STEAM citizen experimentation towards the deployment of learning CITY and territories

Facing challenges in science education across Europe, particularly the lack of student engagement in STEM subjects, our project addressed three needs: developing scientific learning experiences based on inquiry and investigation; promoting inclusion by democratizing access to technologies and fighting stereotypes; and integrating these pedagogical approaches into curricula to facilitate their adoption by teachers in various European contexts.

The SteamCity project aimed to design and deploy a set of interdependent services enabling secondary school teachers and students to conduct scientific investigations around smart territory challenges. Our ambition was to establish a citizen science approach that works both in and outside the classroom, empowering students to mobilize their interdisciplinary knowledge to address contemporary social, societal, and environmental challenges, thus developing their capacity for civic action.

We developed a comprehensive experimentation service integrating a structured methodology, reproducible scientific approach models promoting interdisciplinarity, and investigation protocols accompanied by dedicated educational resources. Our consortium created experimental tools based on programming and open data collection, responding to identified pedagogical needs. All these resources were rigorously tested and validated by 76 teachers across Europe, confirming their relevance and effectiveness in real school contexts.

The project generated a coherent set of tools and methodologies directly applicable in the classroom, enabling teachers to initiate stimulating learning practices based on scientific methodology and field exploration. This approach allowed students to become aware of their capacity to impact their environment through the analytical skills they developed. Participants significantly strengthened their 21st century skills, particularly creative problem-solving and computational thinking, thus building a solid foundation for their path toward higher education and future active citizenship.