In the modern and developing world in which science and technology is everywhere, developing 21st century skills and keeping pace with scientific and technological innovations are becoming more and more critical for young generations. To compete and succeed in such a knowledge-based and highly technological society, students need to develop their thinking, criticizing, creating, designing and solving capacities. As a curriculum based on the idea of educating students in four specific disciplines of science, technology, engineering and mathematics by using hands-on and minds-on methods, STEM is a cohesive learning programme based on real world experiences. With the thought that “earlier is better”, we aim to integrate all possible STEM activities into our education programme to make our preschool and first years of primary school students acquire and be familiar with the necessities of the modern time. Activities involving experimentation, discovery, building or collecting things are great ways to teach preschool and primary school children. To discover their interests and abilities through these activities will be the first step to motivate and lead them properly. We prepared, planned and created a productive and developing project for teachers. We the teachers will develope our competences, capabilities and 21st Century skills to be more productive at our schools to our children. To be successful in our project work we have planned TPM and LTT's beside our local activities. The plan and expected impact in general is to create, after having successfully completed the project, a well organised school using various kind of STEM activities learned from our partner school and organisations' best practices. We are aware of the importance of teachers that they are the main and most effective figure in children's life. To make an investment to teachers is an investment to children and the future. The governers can build the best organisation can build the best schools and fill the schools with the best tools but without a motivated, developed and well skilled teacher it will not reach the expected success. As participant teachers, we will not only improve ourselves in the field of STEM but also develop our social and professional skills, and our little STEMists will learn and develop their capacities and skills through the project activities. Each partner of this project will make a special contribution to it thanks to their earlier successful studies and applications in different areas within STEM education. We, all participant teachers together with our students, will get STEM training, exchange our STEMbased class-experiences and materials, transfer and apply good practices, produce and display STEM products. Through these activities, teachers, students and parents will have the chance to develop skills and enhance educational activities. Our project will be useful and successful, because it is a very well-planned project whose partners will make great contributions to each other, will be widely-disseminated and the outcomes will be used for a long time.
Activities involving learning by doing - experiments, discovery, building or collecting things were great ways to teach small children. The inventory of interests and abilities in STEM was the first step in motivating and leading them properly. We created an efficient project for teachers also. We developed not only our professional competences, 21st Century skills, but personal development was present in each challenge we’ve met along our STEM adventure. We feel now confident and more productive in our schools for our children. Through this Project, (in long term) children: Discovered their interests and skills in the four fields - STEM, Developed their science-based thinking, observation, comparing and contrasting, classifying and problem-solving abilities, Get 21st century skills, Created, produced, designed, Discovered the world. On the other hand, teachers: Learnt STEM education program to reach the goals of the project and give better education to children, Improved the level of English, communication, citizenship and ICT skills, Got to know innovative and modern education tools and use them properly, Planed future studies, Learnt European education policies, Participated to the transfer of good practices.
Our project was the professional experience that came in time for teachers and children who were directly involved in it. In this modern world that changes every minute, Science and Technology surround us everywhere we go and the development of the 21st century skills, being friendly with the scientific and technological innovations became critical for the young generations. In order to be prepared for the present and the future life and succeed in such a knowledge-based society, students need their critical thinking, creativity, designing and problem-solving skills very well stimulated and developed. As a curricula based on the idea of educating in four specific disciplines – Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics – by using hands-on and minds-open methods, STEM demonstrated that is a truly effective learning program based on real world experiences. We were all agree with the idea “earlier is better” and aimed to integrate all possible STEM activities in our educational program. It was a great decision of teachers who are constantly preoccupated of teaching for future times, not for the present ones, who offered great opportunities to our children to acquire and get familiar with the necessities of the modern times.