On 22 June, at the European Distance and e-Learning Network (EDEN) Conference, Natalia Spyropoulou and Achilles Kameas, members of the STEAMonEdu project team of DAISSy Research Group, presented the scientific paper “Methodology for the Development of a Competence Framework for STE(A)M Educators”.

The EDEN2020 is an annual conference organized by European Distance and e-Learning Network and aims to maximise the potential to exchange academic and professional experience, to promote effective navigation in the field, and improve the quality and depth of information available to the sectors concerned. This year, the conference focused on “Inspiring digital education for the next STE(A)M student generation” and took place online, due to the pandemic.

The STE(A)MonEdu Project aims to increase the adoption and impact of STE(A)M education by investing in the community of stakeholders and the professional development of educators. Focusing on the professional development of educators, it aims firstly to compile a competence framework for STE(A)M educators and then design appropriate training offers.

Τhe presented paper summarized, a brief overview concerning the competency-based perspective, in order at first, to identify the challenges of and the current research within this topic for STE(A)M education and then to provide the methodology for the development of the Competence Framework for STE(A)M Educators, based on a modified Delphi technique where educators take part during the development phases.

After the presentation a fruitful discussion was followed, where attendees asked more information about the activities and future actions related to STEAMonEdu project.

You can find out more about STEAMonEdu and DAISSy Research Group activities here:

• Website : http://daissy.eap.gr/en, https://steamonedu.eu/
• Facebook : STEAMonEdu Project
• Linkedin : https://www.linkedin.com/in/daissyresearchgroup/
• Twitter : @daissy_research @STEAMonEdu
• Instagram :@daissy_researchgroup

Η ερευνητική ομάδα DAISSy συμμετείχε στην 2^η συνάντηση του έργου “STEAMonEdu: Competence development of STE(A)M educators through online tools and communities”, η οποία έλαβε χώρα μέσω διαδικτύου στις 25-26 Ιουνίου 2020. Το έργο STEAMonEdu συγχρηματοδοτείται από το Πρόγραμμα Erasmus+ της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης (Key Action 3) και υλοποιείται από μια κοινοπραξία 7 Εταίρων από 6 χώρες (Ελλάδα, Βέλγιο, Ιταλία, Γερμανία, Ρουμανία και Ισπανία).

Η συνάντηση οργανώθηκε διαδικτυακά από τον εταίρο του έργου Stati Generali dell’Innovazione – SGI. Παρά την αναγκαστική απόσταση, οι δύο ημέρες της συνάντησης αποδείχθηκαν πολύ παραγωγικές με την ενεργό συμμετοχή όλων των εταίρων υπό την καθοδήγηση της ερευνητικής ομάδας DAISSy, η οποία είναι και ο συντονιστής φορέας του έργου.

Το πρόγραμμα της πρώτης ημέρας περιελάμβανε μία ενδιαφέρουσα συνεδρία, στην οποία συμμετείχαν δύο άλλα έργα που χρηματοδοτούνται από Πρόγραμμα Erasmus+ της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης και εστιάζουν στην εκπαίδευση STEM και STE(A)M. Τα έργα αυτά ονομάζονται STE(A)M IT και Choice. Οι εκπρόσωποι των τριών έργων συμφώνησαν σε συνεργασία και στην υλοποίηση κοινών δράσεων προκειμένου να μεγιστοποιηθεί ο αντίκτυπος των έργων. Περισσότερες πληροφορίες για τη συνεδρία αυτή μπορείτε να διαβάσετε εδώ.

Τη δεύτερη ημέρα, οι εταίροι του έργου εστίασαν ιδιαίτερα στον σχεδιασμό ενός διαδικτυακού μαθήματος που θα παραδοθεί μέσω ενός MOOC, το οποίο θα στοχεύει στην επαγγελματική ανάπτυξη εκπαιδευτών STE(A)M.

