Unplugged approach of computational thinking for children towards creativity and culture Erasmus Project

Project Title

Unplugged approach of computational thinking for children towards creativity and culture

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; Civic engagement / responsible citizenship; Open and distance learning

Project Summary

The education and the creative sectors have been strongly impacted by the COVID-19 crisis implying to reinvent the way of delivering contents to the youngest in a creative way while maintaining strong pedagogical commitments and activities, even in hybrid modalities such as distant learning. As stated by OECD, complementary strategies should be empowered through the implementation of cooperation dynamics between formal and informal learning environments, where the schools and teachers can find opportunities to use the museum and libraries resources to produce motivating and active learning experiences, for maintaining activities during hybrid learning modalities and looking outwards the walls of the class to inspire the children in their path to becoming active citizens. UNPLUGGED has been designed to empower the relations between the formal (schools) and informal learning ecosystems (museums, libraries, associations, families …) regarding the development of creative practices supporting the students positioning as critical thinkers and active citizens in the 21st-century society.

In this context, the UNPLUGGED project aims to enable the continuity of learnings during COVID-19 using citizen challenge in informal contexts through learning by doing pedagogies. UNPLUGGED is priorly a one-stop-shop of gamified activities that can apply both in the classroom but also at home, through learning by doing mechanics i.e. stimulating exploration through DIY activities, easing maintaining adapted challenges for home-based learning modalities and guiding the parents in their implementation. This approach will enable answering to several crucial objectives:

– Obj. 1: Enable the continuity of learnings during COVID-19 based on citizen challenges in informal contexts through learning by doing pedagogies
– Obj. 2: Enhancing creativity and motivation through a gamified approach
– Obj. 3: Creating critical thinkers.

UNPLUGGED will implement several steps methodology:
1) O1: Providing a gamebook based on the UNPLUGGED gamified, challenge-based and creative strategies and dynamics,
2) O2: Consolidating quests for enhancing creativity and culture approach in primary schools integrated unplugged games,
3) O3: Deploying a digital ecosystem for reuniting schools, cultural institutions and families,
4) O4: Consolidating new pedagogical assessment processes, especially based on self-regulated learning methods and a reward scheme for valorizing the children in their citizen commitment.

These activities will be displayed during demonstration sessions at school, home and within third places such as museums or libraries targeting 10 schools across Italy, Bulgaria, France, Belgium and Spain for a total of 30 teachers involved directly, 850 children, including 100 pupils with fewer opportunities and creating links with social services, the concrete involvement of at least 50 families, and a large dissemination plan towards at least 500 schools, 500 museums and libraries, 250 fablabs, associations and STEAM mediation participants and 100 policymakers.

Through this methodology and results, the UNPLUGGED project is willing to positively impact the development of civic engagement for the children, enabling them to tackle the world challenges with critical thinking and creativity, especially facing the 21st-century societal issues that we are facing, even more since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis. New STEAM competencies linked to programming and computational thinking, crucial at the level of the European educational system by the integration of computational thinking as a core component of the programmes, will be achieved. It will also enable the children to understand complex problems in a simple way linked to positive technological vision, Science for Good or even frugality as a game-changer for developing an inclusive society.

These impacts on the learners will have a direct positive effect on the teachers and the development of active pedagogy within the classroom and at home. Indeed, UNPLUGGED will provide programme-based activities to motivate the children, using creativity and art, DIY resources, to maintain the acquisition of skills while finding home-based challenges that can keep the learners active at home. The commitment to unplugged activities, besides the pedagogical impact on creativity enhancement, will enable all parents to benefit from the project outcomes, independently from resources and access to digital material and devices issues.

Eventually, UNPLUGGED will reinforce the links between the educative sector and the creative and outside the schools’ institutions such as science museums and associations. The project will contribute to developing participatory and playful practices that promote inclusive, collaborative, active and co-creative 21st-century pedagogies. This will encourage learners to be curious and creative in innovative economies (OECD, 2018).

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 284577 Eur

Project Coordinator

UNIVERSITE D’AIX MARSEILLE & Country: FR

Project Partners

• HANDS ON! INTERNATIONALE VEREINIGUNG FUR KINDER IN MUSEEN
• ZeUGMA OOD
• LA FABULERIE
• Digitale Wolven vzw
• Université Côte d’Azur
• MUZEIKO FOUNDATION
• MUSEO DEI BAMBINI SOCIETA COOPERATIVA SOCIALE ONLUS