STEM education: from school to a tech world
▶Summary
STEM skills are an increasingly important part of basic literacy in today’s knowledge-oriented society. Europe needs more scientists and science-aware citizens but it continues to face a low number of students interested in studying or pursuing a career in the STEM field. According to OECD, pupils see STEM as boring, not related to real life and hard to study. Europe’s future heavily relies on technology and related sciences. As a result, the next decades will witness an increasing demand for people with relevant skills to meet this challenge. Therefore, in the field of education, Europe is facing the urgent need to attract enough people interested in science, technology, engineering and mathematics-related fields of study and subsequent professions. The STEM approach to learning and teaching promotes essential skills such as digital skills, critical thinking, problem-solving, management, teamwork, and technological skills necessary for success in the modern world. STEM education encourages students to experiment, take risks, and think outside the box. It fosters a culture of innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship. Integrating STEM education in schools is vital for preparing students for the future and future careers.
▶Objectives
Our main aim was to create cooperation between two schools (Portugal and Estonia) for the promotion of STEM teaching and studying. Partners wanted to develop and implement teaching materials based on real experience, practical knowledge, and both schools’ best practices. Those materials would be implemented throughout the running of the project and during the mobilities and assessed by experts and would be available to be used by other teachers and schools. After this, partners would make the necessary improvements so that STEM lessons and materials would be more appealing and motivate students. Thus, we aimed to promote interest and excellence in STEM, while developing key competencies in teachers and students and innovating in terms of teaching materials and classroom strategies. Furthermore, we aimed to do all this while cooperating with high education institutions and representatives from the world of work.
▶Activities
Teachers from both partner schools developed Learning Units to make STEM subjects more innovative, appealing, and interesting for students, focusing on making those subjects more related to real life and connected with the world of work. There was also a focus on practical activities, interdisciplinary work, and the development of the 21st Century Skills. During the 1st year, teachers worked on the design and planning of Learning Units and implemented them with the students. During the mobilities, some of those Learning Units were implemented by the visiting teachers in the hosting school. All Learning Units were evaluated by students and by an expert and improvements were introduced during the 2nd year. Then, some of the Learning Units were implemented again and considered complete. Both partners developed and implemented 11 Learning Units each.
▶Impact
The development of Learning Units for teaching STEM subjects. FORAVE developed and implemented 11 Learning Units on Biology, Physics and Chemistry, Maths, Robotics, 3D Design and Printing, Programming, Technical Drawing, Materials Engineering, and App Programming. TALLINNA also developed and implemented 11 Learning Units on Biology, Science, Media and Chemistry, Media and Physics, Media and Maths, Media and Literature, Maths, Media and History, Mathematics and English, and Informatics. Besides these materials, we also had two mobilities, in Tallinn and Lousado, and monthly meetings. Our project also has a website - https://stemeducation.pt/ - with all the materials developed, news about project activities, and updates on lesson implementations and mobilities.