Using STEM to Inspire Creativity Erasmus Project

Project Title

Using STEM to Inspire Creativity

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 2020

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; Natural sciences; ICT – new technologies – digital competences

Project Summary

Our target group is the students who will;
*Improve themselves by integrated disciplines while having fun,
*Create something by stem activity to solve a real world problem,
*Aware of their ability and talent,
*Develop their language skills.
*Besides, the teachers, who wants to be well-qualified, highly effective and well-prepared instructor to teach STEM, are the other target group, as well.

The project aims to inspire creativity and meet students with their interests, talent and ability. Because, a lot of students these days look at the criteria for STEM learning and would much rather sit with their head in a textbook learning about history or learning a language. While this is still important, it’s much more important for the future that students are positively encouraged to try and push themselves when it comes to STEM subjects. Besides, there are lots of students out there who get enjoyment and a sense of accomplishment from it. Focusing on STEM for these students helps them feel more involved with their education. It also aims to raise teachers’ development by sharing other candidates’ experiences. Stem is a new subject that has been started to be taught nowadays. That is the reason it is hard to get some well-prepared sources to have attractive classes. When we are done with the project, there will be a ready curriculum for the following years and a guide book for everyone who wants to reach some creative, innovative, inspiring stem activities. In this project, we are planning to learn from the other candidates and share our experiences. During the two years period of the project, we are going to make 5 sessions with our target group of students at the age 12-18 and will reach a minimum of 500 students in the schools, as well as families. These sessions include Art, Physics, Chemistry, Math, Engineering, Coding/Robotics based STEM projects/activities. Schools will prepare a specific curriculum (one at the first year and one for the last year) to address the students who will meet their ability and create a mechanism to solve a real-world issue, pupils will challenge and do activities through having fun and using their creativity. Project teams will decide the activities/stem projects in the curriculum. Schools will organize STEM CHALLENGE DAY to demonstrate their projects/activities to reach a huge dissemination and learn from each other in the mobility. At the end of the Project, the manual of each Project will be gathered to create a guide book for those who ever wants to reach valuable and challenging Stem activities.
We are planning scientific collaboration of local university where students have meetings and workshops about the importance of innovation in STEM-related fields, Robotic/coding, employment expectations, sharing insights and exploring future careers and opportunities within this subject area.

At the end of the project, we are expecting students to:
• Increase competence in foreign languages and greater understanding and responsiveness to social, linguistic and cultural diversity through communicating with pupils with similar interests from other participating countries;
• be more positive attitude regarding school education and the role of education in the future career;
• have responsibility for representing their school, country and culture;
• be more capable of science and math lessons;
• be aware of their talents and ability.

The accompanying teachers will:
• have chance to learn about education systems of participating countries;
• access to new pedagogical methods and international cooperation to use Stem activities;
• increase competence in foreign languages;
• increase capacity and professionalism to work at EU/ international level projects;
• have professional development and curriculum development, implementation and assessment;

We are going to organize three transnational meetings throughout the project.
1.The first transnational meeting is going to be in coordinator partner- Portuguese in November, 2020.
The contact persons and legal representatives will participate in the meeting. The goal of this meeting:
– to get to know project partners, contact persons and legal representatives in person,
– to introduce the partner schools and organisation in details,
– to share curriculum of stem projects of the first year,
– to give detailed information about web-site; how to publish photos, documents on the web-site by the Coordinator partner, Portuguese.
2.The second transnational meeting will be in Italy, in May, 2021. The goals are:
– to introduce the project activities done in the first year,
– to introduce the positive or negative results of the activities,
– to write the plans of second year activities in project.
3.Final meeting will be in Romania in May, 2022. Two teachers from each partner school who took part will participate:
– to introduce the project activities done;
– to evaluate the activities;
– to organize the final exhibition of the project and take photos.

Project Website

http://www.escolasbarquinha.pt/index.php/home/erasmus

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 127260 Eur

Project Coordinator

Agrupamento de Escolas de Vila Nova da Barquinha & Country: PT

Project Partners

• Ugur Schools Basiskele Campus
• Scoala Gimnaziala Brazi
• Istituto Professionale Servizi per l’Enogastronomia e l’Ospitalità alberghiera Aldo Moro
• SABA