Isn’t She STEM? | Break the Stereotype! Empowering Program in STEM for Teen Girls Erasmus Project

Project Title

Isn’t She STEM? | Break the Stereotype!
Empowering Program in STEM for Teen Girls

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 2019

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Teaching and learning of foreign languages; Gender equality / equal opportunities; ICT – new technologies – digital competences

Project Summary

STEM#4TeenGirls is a partnership program KA229 aimed to support women careers in science, technology, engineering and maths fields. The project will use eTwinning in combination with physical mobility to create richer exchanges between pupils and teachers from different countries (Italy, Czech Republic, Spain).

One of the stereotypes in European Education Systems is that women aren’t good in STEMs; which leads to a gender gap both within educational paths, both in the orientation choices about future and career.

The project aims: to break stereotypes about Girls in STEMs; to promote social inclusion (horizontal priority) by education and training activities that can really reduce disparities in women learning (Gender Gap in STEM fields).

CEFA schools in Rome, Základní škola in mateřská škola Parentes in Prague and Arangoya Educational Center in Bilbao planned two-years for mobility activities (time and virtual), aimed at motivating and enhancing Teen Girls education in technical-scientific fields, to go beyond STEM gender stereotypes and to promote gender equality. To achieve that, a virtuous circle of exchanges and experimentations of new practices are necessary from primary school. Good practices and planned activities take advantages from other European experiences about this very specific field.
We will build on results of Erasmus projects in which other Countries cooperated or are cooperating to analyse causes of women’s lack in STEM careers (eg Girls Tech, Erasmus + KA2). From these results, our teachers’s experience and creativity develop specific activities plans for different target groups.

STEM#4TeenGirls activity plan aims to:
– Improve opportunities and participation of girls 11-16 years old in the STEM curriculum.
– Share good practices on STEMs and develop new ones, based on “Teaching strategies to engage females in STEM”; promoting the born of a specific STE(A)M curriculum in participating institutions school plan.
– Improve English learning and communicative competences in L2, by exchange experiences and transnational collaborative projects aimed to develop a final product. Particular emphasis will be given to structured Content and Language Integrated Learning paths (CLIL & STEAM).
– Strength the respect of each other, taking part in experiences in international contexts, aimed at acquiring social, civic and intercultural competences.

Over a period of 24 months, different groups of beneficiary students will be involved in several activities, in some of which students develops products:
– a promo video (Isn’t She STEM?)
– 2 STEM Project-Works, carried out by national and transnational groups (topics will be SPEED and LIGHT)
– a project-calendar
– Project logo
– InfoGraphic about the project.

Furthermore, all participants (students, families, teachers, staff) will be engaged in:
– eTwinning activities for presentation, orientation, communication, cooperation, evaluation and self-evaluation.
– Short-term international exchanges of groups of pupils.
– National coordination meetings and transnational coordination activities among partner schools teachers.
– Cultural meetings with parents (She CAN be STEM!)
– Meetings and interviews to women who are in a STEM career.
– Final conference of the project and dissemination of the results.

The main beneficiaries of the project are students from Parentes and Petranova (aged between 11 and 14 years); students of Arangoya secondary school (15-17 years) and their teachers. Many adolescent girls are involved in the project: female presence is guaranteed by the homogeneous classes at Petranova and Arangoya. Kindergarten and primary school students at Parentes and CEFA will benefit from good practices for implementing “STEAM in English: vertical curriculum” (age 3-11) and will take part in the dissemination activities. Every partner school will involve families in meetings to talk about Women in STEM fields.

Project Website

https://www.scuolecefa.it/petranova/erasmus/

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 74340 Eur

Project Coordinator

C.E.F.A.- Associazione di Famiglie per l’Educazione e la Cultura & Country: IT

Project Partners

• Promoción y Cultura SA
• Zakladni skola a materska skola Parentes Praha