of the school and their uses. Attendance by the students of the Spanish team to different classes in the German center, in which they actively participated as long as they were held in English. Healthy breakfast day in which Spanish and German students shared healthy nutritional habits typical of their country of origin with their colleagues. Cultural visits to places of interest in the region guided by teachers from the German center. Excursions were made to Bonn and Cologne. In both cities they held a rally prepared by the German teachers to get to know the important enclaves. Hiking day in the Rhine area (Drachenfels) Sports activities together with German students in municipal facilities in the town of Sankt Augustin. f) German students will participate in the WRO Championship. In the period that concerns us, the registrations of the German and Spanish teams in the championships indicated above have not been made firm for reasons of their suppression due to the pandemic, but both the German and Spanish teams have shown their commitment and willingness to participate in future editions. 5. METHODOLOGY - Preparation of administrative documents to be used during the project (insurance, European health insurance card, among others) - Selection of students who will be chosen according to a scale agreed between the German and Spanish schools (same criteria). - Selection of teachers / support people. Those teachers who teach STEAM subjects have been chosen. The chosen profiles have been an important support for the students, solving daily problems and dealing with them before, during and after the mobility. - Organization of activities. - Dissemination within the local, regional and national media and within the School Community. - The Center has supported the project with seed funds. 6. EXPECTED LONG-TERM RESULTS AND IMPACTS. - Increase the number of girls in robotics. - Joint participation in robotics competitions. - Increase in the number of students approved in bilingual subjects. - Use of the physics and chemistry laboratories of the IES Fernando III. - Knowledge of the plastic transformation processes as well as the production of olive oil. - Reduce the dropout rate in Spanish schools. - At least 10% of the students belong to families at risk of social exclusion, with which we expect an improvement in the future employability of these students. 7. LONG-TERM BENEFITS. - Modification of the center plan. - Increased interest and enrollment in STEM subjects. - Greater experience and preparation in robotics. - Advice to other educational centers. - Reduction of school dropout. - Improvement of healthy habits. - New projects such as KA121.