STEM capacity building

"Europe looking for innovative strategies and means to foster an increase in skilled personnel in STEM and secondary education institutions are holding a key to unlock STEM potential. This calls for a joint action on national and international level in order to contribute to resolution of European level challenges by targeting teachers from STEM focused schools the vehicles of change and multipliers in STEM education in their countries, working with future generations and prospective employees in STEM fields. Project “STEM capacity building” intended to build a critical mass of teachers capable to implement a cohesive approach in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) teaching, which is based on ideas of values promotion, more complex integration in STEM education and learner-focused approach, and contribute to the development of responsible individual, who uses science to contribute to the progress and well-being of society. Project objectives: To identify new and explore effective forms and methods in STEM teaching, learning and assessment; To share experience of good practice on:- increasing students' interest in STEM and creative STEM application through engaging, integrated STEM learning activities tailored to learner needs and capabilities;- developing students’ skills of creativity and critical thinking, STMD competences (STMD = mathematical competence, basic competencies in science and technology, digital competence) social and civic competences; To guide teachers, how to organize STEM teaching based on values promotion, more complex integration in STEM education and learner-focused approach; To develop teachers’ skills and competences necessary for cohesive STEM education implementation.The project brings together 6 partners from 5 countries with experience in STEM education and teacher professional development. During the lifetime of the project (24 month) partners from Greece, Lithuania, Netherlands, Portugal and Spain identified new and explored effective forms and methods in STEM teaching, learning and assessment, shared experience of good practice in STEM education, developed teachers’ skills and competences necessary for cohesive STEM education implementation. Project partners, taking into account Sustainable Development Goals, a clear demand for innovations, especially those from STEM (Science, technologies, engineering and mathematics) fields, the importance of science in understanding the world, guiding technological development, recent very important insights of analysis on good practices in STEM education from 7 EU countries (good practices target mainly 14-18 age group, STEM good practices tend to develop few intellect types, the participating individuals in society through creative application of STEM implies the need for more complex level of integration in STEM education and even incorporation of other disciplines) developed STEM focused 40 h 5 modules online course “STEAM capacity building” and 40 h. 4 modules Long-Term Professional Development (in-service training) face to face program ""STEAM capacity building"" for teachers and educators for dissemination in local, national and international (Erasmus + KA1) levels. To reach those goals 4 transnational partnership meetings (total 150 participants), 5 national dissemination events (total 150 participants) and 1 international Roundtable discussion (28 local and 12 foreign participants) was organized.Number of teachers, educators and students indirectly involved in project – 2000 (each partner involved 2-10 schools).Project contributed to improved basic, didactic and subject competences of STEM teachers. Partners believe that Outputs intellectual base enhanced innovative learning in the classroom. In the long term the Project expects STEM education know-how multiplication to other schools/teachers and involvement of other schools in Output exploitation. Partners expect that Project results and cooperation for STEM education advancement built a support on STEM PD initiatives among PD centres and policy makers and cooperation in the Project built fundamentals for future cooperation in STEM PD."