Technology Enhanced Science Teaching Erasmus Project

Project Title

Technology Enhanced Science Teaching

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 2018

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: ICT – new technologies – digital competences; Open and distance learning; Natural sciences

Project Summary

The starting point of the project “Technology Enhanced Science Teaching” (TEST) was that in higher secondary education some complex contexts and relations of the science field were not easily understood by students. For this reason the project TEST aimed to create multimedia-based and interactive teaching materials for science teaching and learning. The focus was laid on complex topics from Physics, Chemistry and Biology, but educational resources for Mathematics or Philosophy were also created. These so-called teaching tools are small software units dedicated to a specific competence. The tools can be used by students during lessons as well as for individual learning at home. As a complete innovation the “Analogous Comparison and Transfer Method” (ACAT) was first used to create the tools. The ACAT method is an innovative approach to science teaching. It was developed in Austria and first published by P. Mazohl at the International Conference for Education, Research, and Innovation (ICERI) in Seville 2017.

As a result, 17 teaching tools were created and implemented in standard lessons in the four European countries. They were also published as Open Educational Resources (OERs) in the webpage of the project as examples of best praxis of technology enhanced learning and contributed to the development of active methodologies in the digital age. In close cooperation of the partners, these tools were outlined, developed using common software, translated, implemented in the standard lessons and evaluated.

The experience of the implementation of the educational materials into regular lessons was summarized in a document. A Transferability and Evaluation guide was also written. This guide cares for the versatile use of these tools in other contexts or educational fields, and it offers the help and the guidance for other teachers to develop their own tools.

The tools were an impact to Technology Enhanced Teaching and Learning (TETL) in Europe as they filled the gap of teaching materials in Europe. They show a versatile and promising approach to science teaching. They also promote the ACAT method, which is an enrichment not only for science teaching but for all subjects. Moreover, the COVID-19 crisis confronted almost all schools in Europe with distance learning. The ACAT tools are ideally suited for learners to independently develop and understand certain learning contents. For this purpose, the tools are accessible online and can be used by students and other interested persons.

The consortium partners are well distributed in Europe (Sweden – North, Ireland – West, Spain – South, and Austria in the middle). Three partners are schools with a specific emphasis and skills. The Colegio Internacional Costa Adeje (CICA) is an international private school with students from all European countries and is involved in technological development projects, the Adamstown Community College is a school in the suburbs of Dublin focusing on physics and chemistry; and the Dragonskolan Umea is a school experienced in using virtual labs for science teaching. The Austrian partner EBI/EIE is a teachers’ training institution with its own research department and impacted the project in the field of multimedia content creation and the necessary pedagogical competences. The EBI is associated with an Austrian school in order to implement and evaluate the created teaching tools.

Each organisation selected at least three teachers/trainers with the necessary pre-knowledge for the development of the different activities of the project as well as to fulfill the technical requirements to implement the educational resources in regular lessons. Moreover, it was very important that they were interested in the project, in using the ACAT method and in developing innovative teaching material.

Project Website

http://www.science-teaching.eu/web/

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 92976 Eur

Project Coordinator

Colegio Internacional Costa Adeje & Country: ES

Project Partners

• Dragonskolan
• Europäische Bildungsinitiative
• Dublin Dun Laoghaire Education and Training Board