Why is STEM important for the near future?
Why is it important that students are introduced to STEM from the very beginning of their school career?
The acronym STEM originated in the USA in the 2000s introduced a multidisciplinary approach to learning science subjects, promoting different skills, such as problem solving, computer literacy, creativity, data analysis, critical thinking and communication, through specific methodologies such as:
- Tinkering, an approach that promotes the idea of learning that comes through engagement in manual activities and individual creativity;
- project-based learning, a student-centred model of teaching and learning based on challenging questions or problems that involve students working together over a relatively long period of time in planning, problem solving, decision making or research activities.
Integrating the STEM approach at school provides students with the opportunity to develop the qualifications and skills needed to adapt to a dynamic and changing employment landscape.
The practical experimentation element is crucial to a STEM approach that genuinely engages students and encourages them to consider real-world experiences. Experiential learning, through hands-on activities and workshops, is an effective method for fostering learning in STEM disciplines because it places learners at the centre of the learning process, fostering a collaborative approach to solving concrete problems.
In order to facilitate this, teachers and educators require a set of tools and resources to accompany their teaching activities. Therefore, the traditional frontal lesson is not the optimal setting for a STEM teaching experience. Instead, specific settings (such as circular sessions, group work, outdoor activities, etc.) should be adopted in order to allow learners’ reasoning and creativity to be expressed to the fullest extent.
As part of STEM by STEM, we have developed a Toolkit for teachers that contains useful guidelines for adopting the STEM approach at school. This will be published in the resources section of our website and will be available soon in several languages. Furthermore, we are developing a package of STEM lessons that will be made available on an open-access platform, the online Wiki, which will contain useful resources for school teachers. The package of STEM lessons is currently being tested by three schools in different countries (Italy, Spain and Bulgaria) that are partners of the project.
These resources can be used as a foundation for developing classroom activities with students, fostering more creative learning environments and providing opportunities for students to apply their knowledge.
Furthermore, each country organised a training workshop for teachers to share the knowledge gained during the international training on programming, 3D printing, electronics and robotics held in Sofia (Bulgaria) last year (read more here).
The training programme in Italy was implemented last November 2023 and involved a group of teachers from the ISS Duca Abruzzi – Libero Grassi in Palermo, who disseminated their experiences in Sofia to their fellow participating colleagues: the event provided an opportunity to reflect on the implementation of STEM practices in the educational context and to consider the resources that could be mobilised to foster a stimulating and creative school environment.
If you are a teacher or educator interested in STEM by STEM project resources, please contact Emna Miled: emna.miled@cesie.org.
About the project
STEM by STEM is funded by the Erasmus+ KA220-SCH – Cooperation partnerships in school education.
The project aim is to create and make available to teachers and educators accessible, easily –implemented STEM educational resources to raise students’ interest over STEM and improve their science literacy.
Partners
- 139 OU Zaharii Krusha (Bulgaria, Coordinator)
- Know and Can (Bulgaria)
- CESIE (Italy)
- IS “Duca Abruzzi – Libero Grassi” (Italy)
- INSTALOFI LEVANTE SL (Spain)
- CARLOS V SOCIEDAD COOPERATIVA DE ENSEÑANZA (Spain)
- S.C. PREDICT CSD CONSULTING S.R.L. (Romania)
For further informations
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Contact Emna Miled: emna.miled@cesie.org