EXPLORE+ creative explorations of curiosity for innovative transdisciplinary, STEAM and social learning Erasmus Project

Project Title

EXPLORE+ creative explorations of curiosity for innovative transdisciplinary, STEAM and social learning

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 : Partnerships for Creativity

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2020

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Creativity and culture; New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; Social entrepreneurship / social innovation

Project Summary

EXPLORE+ is a 2 year educational project that will create a new methodology for school educators and cultural pedagogues to jointly develop transdisciplinary and creative learning interventions. These interventions take the form of multimedia exhibitions and participatory cultural programmes. Targeting young students and citizens, the methodology activates inherent curiosity and creativity and makes use of exercises of scientific exploration, collective co-creation and creative expression to develop new skills related to STEAM, creativity, critical thinking, social learning, and learning-to-learn. The main aim is to establish an original and innovative work methodology that equips young people to come up with own creative solutions to societal challenges related to science denial, disinformation or other anti-intellectualism issues that trouble European communities.

Fear, isolation, peer pressure, confirmation biases and lack of media literacy among European citizens are wicked problems that pose serious challenges for the social, environmental and economic stability of the European project. Europeans live in a digital, global information-age in which post-truth culture, disinformation and digital infodemics have real life consequences at a global scale – be it about the covid-19 pandemic, climate change, or xenophobia-fueled political polarization.

The current and future generations of Europeans citizens must be equipped with skills and tools to make their own reliable and evidence-based decisions, as well as produce new solutions for Europe that are original and adaptive – in their communities, in their professional and private life, or as part of wider political processes. The intersection between school and cultural initiatives is the perfect space to develop those skills and tools.

EXPLORE+ consortium gathers a group of educational centres, schools, musea, science centres and municipalities with the objective to pilot mutually-beneficial cooperation models between school, cultural spaces and civil society; to innovate formal learning processes via “creative exploration” pedagogies that foster transdisciplinary teaching in cultural and social contexts; to equip students with creativity and STEAM skills that empower them to become innovators; to
consolidate pedagogic tools and methods that equip a community of educators and cultural pedagogues across Europe to cooperate with each other and build partnerships between education, culture and wider society for sustainable development and active citizenship purposes;

EXPLORE+ engages 150 students and 80 educators/cultural pedagogues as participants an co-creators in the development of its methodology and activities, that include 3 peer-learning sessions and study visits, 3 interdisciplinary exhibitions, and 3 public science fairs including 3 info sessions about the EXPLORE+ methodology, toolkit and MOOC course. The outputs and knowledge of the EXPLORE+ community are shared with the wide European educational and cultural sector in a final conference.

The EXPLORE+ outputs are the transdisciplinary/participatory methodology for making multimedia exhibitions, the know-how and working process developed by partners, as well as a comprehensive toolkit that can inspire and guide others on how to replicate and implement the methodology in new situations. These two outputs are then packaged for dissemination and exploitation via an EXPLORE+ MOOC course that freely shares the methodology with European educators and pedagogues, and certifies them as EXPLORE+ practitioners.

The long term benefits of the project are the establishment of improved learning processes that equip educators and students to manage transdisciplinary cooperation in a way that also increases creativity and critical thinking skills, as well as achievement in STEAM disciplines, plus media literacy. As such, the project tackles current skills gaps, and equips young citizens to create and implement innovative solutions to promote their desired/sustainable post-covid 19 futures, in cooperation with civil society, education, industry, culture and the wider communities they are part of.

Science points towards curiosity playing a decisive role in helping people adapt to uncertain realities, making them think more deeply, come up with more creative solutions, and develop more trusting and more collaborative relationships, as well as leading to more innovation and positive changes in creative and noncreative performance (at school and work).

A more knowledgeable and (environmentally, economically and socially) sustainable Europe is possible, if current and future generations find the paths and visions to get there through the uncertain and uncharted times ahead. Curiosity, creativity, critical thinking and transdisciplinary STEAM skills will be the means of discovery of that sustainable Europe. EXPLORE+ is the very beginning of our creative exploration. Let’s become EXPLORE+(RS)!

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 220010 Eur

Project Coordinator

Solaris Foerderzentrum fuer Jugend und Umwelt gGmbH Sachsen & Country: DE

Project Partners

• AGRUPAMENTO DE ESCOLAS PINHEIRO E ROSA
• MUNICIPIUL TIMISOARA
• Friendly Appeal Cesis State Grammar School
• Cēsu novada pašvaldība
• Instituto Lusíada de Cultura