The first steps in STEM, Robotics and Programming
Background
The idea of the project has been brought up both out of the specific needs of the promoting organization and the challenges educational institutions face in terms of online teaching of the young generation. Parents are usually reluctant when it comes to the technology used by their kids and youth, as such our products will try to shed a different light on the importance of positive consumption of technology by the young generation, stimulating them in the process of acquiring skills needed in the 21st century and growing the path for their future potential carriers. The constant and rapid evolution of technology has grown a sense of pursuit of skills that can accommodate much easier and meet the requirements of a demanding labour force. Through STEM education, we believe youth and children can not only develop relevant skills and stand out but also improve their self-productivity, creativity, imagination and finally innovate their own communities.
Through this project we will have the possibility to offer an online training course to all interested youth for free, thus increasing their interest and motivation to develop competences in a field where the demand is increasing exponentially.
More than 30 structures joined our idea which let us to see the trend and potential development possible through our proposed Club. It will be carried out for 30 months between the 1st of February 2022 and 31st of July 2024.
Objectives
In response to the need identified and described above, the specific objectives of the project were set to the following:
- Developing basic competencies of 100 youngsters in the fields of programming and robotics in a period of 30 months;
- Developing basic competencies of 100 youngsters in the fields of STEM education in a period of 30 months;
- Exercising the competencies of 200 young people entering the world of programming through an online e-game in a period of 30 months;
- Increase the capacity of working with programming, robotics and STEM of at least 30 members of a club of practitioners, for the benefits of young people, throughout the project.
Results
The actual results of the project will be: an online training course focused on basics in programming and robotics, an online training course focused on basics in STEM education and an online e-game focused on entering the world of programming. All these tangible products will be hosted with the support of an educational platform. The methodology that will be approached in the creation of the IOs envisions the use of interactive tasks, quizzes, slides, puzzles, mechanics, theory-practice connected activities and real-world simulations. Kolb’s experiential learning cycle approach will be integrated, when possible, in the learning content of the products, giving the participants access to progress logically with the content from concrete learning to reflective observation, abstract conceptualization and finally reaching active experimentation. The gamified approach towards all the IOs supports the constructivist theory of learning, which encircles the active involvement of participants in the entire learning process and knowledge construction, based on previous notions acquired, to the detriment of passive learning. In our sequence of learning content, the user will acquire knowledge and ability from trial and error, by making assumptions, exploration and progressive difficulty as levelling up.
Partners involved:
- ZURY Association – Romania
- Predict CSD Consulting – Romania
- EURO-NET – Italy
- VsI Robotikos mokykla – Lithuania
- Vantaan Venäläinen Klubi ry – Finland