Για περισσότερες πληροφορίες σχετικά με το ευρωπαϊκό έργο STEAMonEdu και όλες τις δράσεις της Ερευνητικής Ομάδας DAISSy του ΕΑΠ:

• Website : http://daissy.eap.gr/en, https://steamonedu.eu/
• Facebook : STEAMonEdu Project
• Linkedin : https://www.linkedin.com/in/daissyresearchgroup/
• Twitter : @daissy_research @STEAMonEdu
• Instagram :@daissy_researchgroup
• Email : info@daissy.eap.gr

Project STEAMonEdu was presented by Prof. Achilles Kameas and Dr. Spyridon Papadakis during the scientific webinar “Integrating Computational Thinking-Computing and the Epistemology of STEM through the model of Computational Pedagogy”, which was organized by the Regional Educational Center of the Regional Directorate of Primary and Secondary Education of Western Greece. The event took place on 22 May 2020.

More than 450 participants, mostly educators, joined online, watched the presentations and participated in fruitful discussions regarding STEAM education.

Achilles Kameas, the scientific coordinator of the STEAMonEdu project, presented the aims and objectives of the project, focusing on the approach that puts educators, both from formal and non-formal education, at the center. He presented the expected project outcomes, which include online communities, competence-based tools, and tools for policy makers. Subsequently, Spyridon Papadakis presented the STEAMonEdu online community platform and provided the participants with all the necessary information on how educators, researchers or other stakeholders may participate in the STEAMonEdu community, as well as the benefits and opportunities of being an active member of it. Though this online community, members are supported to collaboratively design, create and share educational scenarios, while STEAM education best practices and policies are collected and used to inspire and stimulate innovation.

More than 450 participants, mostly educators, joined online, watched the presentations and participated in fruitful discussions regarding STEAM education.

Achilles Kameas, the scientific coordinator of the STEAMonEdu project, presented the aims and objectives of the project, focusing on the approach that puts educators, both from formal and non-formal education, at the center. He presented the expected project outcomes, which include online communities, competence-based tools, and tools for policy makers. Subsequently, Spyridon Papadakis presented the STEAMonEdu online community platform and provided the participants with all the necessary information on how educators, researchers or other stakeholders may participate in the STEAMonEdu community, as well as the benefits and opportunities of being an active member of it. Though this online community, members are supported to collaboratively design, create and share educational scenarios, while STEAM education best practices and policies are collected and used to inspire and stimulate innovation.

Project STEAMonEdu was presented by Achilles Kameas during the 1st STE(A)M IT co-creation workshop on integrated STEM education, which was organized in the context of 38th Science Projects Workshop in the Future Classroom Lab. The event took place on 28 February 2020.

The STE(A)M IT project aims to (1) create and test a conceptual framework of reference for integrated STE(A)M education; (2) develop a capacity building programme for primary schools teachers and secondary STEM teachers, based on this framework, with a particular focus on the contextualization of STEM teaching , especially through industry-education cooperation, and (3) further ensure the contextualization of the integrated STEM teaching by establishing a network of guidance counsellors/career advisors in schools promoting the attractiveness of STEM jobs to their classes.

You can find out more about the STE(A)M IT project:

• In the website of Scientix http://www.scientix.eu/projects/project-detail?articleId=884972
• By following the social media of Scientix (follow the hashtag #STEAMIT_project).

More than 45 participants, mostly teachers and educational policy makers, from several European countries and Canada joined online, watched presentations, exchanged chats and participated in online surveys. Interesting results came up regarding the challenges and problems faced, among others, when trying to put STE(A)M education in practice or when attempting to assess what the students have learned. Other important topics were how to connect STE(A)M education with real-life problems and how to persuade students to pursue STEM-related careers.

Achilles presented the aims and objectives of the STEAMonEdu project, focusing on the approach that puts teachers and educators, both from formal and non-formal education, at the center of its approach. He presented the expected project outcomes, which include competence-based tools, online tools and tools for policy makers.

All presentations given during the event will be uploaded here: http://www.scientix.eu/spw38-at-fcl.

You can find out more about STEAMonEdu:

• In the project website: steamonedu.eu
• In the DAISSy research group website: http://daissy.eap.gr
• In the social media by following the hashtag #STEAMonEdu