Innovative Model of learning STEM in secondary schools

We applied for this project to respond to a clear need to improve the quality and effectiveness of STEM education in secondary schools across our partner countries, Türkiye, Germany, Greece, Italy, and Romania. Through desk research we did before the project, surveys for needs analysis, and partners’ previous project experiences (especially regarding STEM practices), we identified key challenges that both educators and policymakers were facing—particularly the difficulty in adopting innovative and collaborative teaching methods in STEM subjects.With these challenges and needs in mind, the LearnSTEM consortium set out the project based on its core mission to empower secondary schools, particularly teachers of STEM to effectively implement STEM practices while equipping teachers with the necessary knowledge, skills, and resources to integrate innovative applications and good practices into their STEM instruction.In this phase, the LearnSTEM project, which involved 2 universities, 2 educational research centers and 4 practice schools, has made significant progress in improving STEM education in secondary schools and supporting teachers of STEM professionnally.

The project aimed at strengthening secondary schools' capacity to develop skills in subjects such as science, technology, engineering and mathematics through innovative and interactive pedagogical methods and approaches. The project provided schools with a pedagogical model and online educational tools to support students to connect with the ‘real-life’ applications of STEM, and teacher training program and supportive materials.

We sought to empower teachers with the tools, resources, and professional development they need to effectively implement effective STEM practices in the classroom.The project carried out the following activities to provide schools with a pedagogical model and educational tools, an online learning platform, and teacher training program and supportive materials.For WP2 of Pedagogical Model, identification of good practices,10 examples of good STEM practices selected, stakeholder mapping completed with one report per partner country, the development of pedagogical resources and materials, overview of mobile games. For WP3 of Definition of the Teacher Training Programme: needs analysis done through surveys/interviews (per country), report produced on STEM teachers’ training needs and opportunities, STEM teacher training curricula defined, training materials aligned with the curricula developed.For WP4 of Design and testing of the Online Learning Environment; an online learning environment launched.For dissemination,3 project websites produced (one for an online learning environment),various meetings, international events, national workshops done, 6 national evaluation reports produced, and 1 European-level evaluation report compiled

The project delivered several important results: a pedagogical model was developed, guided by identified best practises in STEM, a teacher training programme was created for 120 teachers following a needs assessment, resulting in tailored curricula, training materials and assessment tools. An online learning platform was developed, tested by 24 teachers and presented in national workshops. Dissemination activities included three websites, brochures, newsletters and various promotional materials. Management was ensured through six face-to-face and several virtual meetings. Six national and one European evaluation reports confirmed the relevance and impact of the project results and a strategy for the sustainability and use of the project was defined.