S.T.E.A.M-tastic

STEAM education text surrounded by numbers, music notes, pencils and different tools

S.T.E.A.M learning, exploring themes through Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics is the basis of this project. As the approach is very cross-curricular it fits well with the curricula of children in preschool or primary, although its methodology can really be applied at any level with varying degrees of sophistication. This project gives the opportunity to place STEAM subjects in the everyday reality of even very young children. One way of approaching the topic is for the partners to find a monthly theme (one theme for each school) and then work on an activity together. For example, if one school chooses the theme “Butterflies”, then other partners have to choose/share an activity to do together such as: • Butterfly Science Activity chosen by Partner A • Butterfly Technology Activity chosen by Partner B • Butterfly Engineering Activity chosen by Partner C • Butterfly Arts Activity chosen by Partner D. The possibilities are endless. Photo credits: Calin- stock.adobe.com

Objectives

• To ensure that students develop their educational learning in terms of science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics through various hands-on activities. • To ensure that all students participate in inclusive education using problem-solving approaches.

Introduction of partners

Since this project involves very young students the introduction activities are managed by the teachers. The students talk about what they wish to be presented about their class and school and the teachers put it online. There were some nice ideas in the original project where the class photographs were uploaded with each child’s face covered by a mask reflecting the theme of the project. In this way, the security aspect of having young children’s faces online was well thought out.

Orientation

A project like this requires careful planning and excellent communication between the teachers concerned. One approach is that at the planning stage of the project, the teachers collaboratively choose the themes to be addressed each month. They then choose which of the STEAM approaches they wish to concentrate on and undertake to research activities on the theme according to whether they have chosen science, technology, engineering, etc. An excellent example from the original project .

Collaboration

COMMUNICATION: In a project of this nature, communication Is key among the project partners with regular meetings necessary to plan each stage of the development as well as daily communication through the TwinSpace, or some other messaging service. To start, the project partners work together to each find a theme for each month of the project duration. For example, one partner finds a general theme for November, another one for December, another partner for January, etc. Then each month all partners contribute and share one activity in relation to either science, technology, engineering, arts or mathematics. These activities are then collected and throughout that particular month all teachers and students engage in the same activities. Without this collaborative planning teachers will not be able to plan for the activities since activity plans are dependent on each partner. COLLABORATION: Because the students in this project are very young, the collaboration may be approached in a slightly different way; each class explores the monthly activities in their own way and then collaborate with each other by voting for example on which activities they liked best. Then could also send videos of their responses to the various activities. Another idea is for all classes to design a logo and then each class votes for the one they like best to represent the project. Examples of activities for each month may be found in of the original project. As a summation of all the activity work, a final product may be produced to show step by step the implementation of the project, the photos, videos and links to the students’ work in order to help other children achieve the same as them. is an example from the original project showing an activity eBook full of S.T.E.A.M related activities. A book made by children for the children .

Evaluation & Assessment

Evaluation: This is possible by maintaining constant communication between the eTwinning teachers, the school support staff and parents, and above all students’ participation. In the original project they evaluated monthly the theme and activities for that month. They created a general poll on the Twinspace (according to the monthly theme). So, first students and teachers evaluated the activities separately (rating them from 0-10), then the results were collated and reported on the TwinSpace. At the end of the project, it is advisable to collect the opinions of the teachers and students. Here are two examples from the original project, and the . Surveys like these help the whole team reflect about the strengths and weaknesses of the project processes. Assessment: If you carry out monthly evaluations, you begin to get a good idea of what activities work with your students and those that were less successful. This enables you to pitch the activities at the right level for your class and ensure that they learn in the most enjoyable way for them.

Follow up

Documentation: The documenting of the progress of a project is very important and it is necessary to have a well organised layout in the TwinSpace so that all the project partners can be clear on the activity plan for the project. The is an excellent example of this approach. Dissemination: This can be approached in many ways, by presenting to colleagues in school, to parents at parents’ meetings, through local newspapers or radio, etc. A full range of the carried out by the partners in the original project may be found here. A final note on a very creative idea carried out by the teachers in the original project – to for their very young students based on the topics of the project.

Additional information

Age from:

up to 3
Age to:

6
Difficulty:

Easy

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Additional information

School subjects

Vocational subjects

Key competences

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S.T.E.A.M-tastic

Additional information

School subjects

Vocational subjects

Key competences

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