Promoting STEAM education through storytelling to boost girls’ interest in STEAM topics and potentially STEAM careers in the future.
Context
In a world that is constantly evolving, technology and innovation are more important than ever. However, women and girls continue to be significantly underrepresented in STEM fields. In 2023, the gender gap in STEM remained significant, with women making up only 17% of the STEM workforce in the European Union (Piloto, 2023).
In addition, teachers often find it challenging to encourage pupils’ interest in STEM subjects and explain their importance to younger children. In fact, STEM subjects are commonly perceived as highly theoretical, and children typically begin learning STEM concepts only later in their school years.
To support the early introduction of STEAM concepts, this project promotes the use of storytelling in STEAM education, with the addition of the creative element “A” for Art, as a method of presenting STEM topics in a way that younger children (6 to 9 years old) can easily relate to. The STEAM Tales project aims to help teachers teach STEM subjects in a more engaging and stimulating way. At the same time, the project promotes inclusive learning environments and encourages girls of all backgrounds to pursue STEM careers.
Objectives
- Boost girls’ interest in STEM topics and STEAM careers in the future.
- Promote STEM education through storytelling and hands-on experiments.
- Create educational materials, including a guide, inspirational stories of women in STEM fields, and lesson plans with hands-on experiments.
- Empower teachers to enhance their own and their pupils’ STEM knowledge.
- Build an inclusive learning environment for the development and excellence of STEM education.
Activities
- Research on the current state of STEAM education, focusing on the empowerment of girls and their relationship to storytelling in STEAM.
- Development of STEAM Tales pedagogical resources, including stories of women in STEAM, lessons and hands-on experiments.
- Three rounds of piloting of STEAM Tales resources in primary schools.
Resources
- Introductory guide: “Empowering girls through STEAM: cultivating curiosity and creating opportunities”
- Assessment protocol on the impact of STEAM Tales resources on children
- 12 stories about women role-models in STEAM fields, including the story of Rita Levi-Montalcini
- E-book with 12 inspiring stories of women in STEAM
- 12 STEAM pedagogical lesson plans with 24 STEAM experiments in connection to successful women in STEAM
- STEAM Tales pedagogical guide on how to use storytelling in the formal learning process
Impact
- Improved quality and quantity of STEAM pedagogical resources available to local education institutions.
- Enhanced the capacity of educators in using storytelling in STEAM education to support pupils’ learning and interest in STEAM subjects, while meeting the unique needs of children.
- Improved pupils’ knowledge and interest in STEAM areas.
- Raised awareness of storytelling in STEAM education and its benefits for the inclusion of children with fewer opportunities and those with learning challenges, with an emphasis on the inclusion of girls from all backgrounds, regardless of their religion or race.
- 20 primary school teachers from 5 countries involved in thepiloting phase.
- 341 children included in the piloting phase.
Partners
- MIND – Mittelhessisches Institut für Nachhaltigkeit und Diversität gGmbH (Germany, coordinator)
- GoINNO Inštitut (Slovenia)
- CESIE ETS (Italy)
- Universidade do Porto (Portugal)
- SCS LogoPsyCom (Belgium)
