STEAM like Leonardo Erasmus Project

Project Title

STEAM like Leonardo

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : School Exchange Partnerships

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2018

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: ICT – new technologies – digital competences; Key Competences (incl. mathematics and literacy) – basic skills; Cultural heritage/European Year of Cultural Heritage

Project Summary

All the schools involved in this project (Belgium, Italy, Poland, Romania and Spain) had a common concern which was to apply new methods more suitable for answering present educational requests referring to the obstacle that Science and Maths can create.

The aim of our project was to relate STEAM and Leonardo da Vinci. Leonardo was not only a great painter but also a polymath as shown in this famous quote: “Study the science of art. Study the art of science. Develop your senses – especially learn how to see. Realize that everything connects to everything else.” We have also taken into consideration that 2019 marks the 500th anniversary of Leonardo da Vinci’s death – a perfect reason to celebrate his legacy of science, art and engineering. Through Leonardo’s life and work, we have tied all the subjects to each other in an interdisciplinary way. “STEAM like Leonardo” project can help students, no matter their gender or social and economic background or linguistic difficulties.

OBJECTIVES
The objectives of our project were set after a SWOT analysis:
1. To engage students in the STEAM areas through Leonardo da Vinci.
2. To develop intercultural competences and research, digital and communication skills through ICT tools
3. Social and gender inclusion and equality of opportunities
4. Educational innovation

PARTICIPANTS
The project was designed for students aged 12-16 (Secondary School), a wide age range thanks to the variety of activities designed to be accomplished throughout the entire project. Altogether we estimate that more than 25000 people benefited from implementing this international project.
Through internal dissemination activities we reached all the members of the educational community and as the open inclusive project went on more teachers and pupils from other classes got involved in it.
Thanks to the external dissemination activities we involved local institutions (libraries, community centres, Art centres, City Halls, museums, factories, universities) as well as other schools, teachers and general audience by the means of sharing results and activities.

ACTIVITIES
To reach the objectives we wanted to accomplish, we decided to divide our project into six topics each of them related to one concrete aspect of Leonardo’s life and work:
1.Leonardo Da Vinci and his times
2.the artist,
3.the anatomist,
4.the visionary,
5.the inventor,
6.the scientist and mathematician

METHODOLOGY
Since not all the partners have the same expertise, our partnership was strategic in the sense that we could work together to exchange experience and know-how and receive joint training from our expertises within the partnership about STEAM, Augmented reality, gamification, eTwinning/Twinspace, CLIL methodology, safe internet, ICT tools, problem-solving strategies and Design thinking method.

We promoted inclusion and equity, also gender equality according to the big data about the low percentage of females in Scientific university curricula.

IMPACT
Our goal was to foster the true innovation that comes with combining the mind of a scientist or technologist with that of an artist or designer. Students were engaged in reasoned discourse about science and technology and cultural heritage. They were able to explain phenomena in many perspectives. At the same time, STEAM methodology empowered students’ ability to understand how they could achieve and develop their potential to participate in society as reflective and entrepreneur citizens.

RESULTS:
– inclusion criteria
– students self-confidence,
– teamwork
– diversity of methodologies
– awareness of cultural heritage
– use of digital technologies
– specific materials for classroom work and workshops (quizzes, games, reports, lesson plans, tutorials, videos, eBooks, Treasure Maths, Science Hunt, Geogebra files, Geometric Origami, 3D Hologram)
– assessment plan (questionnaires, rubrics)
– dissemination activities (website, Twinspace, social networks, eLearning/training events)
– final products: logo, presentations, films, eBooks, exhibitions, eMuseum, Leonardo’s detective virtual escape room and role-playing game.

POTENTIAL LONGER TERM BENEFITS
Our project was addressed to the students and teachers of Secondary schools. It was also connected to the results of OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and its purpose. It has examined not only what students know in Science and Mathematics, but also what they can do with what they know. Specifically, we think that “STEAM like Leonardo” has helped our school system to enhance OECD programmes because it develops and intertwines students’ performance in Science and attitude towards Science and Maths with their performance in Human sciences.

Many of the content and methodologies developed in “STEAM like Leonardo” project was incorporated in the curricula of schools and, thanks to the dissemination plan, not only of the schools involved on the project.

Project Website

https://steamlikeleonardo.weebly.com/

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 128179,5 Eur

Project Coordinator

Institut Narcís Xifra i Masmitjà & Country: ES

Project Partners

• DVM Handels-, Technisch en Beroepsonderwijs
• Zespol Szkol nr 1 im. Anny Wazowny
• LICEO SCIENTIFICO STATALE G. GALILEI PERUGIA
• SCOALA GIMNAZIALA “GEORGE EMIL PALADE”