* Context As teachers, we need to be aware of the changes and the needs of the today's students. We have noticed that these generations of students have low-attention disorders, just because they are born with the technology. They are used to get to the information in just one click on their phones, tablets, and computers, so being in the classroom, being taught in a traditional way, by old textbooks, shows that the educational system is not efficient. According to the learning patterns and students' needs, this project intends to develop visual materials that will help students understand the challenging topics in the students' books. * Objectives - to create teaching methods through various innovative approaches; - to engage students in activities that will encourage their interest in STEAM; - to increase the level of knowledge in the key-competences; - to provide excellent, hands-on learning opportunities for every student; - to promote internationalization and European values; * Number and profile of participants Each of the partner organizations in this Partnership are experienced in the field of teaching and education and they will contribute to a great extent for the realization of the proposal. There is a total number of about 30 key persons that will be included with working assignment, training activities with students, implementation and dissemination. * Activities 1. selection of staff involved in the project, quality assurance, budget control and time management, risk management, acquisitions, financial reports, archiving, reporting to the National Agency and European Commission 2. intellectual outputs: database of the current topics and areas that students find difficult and challenging in subjects like Math, Biology, Chemistry, Technology, Physics, Educational Infographics for STEAM - a toolkit and booklet on a platform, a Guidebook, and development of a structured course for how to use the Toolkit and the booklet 3. a short-term students' exchange (October 2020, Romania) 4. three multiplier events (1 in Italy, 1 in Cyprus and 1 in Portugal) 5. three transnational project meetings (Spain, Italy and Cyprus) 6. dissemination activities (within the institutions involved in the project, in other institutions, public events and mass media coverage, publications and scientific events, graphic materials and online dissemination). * Methodology 1. establishment of a communication network, organizational upgrades, informative activities, selection and preparation of participants, specific rules and financial regulations. 2. analysis of the achievement results in all the partner schools that will direct us to development of the intellectual outputs, based on innovation and exchanges of practices; the process will be evaluated and redirected during the transnational project meetings. 3. follow up phase with multiplier events and direct activities with the target groups: pupils, teachers, trainers, school managers, decision makers and policy makers, representatives of public institutions, including NGOs. 4. dissemination phase with previously defined activities in a dissemination plan 5. completion of the project with establishing specific tasks of each partner in the sustainability period, reinforcing the partnership and inviting new partners, planning additional activities * Results The main results of the project are the already mentioned as intellectual outputs, other results are: 1. at institutional / organizational level: developing innovative strategies to implement this method in the curricula based on the intellectual outputs and on the experience and expertise gained from the project; 2. activities with the beneficiaries: implementing the methodology developed through this project in at least 20 schools in all participating countries, with at least 1000 pupils, 100 teachers and 100 parents and family members attending; 3. at inter-institutional level: partnerships with similar institutions and schools to use the Educational Infographics for STEAM and the Guidelines * Impact 1. impact on the participants: Increased awareness of the importance of the key-competences, increased knowledge of using and learning from visual contents, increased learning and teaching methodologies and pedagogical approaches, 2. impact on the participating organizations: Increased resources for using innovative methods, opportunities for professional development, and internationalization 3. impact on target groups: increased knowledge in the key competences and better results on the PISA tests, and learning through the innovative approach * The potential long-term benefits 1. STEAM awareness in the schools and community 2. implementation of the Educational infographics methodology in the curricular and extra-curricular activities 3. students will be more prepared for the professions of the 21st century 4. new partnerships and projects to further enhance the results of this project
A contemporary student functions in digital technology and one of its components is the image. You should use as much as possible the fact that we are most often visual learners, which is why we have proposed an innovative approach in STEAM subjects. This will attract their attention, increase their motivation to learn, and students will be able to better understand the most difficult elements of the curriculum. This is supported by the results of the PISA tests, which show that students need different models than traditional textbooks if they are to acquire as many skills and competences as possible. Through the extensive use of infographics, students learn to think critically and be creative. Infographics are not related to age, gender and education, so they are a very universal tool in the educational process. Through the implementation of the project, we wanted to expand the competences of teachers: the ability to diagnose the educational needs of students, to methodically designate the environment for acquiring knowledge and skills, to critically reflect on individual research aimed at implementing innovation in teaching, to develop the cooperation skills and competences needed by the teacher.
Through the implementation of the project, we wanted to obtain results that would increase the level of knowledge and involvement of students, creating better, more innovative learning opportunities. One of the reasons why students fail at school is attention deficit disorder. The influence of the intensity of visual and auditory stimuli on information processing in the human brain is known. Scientific research has shown that a person remembers 20% of what he reads but 40% of what he sees. There are many topics in the school's curricula that students define as demanding and difficult. Thanks to their visualization, students will learn them easier and faster. By creating infographics for selected, the most difficult topics in STEAM subjects (math, physics, chemistry, biology, technology and art), we made them more accessible, understandable and interesting for students. It is necessary to use as much as possible the fact that we are most often visual learners, which is why in this project we have proposed an innovative approach for teachers in STEAM subjects, which consists in the extensive use of infographics as additional teaching material. We believe that the results of the project meet the needs of students and teachers.