Schools are on the frontline in developing basic skills and key competences related to STEM education. However, the latest results of the OECD assessment programme PISA for 2015 show that the issue of under-achievement of 15-year olds in STEM is more pertinent in South and Eastern European countries, which score below the OECD average. Moreover, further studies reveal a gender gap regarding STEM education, where boys seem to be more engaged and perform better than girls. The European Commission has recognized that STEM subjects cannot be viewed in isolation, but need to be combined with environmental and socio-economic developments, and has adopted two policy documents on schools and higher education that expand STEM into STEAM, adding an “A” for “Art”. The WaterSTEAM project proposes the development of an innovative and integrated learning methodology for secondary school education, adopting an inquiry-based student-centred and interactive STEAM approach integrated with social and civic awareness, encouraging students to fully participate in social and civic life. The proposed methodology requires STEAM subjects to be embedded into their social and cultural context, incorporating students' experiences with global issues like environmental concerns, developing their critical thinking skills and social responsibility. The theme chosen for pilot-testing and refining the proposed WaterSTEAM methodology is European Landscape and the role of Water in shaping it. As a reflection of European identity and diversity, the landscape is our living natural and cultural heritage. The European Landscape Convention (2000) stimulates the European states in active participation in improving the knowledge about landscapes, their characteristics and the forces transforming them. The project focuses on how water can transform the landscape, applying a multidisciplinary methodology of investigation, consistent with the Convention. The theme provides a most suitable context for STEAM learning by relating it to global issues (e.g. climate change, green economy, renewable energy). The objectives of the proposed project include: -to help teachers acquire skills and competences necessary for applying an integrated STEAM methodology, through an inquiry-based approach combined with AR tools. Teachers will be trained in using the learning methodology, AR tools and a collaborative implementation framework, and pilot-test it in school. -to develop a teaching and learning methodology for secondary school educators, adopting the STEAM approach and linking it to promoting active civic engagement, integrating Art creative learning and citizenship education to other major school subjects, addressing at the same time the gender barrier in STEM education. -to enhance the above methodology with features of experiential learning, by bringing the student out in nature and providing the appropriate tools for the identification and documentation of real-world phenomena. -to develop and test Augmented Reality (AR) tools necessary for implementing the methodology, adding valuable elements to promoting civic awareness and dialogue between different groups in the community -to encourage teachers to collaborate with their colleagues from a wide range of disciplines (science, technology, math, engineering, art, languages) and develop a well-rounded interdisciplinary approach in teaching -to raise the teachers and students’ awareness about the importance of European landscape as natural and cultural heritage, the value of water and the importance of global environmental issues on a local level - to create a practical Handbook for teachers of secondary education with step by step guidance on applying the proposed methodology and tools, and recommendations for its optimal integration in different educational systems The target groups to be addressed are teachers and students in the secondary education, including school ages between 12 and 18 years. Stakeholders include organisations of the education community, decision makers at local, regional and central level, higher education institutions, and the civil society active in the fields of education and the environment. The transnational dimension of the project has many advantages and creates added value: The proposed methodology and tools will be tested in different educational systems, producing insight on how to best meet the needs of the curriculum and learning methods in each country. The partners will contribute innovative elements that pertain in the education system of their own country or region, and cross fertilize the products of the project with the best features of these systems. Finally, by testing the proposed methodology and tools in 3 different learning environments, disseminating them and promoting their integration to different educational systems through policy recommendations, the mainstreaming potential of the project products in educational systems throughout Europe is enhanced.
Schools are on the frontline in developing basic skills and key competences related to STEM education. However, the latest results of the OECD assessment programme PISA for 2015 show that the issue of under-achievement of 15-year olds in STEM is more pertinent in South and Eastern European countries, which score below the OECD average. Moreover, further studies reveal a gender gap regarding STEM education, where boys seem to be more engaged and perform better than girls. The European Commission has recognized that STEM subjects cannot be viewed in isolation, but need to be combined with environmental and socio-economic developments, and has adopted two policy documents on schools and higher education that expand STEM into STEAM, adding an “A” for “Art”. The WaterSTEAM project proposes the development of an innovative and integrated learning methodology for secondary school education, adopting an inquiry-based student-centred and interactive STEAM approach integrated with social and civic awareness, encouraging students to fully participate in social and civic life. The proposed methodology requires STEAM subjects to be embedded into their social and cultural context, incorporating students' experiences with global issues like environmental concerns, developing their critical thinking skills and social responsibility. The theme chosen for pilot-testing and refining the proposed WaterSTEAM methodology is European Landscape and the role of Water in shaping it. As a reflection of European identity and diversity, the landscape is our living natural and cultural heritage. The European Landscape Convention (2000) stimulates the European states in active participation in improving the knowledge about landscapes, their characteristics and the forces transforming them. The project focuses on how water can transform the landscape, applying a multidisciplinary methodology of investigation, consistent with the Convention. The theme provides a most suitable context for STEAM learning by relating it to global issues (e.g. climate change, green economy, renewable energy). The objectives of the proposed project include: -to help teachers acquire skills and competences necessary for applying an integrated STEAM methodology, through an inquiry-based approach combined with AR tools. Teachers will be trained in using the learning methodology, AR tools and a collaborative implementation framework, and pilot-test it in school. -to develop a teaching and learning methodology for secondary school educators, adopting the STEAM approach and linking it to promoting active civic engagement, integrating Art creative learning and citizenship education to other major school subjects, addressing at the same time the gender barrier in STEM education. -to enhance the above methodology with features of experiential learning, by bringing the student out in nature and providing the appropriate tools for the identification and documentation of real-world phenomena. -to develop and test Augmented Reality (AR) tools necessary for implementing the methodology, adding valuable elements to promoting civic awareness and dialogue between different groups in the community -to encourage teachers to collaborate with their colleagues from a wide range of disciplines (science, technology, math, engineering, art, languages) and develop a well-rounded interdisciplinary approach in teaching -to raise the teachers and students’ awareness about the importance of European landscape as natural and cultural heritage, the value of water and the importance of global environmental issues on a local level - to create a practical Handbook for teachers of secondary education with step by step guidance on applying the proposed methodology and tools, and recommendations for its optimal integration in different educational systems The target groups to be addressed are teachers and students in the secondary education, including school ages between 12 and 18 years. Stakeholders include organisations of the education community, decision makers at local, regional and central level, higher education institutions, and the civil society active in the fields of education and the environment. The transnational dimension of the project has many advantages and creates added value: The proposed methodology and tools will be tested in different educational systems, producing insight on how to best meet the needs of the curriculum and learning methods in each country. The partners will contribute innovative elements that pertain in the education system of their own country or region, and cross fertilize the products of the project with the best features of these systems. Finally, by testing the proposed methodology and tools in 3 different learning environments, disseminating them and promoting their integration to different educational systems through policy recommendations, the mainstreaming potential of the project products in educational systems throughout Europe is enhanced.