Cell Biology and Art Class Omnibus

By encouraging different skills in early childhood, through the family and then the educational environment, a series of skills are developed that remain instilled in children throughout their lives. One example is a way of thinking that involves breaking out of conventional norms and frameworks. Such way of thinking brought the idea of a joint project developed between Juraj Dobrila University of Pula (furthermore UNIPU), fabula movens doo and Petar Pan kindergarten. Creativity, openness, collaboration, resilience, cognitive elasticity as well as social and emotional competencies are becoming an essential toolkit for any child. In addition, STEM education Is becoming vital in helping children better understand the world. Pre-school teachers are the main facilitators of inciting and nurturing diverse sets of skills for pre-school children. Combining biology, music, artists, pre-school teachers, technology driven learning methods brought an idea of Cell Biology and Art Class Omnibus (CACAO) project. Five different countries involved experts in different fields with joint initiative to co-create unique pre-school learning program blending cell biology, music, dance, and visual art.

Respective project tries to bridge this gap by developing and implementing a highly innovative and inclusive pedagogical concept blending music, visual art, and cell biology. Research in cognitive psychology and neuroscience implies that engaging in activities that combine multiple sensory skills such as singing, playing, clapping, and dancing makes a significant difference in cognitive development and educational success. On the other hand, the education systems do not offer the possibility of educating educators how to think outside the box and, in a specific project example, use music as an educational tool. An additional problem is the basic IT knowledge of educators. Program developed throughout the project is focused on five and six-year-old children and their teachers who can acquire certified professional education on using music as an educational tool to teach children biological concepts. Such interdisciplinary educational approach would not be possible without the support of parents and preschool headmasters who will recognize the value and the need for such a program.

In order to make the project successful the project application envisaged 4 transnational project meetings entitled for administrative discussions. For the learning, teaching and training 4 different trainings took place. In such an interdisciplinary group, comprised of scientists, academics, and practitioners it was necessary to complement each other’s, knowledge, skills, and experiences. The first training covered design thinking in curriculum design, basic cell biology training, and training on how to use virtual collaborative ILDE 2 platform for co-creation of the project results. The second training covered music as a learning and communication tool and embodied learning. The third training covered engaging communication in front of the camera and the process of creating an online course, as well as the use on online learning tools for continuous professional development. The fourth training was a hands-on training to test newly developed activities in working with children. In order to present and disseminate project results three multiplier events/conferences took place, one in Brussels, second in Zagreb and final conference in Pula.

During the two years of the project implementation, five project results was created in a collaborative manner. The first and second project results are curriculum designed for blending biology and art (with emphasis on music) for pre-school children and curriculum designed for blending biology and art (with emphasis on music) for early childhood educators and a definition of CACAO certification. Furthermore, CACAO online platform with the web repository of activities, songs, video, and sound material for the CACAO curriculum is created. The fourth project result is a CACAO online course for early childhood educators following CACAO curriculum design, allowing continuous professional development in STEAM for preschool educators. Fifth project results refers to extensive scientific evaluation of the impact of CACAO program implementation and create Final Project Report. Project activities and results are designed to strengthen STEAM learning in the preschool setting, by developing an innovative educational program and creating complementary professional training for the preschool educators as well as the wealth of material for seamless implementation of the CACAO program. In summary, for the first time to our knowledge, the CACAO project designed and implemented structured multidisciplinary curricula for pre-school educators and pre-school kids, complemented with free and comprehensive training and the omnibus of interdisciplinary activities where multifaceted effects of art are used to immerse both the pre-school teachers and the pre-school children in the world of cell biology to ignite the life-long love for both disciplines.