Science and technology are in the heart of every modern society. Responsible investment in science and engineering is needed for raising wealth and sustainable development of our future. That is why all programme and partner countries need citizens that are scientifically literate for societal participation concerning questions of science, technology and the environment. All countries also need a substantial part of the young generation to be interested, motivated and well prepared to embark in careers in science and engineering. The project Action Research to Innovate Science Teaching & Career Orientation (ARTIST) wants to contribute to these goals by improving science education and career orientation for the young generation. This shall be done by investing in the skills of science teachers concerning the evidence-based innovation of science teaching and promotion of career orientation. ARTIST intends to improve science education by promoting teacher skills in doing action research and small-scale innovation studies in science education in programme and partner countries across Europe and Asia. Jointly, the ARTIST consortium will develop teacher education courses and training materials to enable teachers to innovate their teaching based on self-generated evidence. Case studies for innovations in science teaching will be conducted and exchanged across the ARTIST consortium and beyond. ARTIST centres will be founded to act as centres of competence to support teachers and schools in their ongoing process of educational reform and innovation. ARTIST networks will be developed comprising universities, schools and business partners to support the process of curriculum innovation. Platforms will be established to support teachers and schools in these processes via the ARTIST website and the newly founded journal Action Research and Innovation in Science Education (ARISE).
As stated in the application, the ARTIST project sees science and technology in the heart of every modern society and highly relevant for the sustainable development of our future. Based on this assumption, the ARTIST consortium described the need for responsible investment in science and engineering for raising wealth and development of the present and future of any modern society. It was also acknowledged that all modern societies need a substantial part of the young generation to be interested, motivated and well prepared to embark in careers in science and engineering. The project Action Research to Innovate Science Teaching & Career Orientation (ARTIST) contributed to these goals by helping develop innovations in science education and for career orientation among the young generation in the participating countries. This was done by investing in the skills of science teachers and teacher educators concerning evidence-based innovation of science teaching and promotion of career orientation by action research and self-study. ARTIST helped improving science education by promoting teacher skills in doing action research and related small-scale innovation studies in their science classrooms supported by HEIs across Europe and Asia. Teacher education activities and corresponding materials were developed and applied in teacher education courses to enable teachers and teacher educators to innovate science teaching based on self-generated evidence. These materials are available in all relevant languages in the participating countries, namely a guidebook with theoretical resources, practical activities and illustrative cases and a PPT toolkit to be used in action research seminars. Case studies for innovations in science teaching were conducted, documented and exchanged across the ARTIST consortium and published via the ARTIST website. ARTIST centres were founded to act in the future as contact points and providers of competence to support teachers and schools in their ongoing process of educational reform and innovation. ARTIST networks were founded comprising HEIs, schools and business partners to support the process of curriculum innovation and career orientation. The networks were established to support teachers and schools in these processes via supportive materials on the ARTIST website and available competence in the ARTIST centres. A new journal was founded in 2018 as a place to publish and exchange innovations in science education, namely the journal Action Research and Innovation in Science Education (ARISE). The journal now completed its second volume and will be continued after the funding period.