Motivating secondary school students towards STEM careers through hologram making and innovative virtual image processing practices with direct links to current research and laboratory practices. Erasmus Project

Project Title

Motivating secondary school students towards STEM careers through hologram making and innovative virtual image processing practices with direct links to current research and laboratory practices.

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 : Strategic Partnerships for school education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2017

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; Key Competences (incl. mathematics and literacy) – basic skills; ICT – new technologies – digital competences

Project Summary

The technology-driven economy and skilled workforce in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) fields are considered the driving forces for innovation and growth in the European economy. However, a number of European studies register a declining interest in students’ interest and enthusiasm in STEM education. This declining interest in STEM, leads to low levels of entry to STEM tertiary studies and STEM careers – posing a major challenge for the future competitiveness of European countries on the world stage and calling for actions towards STEM raising interest and uptake. HOLOMAKERS aims at inspiring secondary school students (14-17 years old) in making STEM fields a career choice and continue their science education at university level by introducing them in the magic world of hologram making and virtual image processing and design. The project infuses Arts into STEM (leading to STEAM), links STEAM to real life and current laboratory practices and engages students in hologram making. Hologram making is used as a creative vehicle for bringing school community closer to the research community, familiarize students with laboratory practices in the area of STEAM, demonstrating scientific techniques through practical use of a range of technologies and tools and challenging students’ thinking on the underlying scientific concepts. The project targets also STEAM teachers/educators with the aim of helping them update their teaching skills, feel more confident in using innovative methods, digital resources and making tools in STEAM teaching, carrying out engaging and hands-on learning activities in STEAM and inspiring students towards STEAM related disciplines.

The HOLOMAKERS project developed:
1) A technical reference guide that details the basics of holography, image processing and the making of holograms (https://www.dropbox.com/s/tnlqlbfh67r1ay8/HOLOMAKERS%20Technical%20Reference%20Guide.pdf?dl=0).
2) A number of portable holography kits that enable the making of holograms in the classroom, outside a specialized scientific laboratory, along with guidelines on the reproduction of the kits by the teachers for educational purposes
3) The HOLOMAKERS curriculum (https://holomakers.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/O3-curriculum_final.pdf) with Open Educational Resources in STEAM for teachers and students (https://holomakers.eu/oers)
4) Hands-on activities for computer generated and analog making holograms (https://holomakers.eu/activities)
5) An online class that will support teachers’ training in the HOLOMAKERS learning intervention (https://holomakers.eu/online-class)
6) A pilot protocol that will guide the pedagogical implementation of the learning intervention (https://holomakers.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/O4-PilotProtocol-_final.pdf)
7) Final Evaluation Report (https://www.dropbox.com/s/i72umwuna2og6ud/HOLOMAKERS_Final_Evaluation_Report.docx?dl=0)

The project brings together 6 organizations from 4 countries: Warsaw University of Technology (Poland), Edumotiva -European Lab for Educational Technology (Greece), FMD (Italy), AIJU (Spain) and secondary schools from Poland, Greece represented by ILO (Poland) and 6EK A PEIRAIA (Greece). All these organizations form an international team of experts and educational practitioners that complement each other towards propelling STEAM education, enhancing teachers’ professional roles, helping school students through innovative and creative hands-on activities that are interlinked to real life and scientific practices to develop positive attitudes towards STEM subjects and to acquire the skills needed in the European job market of the 21st century.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 175065,11 Eur

Project Coordinator

POLITECHNIKA WARSZAWSKA & Country: PL

Project Partners

• ASOCIACION DE INVESTIGACION DE LA INDUSTRIA DEL JUGUETE CONEXAS Y AFINES
• I Liceum Ogolnoksztalcace im. Marii Sklodowskiej – Curie w Sokolowie Podlaskim
• EUROPAIKO ERGASTIRIO EKPAIDEFTIKIS TECHNOLOGIAS
• 6EK A PEIRAIA
• FONDAZIONE MONDO DIGITALE