How can educators promote the use of EFL (English as a Foreign Language) and STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths) for 4-8 year old learners in and outside the classroom? These were the questions partner countries of the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia and Italy had in common when they met at a Contact finding seminar in Belgium. Their schools all share the experience of teaching English as a Foreign Language and have identified the need to encourage pupils to use more English outside of the teacher- led activities in the classroom. Combining it with their need to immerse their youngest pupils in STEAM, they have developed the Super Inventors on the move project, aiming at the use of English in STEAM activities through the CLIL approach (Content and Language Integrated Learning), meaning that they will teach subject content using English as a Foreign Language. Since both content and language objectives are specified for the STEAM activities, pupils will discover the world of science through English in a playful way. The project is aimed at 4-8 year old pupils and therefore revolves around play, project- and experience- based learning and moving whilst learning. A mascot will incite their curiosity and will lead them through the learning process. At the different schools pupils will design their super inventor mascot. These inventors will travel to the partner schools with a suitcase filled with science experiments or playful assignments for robotics, construction work and design, and arts or maths and will stay there for 6 months, allowing the pupils to learn about these aspects of STEAM and the culture and language of the super inventor they host. The materials and resources for these visits will be developed by the teachers from the different schools during their visits to the partner schools so we can combine all of the expertise available with new insights learned in training sessions by experts in the field of STEAM. The resources produced during the project will be instruction videos for experiments (access with QR codes), scavenger hunts and games ( e.g. fortune wheels or robotic games). By setting up English STEAM play areas we are providing the children with tools to play with and expand on their English language and STEAM skills independently, which will increase their learner autonomy. Their motivation and confidence in English and Science will increase as a direct result. By exposing them to the cultures of the super inventors and children from other countries through eTwinning activities, pupils will not only become more curious about the world around them, but they will develop their cultural awareness and their appreciation for their own cultural backgrounds. As a consequence their future studies and work opportunities could easily benefit from such open mindedness. Our pupils are far too young to travel, so they will explore the cultures and meet the children from the partner schools through the Super inventors and on eTwinning. The teachers will actually meet in person, visit each other’s schools and receive training together in each of the partner countries. The project itself and the participation in training events in the different countries will contribute specifically to the professional development of the teachers of Kindergarten and 1st and 2nd grade. In order to bring the innovation to the school as a whole, they will discuss and implement theirnew knowledge together with their colleagues who teach older pupils at their school. Before starting the project, several teachers will follow KA1 STEAM courses for Early years or follow an online MOOC course by Future Learn on primary science and robotics. They will implement the acquired knowledge in the activities set up for this project as well as in the curriculum during and after the lifespan of the project. Besides the development of knowledge and skills in STEAM, we expect an increase in the teachers’ confidence in using English in class, with their pupils and colleagues. We expect the project to empower the teachers to encourage language development through the innovative methodologies we will develop. We intend to share our methodology and a comprehensive toolkit for STEAM activities through EFL, which we will create during the mobilities and throughout the project with fellow educators. It will help us to expand the positive impact to other pupils in other contexts. Not only will we share through our blog and social media channels, but we will also give good practice workshops at networks for EFL teachers, for Erasmus+ and Early Years conferences whenever we can. We will ask teachers inside and outside the project for feedback to make sure the toolkit is user-friendly and effective. The super inventors on the move project will allow our pupils and teachers to work and play in an exciting and innovative cross-cultural setting and to learn from and with each
How can educators promote the use of EFL (English as a Foreign Language) and STEAM competences (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths) for 4-8 year old learners in and outside the classroom? These were the questions partner countries of the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia and Italy had in common when they met at a Contact finding seminar in Belgium. Their schools all share the experience of teaching English as a Foreign Language and have identified the need to encourage pupils to use more English outside of the teacher- led activities in the classroom. Combining it with their need to immerse their youngest pupils in STEAM, they have developed the Super Inventors on the move project, aiming at the use of English in STEAM activities through the CLIL approach (Content and Language Integrated Learning), meaning that they will teach subject content using English as a Foreign Language. We took the A in STEAM (Art) very seriously by setting up a variety of art-related eTwinning projects associated with the topics. Since both content and language objectives were specified for the STEAM activities, pupils discovered the world of science through English in a playful way. The project was aimed at 4-8 year old pupils and therefore revolved around play-, project- and experience- based learning. Despite the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions and as we were eager to start learning, we organised two online training events related to STEAM and CLIL. Anita Demitroff, a specialist teacher trainer and CLIL expert from Spain, inspired us to work on the four elements (water, air, fire and light) with our students. Through our training we managed to set up a series of experiments with our pupils in the first months after being back in our schools. A mascot incited their curiosity and led them through the learning process. At the different schools pupils designed and elected their super inventor mascots, which were crocheted by the coordinator and travelled to the partner schools where STEAM projects, lessons and resources were created by international teams of teachers. The mascots stayed in each school for about 6 months, allowing the pupils to learn about STEAM topics such as space, insects and biodiversity, electricity and sea and sustainability. We wrote and illustrated stories about these topics, featuring the super inventors, which have engaged our students to the fullest and have been key to the lesson planning and implementation. In this way literacy was also an important component of the project. Teachers also received training on STEAM, both online and on-site. The expertise and new insights were implemented in the curriculum and daily teaching practice and routines. By setting up STEAM projects and activities, the children expanded their English language and STEAM skills, which led to increased motivation and confidence in these areas. By exposing them to the cultures of the super inventor mascots and to children from other countries through eTwinning activities, pupils became more curious about the world around them, as well as developing their cultural awareness and their appreciation for their own cultural backgrounds. We feel this has planted the seeds for becoming open-minded and sensitive global citizens. Our pupils were far too young to travel, so they explored the countries and met the children from the partner schools through the Super inventor-mascots, the project activities and on eTwinning. Through on-site visits and training (both in person and online), the teachers have increased their English communication skills and their STEAM knowledge and teaching skills. They are more confident to teach Science in English through a CLIL methodology. The project contributed to the professional development of teachers of young learners, but also inspired teachers of older learners in our schools to set up off-shoot eTwinning projects (such as the ‘Super Friends on the Move’ for 9-12 year old pupils). We expect the project to empower the teachers to encourage language development through the innovative methodologies we developed. We created a toolkit of stories, lesson ideas and plans, experiments, songs and movement activities for STEAM through EFL, which we created during the mobilities and throughout the project with our fellow educators. We shared all our materials on TEAMS, on the Twinspace (which disappeared with the transition to the new platform), on social media channels and in newsletters. Furthermore we disseminated the project through presentations at conferences, workshops with colleagues and families, interviews for Erasmus+ and had eTwinning news paper articles published. The super inventors on the move project has allowed our pupils and teachers to work and play in a playful, innovative, cross-curricular, international setting and to learn from and with each other.