Enriching Curricula with STEAM Implementations

Schools from all over the world experimented the need of using technology during the lock-down periods. Therefore, we needed to find solutions to integrate online teaching, games, apps in our methods of teaching. Sometimes the platforms we used were too expensive and didn’t provide the layout that we needed so we thought about developing an app that might help us. Combining our passion for science, for design and IT we found partners that had the same interest as ours. So we took the opportunity to find new ways to reshape our teaching/learning process. STEAM education is one of the innovative approaches in education. We decided to raise awareness and promote interest to this approach in education. In order to create a fruitful space for students to develop, to use imagination, to feel like part of a group we applied for a project that combines STEAM education and digital skills to address to the needs of the new generation. Z group of children are very curious about their environment, very familiar to digital tools and question everything. STEAM approaches in teaching/learning process helps students to ask questions, connect points, to solve problems, to think creatively and to be innovative.

Our project’s synthesized objectives are: 1. Promoting interest in STEAM education,2.contributing to pupils needs and interests with improving teachers teaching practices, 3. improving participants 21st century skills, digital literacy/readiness, 4. Creating a mobile app to support out teacher and students in their development process, 5. Developing 4C’s skills (communication, collaboration, creativity and critical thinking) -within the partnership to learn and implement good samples in STEAM education at international level, 6.acquiring proficient knowledge and skills related to the project through seminars and hands-on activities., 7. raising the visibility and quality of institutions at European level, 8.creating various educational materials during LTTAs, the implementation on the project, the production of the result and project's e book, 9.enriching participants creativity, critical thinking and problem solving skills with STEAM training, 10.comparing and learning more about formal and informal education;11. taking part in national and international projects with creative and innovative ideas with STEAM approach.

We had activities during the whole period of the project. Before starting the project all partners contributed to planning and writing the project application form. The partners joined the online survey to determine our common needs to implement the project. Each country created their project management team, select project leaders, selection of participant to involve LTTAs and virtual meetings, signing contact with National Agency, announcing the approval of project on official website, arranging meeting to present project to the teachers, students, parents and staff. During the first TPM of the project each partner proposed activities to do during each month or twice a month and the activities were established in the Implementation plan. We agreed on having three online Transnational Meetings to carry out the project in a proper way and to reach success. In the implementation plan we included activities such as: Arts and Science, Cookie Science, Build it up, Terra’s resources, DNA Strings, Cultural awareness- European Values, You are what you eat, My cultural values. Our cultural values. Also we had seminars on STEAM education, to have a better understanding of the notions we are working with, and we prepared presentations about WEB.02 Tools and platforms that we can use in the teaching process. We planned on having the LTTAs meetings for which each partner prepared STEAM activities and digital activities to achieve our needs and objectives. At the end of the project we planned on having 1 Multiplier Event to present all project activities, impacts, results, production result, e book and make awareness to STEAM approach in education.All the partners developed local activities: Erasmus Days, workshops for the communities, Robotics workshops/labs, workshops on different holidays, project school corner exhibition, teachers' meetings, local and national contests.

Among our results we have intellectual results such as: mobile application – STEAM E+ with e-games, that can be used by the partners and the people that found out about it thorough dissemination, an e-book with highlights of our activities and a DVD with information on how to use and how to integrate different STEAM activities in the process of learning-teaching-training. We also achieve our other objectives as: 1.developing all types of competencies (general, personal, professional, pedagogical, natural, artistic) in all partner institutions; 2.Boosting the level of knowledge of professionals in the field of STEAM, 3. Developing ICT competences and tools on the eTwinning portal (for school partners); 4. Gaining lifelong learning skills by improving digital literacy; 5. Boosting the level of knowledge of project participants in STEAM implementations; 6. Raising the level of knowledge and acceptance of other cultures, language, habits, religion, history, geography among the project participants, as well as with all others who are part of the project activities. 7. Meeting different classroom environments and gaining higher knowledge of STEAM concepts of curricula in Europe. 8. Raising the quality of short educational meetings due to international participation and participants' knowledge and skills. 9. Expansion of the professional network. 10. Enrichment of curricula at international level. 11. Producing innovative ideas for national and international projects in the field of STEAM. 12. Gaining visibility and quality in the environment (local, regional, national, EU). 13. Acquiring the differences between formal and informal education. 14. Serving to EU targets with acquiring lifelong learning skills, digital literacy, readiness, qualified individuals for future employment. Our students have increased social skills, digital skills and their STEAM knowledge and our teachers have developed their abilities to adapt to moderrn education through STEAM seminars. Outputs: - 3 learning and eaching activities in which there were involved 59 students; -in each of the four meetings there were workshops for teachers with tutorials or lessons; -a minimum of 500 students was involved actively in the project along with 44 teachers that took part in LTT's and at least other 10 teachers from each partner school was involved in the preparation of workshops and activities. Final products are: STEAM E+ mobile app that can be downloaded from Google Play, - a DVD with good practices; - an e-book of the project; -games for the mobile app; - the website of the project.