Teaching standard STEM topics with a key competence approach (STEMkey) (Number: 2020-1-DE01-KA203-005671)
Project objective is to transform (future) STEM teachers grasp of teaching standard topics. To achieve that we will rethink and reshape the delivery of fundamental STEM subject knowledge in the context of key competence development. Future teachers need to be encouraged to refrain from teaching with the sole purpose to transfer knowledge about a single STEM subject, isolated from other STEM subjects. This simply does not live up to todays and tomorrows challenges anymore. They need to understand the relation between knowledge, skills and attitudes, how they affect each other and how they have an effect on their students’ learning experience and personal life. They also need to see that STEM subjects are relevant to our lives and our societies and that they are linked to each other.
To achieve this objective we will develop teaching modules to be used in HE programmes for future STEM teachers, covering all STEM disciplines and exemplarily dealing with topics from each discipline (e.g. light representing physics education, algorithms representing informatics or the periodic system representing chemistry). Each module applies various tested and proven innovative educational approaches, such as digital learning or real-life contextualisation.
About the project
In line with the European Education Area initiatives, the European Commission has identified the urgent need to support the development of its citizens’key competences. When it comes to education, higher education institutions (HEI) play a major role, as they are the ones to educate future teachers. This project focusses on two of the eight key competences, namely competence in mathematics, science, technology and engineering, as well as digital competence. Core of STEM education at school is the transfer of fundamental subject knowledge like functions, electricity and chemical reactions. Learners’ skills and attitudes have not been sufficiently nurtured likewise in traditional standard ways of STEM teaching (Maass, Geiger, Romero & Goos 2019). The Recommendations of the European Council on lifelong learning (Council of the European Union, 2018) however, describe knowledge, skills and attitudes as the three elements of a key competence. Consequently, HEI have to empower future STEM teachers to teach fundamental STEM topics without neglecting skills and attitudes of their future students at school.
For topics bearing controversial aspects or obvious societal relevance - such as environmental degradation or cybersecurity - innovative educational approaches, which enable teachers to not only deliver knowledge but also foster learners’ skills and attitudes, suggest itself. This is much less the case when thinking of chemical reactions, functions or anatomy. The relevance for their lives or society are not obvious to most learners. However, as the acquisition of basic subject knowledge is a vital prerequisite for acquiring related key competences and forms a major part of STEM education, it is imperative to figure out ways how to allow learners to develop key competences in the scope of these seemingly “boring” topics. Unfortunately, there is only little materials available on teaching basic STEM content and the potential to foster the development of key competences in one go.
The proposal addresses the following main target groups:
1.Future STEM teachers (students in ITE programmes)
2.Higher education teaching staff involved in STEM ITE
3.Higher education staff responsible for STEM curricula and course progammes
We concentrate on future teachers as they, after graduating, reach out to many future generations of students at school and can thus function as multipliers.
The highest impact will be achieved for HEI within our Consortium, where we pilot our outputs and implement the planned modules permanently in existing course programmes.
Additionally, we will also reach the same groups beyond partner institutions and countries through various communication, dissemination and exploitation measures.
Read more about this project in the STEMkey flyer.
Project consortium
Coordinator:
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Pädagogische Hochschule Freiburg |
Partners:
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Vilnius University Vilnius, Lithuania http://www.vu.lt/ |
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UNIVERSITEIT UTRECHT Netherlands https://www.uu.nl |
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NORGES TEKNISK-NATURVITENSKAPELIGE UNIVERSITET NTNU Norway https://www.ntnu.edu/ |
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FACULTY OF SCIENCE UNIVERSITY OF ZAGREB Croatia https://www.pmf.unizg.hr/en |
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UNIVERSITAET INNSBRUCK Austria https://www.uibk.ac.at/ |
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UNIVERZITA KARLOVA V PRAZE Czech Republic https://cuni.cz/ |
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EDEX - EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE CORPORATION Cyprus https://www.edex.ac.cy/ |
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Instituto de Educação da Universidade de Lisboa Portugal http://www.ie.ulisboa.pt/ |
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HACETTEPE UNIVERSITESI Turkey https://www.hacettepe.edu.tr/ |
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UNIVERSITY OF MARIBOR Slovenia https://www.um.si/ |
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UNIVERZITA KONSTANTINA FILOZOFA VNITRE |
Meetings
6 transnational project meetings.
5 multiplier events:
National Conference in STEM Education (Portugal)
Conference of Chemistry Teachers’ Innovative Teaching Ideas (Czech Republic)
International STEM Conference (Turkey )
Digital competences in STEM education (Cyprus)
STEM key competence workshop (Croatia)
Modules
O2 Functions (Mathematics)
O3 Measurement (Mathematics)
O4 Human anatomy and physiology (Biology)
O5 Material cycles (Biology)
O6 Chemical reactions (Chemistry)
O7 Periodical system (Chemistry)
O8 Electricity (Physics)
O9 Light (Physics)
O10 Household appliances (Engineering)
O11 Technical materials (Technology)
O12 Algorithms and Data (IT)
O13 Support toolkit
