Full STEAM AHEAD
The “Full STEAM Ahead“ is a two-year long cross-curricular project created to help students to enrich, acquire and strengthen knowledge in the areas of Astronomy, robotics and coding by using carefully selected teaching methodologies. The project brings together approximately 150 teachers and 1300 students from 5 European countries (Croatia, Portugal, Ireland, Italy and France) to attract the interest to science and scientific activities, gaining skills in observing the world around us. Planned activities are divided in main categories: ASTRONOMY, ROBOTICS, TECHNOLOGY (ICT), EARTH SCIENCE, ENVIRONMENT & HEALTH and each partner is specialized in a certain area. The project will follow MARS MISSIONS and students will design a Mars habitat, Mars rocket and program a Mars rover out of Lego bricks and EV3 Mindstorms robot.They will learn about space related careers and space laws.
The topics of exobiology, robotics, space tourism, design of astronaut suit and even DNA mutations will be explored.
Activities will also focus on new web 2.0 and 3.0 tools and safety on the Internet. Students will experience the entire engineering process, from imagining to designing, researching to testing and simulations. We will connect STEM activities with the history of Space exploration through games and storytelling activities, as well as entrepreneurship, exploring and 3D printing of Mars habitat and Space Law.
INNOVATIVE approach that we will use is STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Maths). Children in all schools are already involved in STEM activities. Recent researches show that creativity and design are also very important and art provides diverse opportunities for expression. STEAM is a great learning tool that provokes thinking and our aim is to shape a fully literate 21st century citizen that will be ready to offer different solutions in the future. A pedagogy we use encourages creativity, vision, cooperation and collaboration in every student and teacher. Project-based, child-directed learning, peer-learning methods and learning through teaching concept are used in the project. We use this project as opportunity to promote teamwork between teachers and students.
The topics of exobiology, robotics, space tourism, design of astronaut suit and even DNA mutations will be explored.
Activities will also focus on new web 2.0 and 3.0 tools and safety on the Internet. Students will experience the entire engineering process, from imagining to designing, researching to testing and simulations. We will connect STEM activities with the history of Space exploration through games and storytelling activities, as well as entrepreneurship, exploring and 3D printing of Mars habitat and Space Law.
INNOVATIVE approach that we will use is STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Maths). Children in all schools are already involved in STEM activities. Recent researches show that creativity and design are also very important and art provides diverse opportunities for expression. STEAM is a great learning tool that provokes thinking and our aim is to shape a fully literate 21st century citizen that will be ready to offer different solutions in the future. A pedagogy we use encourages creativity, vision, cooperation and collaboration in every student and teacher. Project-based, child-directed learning, peer-learning methods and learning through teaching concept are used in the project. We use this project as opportunity to promote teamwork between teachers and students.
methodology
We will be using STEAM (science, technology, Engineering, arts and math) and PBL (project based learning).
STEAM is an approach which uses STEM and the Arts to foster learning that is both skill- and process- based. It brings together the critical components of how and what, and laces them together with why. “When I think of the design and technology used to land us on the moon – and bring us back – and how it has developed and transformed since then, I am excited about prospects for future space travel, going to Mars and what it means for humankind. Some of the most innovative developments today are due to artistry being coupled with technology. Smartphones are an outstanding example of the arts, science, technology, math and engineering working in unison.” Buzz Aldrin, Apolo11 astronaut Many published research and renowned educational websites such as www.edutopia.org, http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/ give answers to why integrate arts. Why integrate arts? Everyone from software engineers and aerospace technicians to biotechnological engineers, professional mathematicians, and laboratory scientists knows that building great things and solving real problems requires a measure of creativity. Also, artists are incorporating technological tools and scientific processes to their art. Well Arts teach deep noticing and observations. Students learn spatial thinking, gain ability to see 3D space in their heads from looking at 2D drawing. That is a skill that engineers, architects and scientists need, but also it allows students to understand difficult ideas. Arts emphasize process and students involved in the arts understand that there is not just one answer to a question and that searching for an answer, or the process itself, is important. By grappling with creative problems, students develop habits of mind such as persevering and trial-and-error problem solving. They learn to adapt their own thinking when something unexpected happens, to ask new questions, and to rethink. Failure becomes part of the process; students learn from it. When students can observe, visualize, and manipulate materials, they develop creative confidence and the resilience to persevere within the creative process. These skills and habits of mind are a bridge that connects the arts and STEM subjects and can fuel the innovation so desperately needed to address real-world challenges. The arts not only support scientific thinking but also expand and transform traditional STEM curriculum to invite deeper observation, imagining, and revision. STEAM and PBL can capitalize on each other's strengths and fill each other's potential gaps. By implementing these methodologies students will: • become more interested in what's happening in the world • become engaged in their own learning • take ownership of their education and how they will apply it later in life • collaborate naturally to solve problems • students who may not be motivated by the math, the science, or even the technology, it may be the creative piece that gives them the spark they need to truly engage. |
ACTIVITIES
There is a great number of activities connected to Mars exploration:
1. Mission patch, motto and mascot of the project 2. Space fashion show- students will design a modern astronaut or flight suit 3. Touristic promotion of Space exploration- developing entrepreneurship skills 4. Is there Law in Space? - ebook 5. Storytelling activities about the history of Space exploration 6. Astronauts and their life in Space and on Mars -a group of physical and creative activities (walking on the Moon, design an alien on a planet using known facts such as gravity, atmosphere, temperature, how to tighten a screw in Space, design a rocket) 7. 3D design and Printing in Space and technology, usage of 3D printing in space technology 8. Designing a Mars habitat 9. 3D printing of Mars habitat , using the Mars habitat designed, students will learn how to translate it into a 3D printable pattern and print it. 9. Designing and programming a Mars rover out of LEGO bricks and EV3 Mindstorms We will use Lego EV3 Education Core and Space Challenge sets and we will share the basics of designing and programming with others in order to replicate the construction of the rover. 10. I want to be an astronaut! - health and training of astronauts- what do astronauts eat and their workout routine - polygon 11. Developing a robotic arm and sensors for measuring the rover surroundings -students will show others how to build a robotic arm for the LEGO rover and attach it for picking up materials or measuring 12. Job Cards - exciting scientist, space engineers and explorer careers- project activity where we interview professionals that carry out space connected jobs 13. Science Exobiology - is there life in Space? - students will investigate which plants could survive on Mars soil and present their research on line using Lineo 14. Space Gardening: learn more about using hydroponics in Space 15. What does DNA look like? 16. My DNA - making a DNA Helix with SketchUp software and print it with 3D printer 17. My DNA - can changing our DNA allow us to live on Mars and other planets 18. Measuring the different parameters - temperature, pressure with LEGO sensors in the same time in 5 different countries 19. Me a scientist - analysing the measurements of the LEGO sensors with scientific method 20.Driving the ExoMars rover on simulated Mars soil a replica of one of the 4 candidates for the landing location of ExoMars rover (Mawrth Vallis, Oxia Planum, Hypanis Vallis and Aram Dorsum) and students will have a competition of programming and driving a rover to avoid obstacles. PARTNERSCROATIA Elementary school Pantovčak, Zagreb Elementary school V. Novak (eTwinning) FRANCE Collège Edouard Herriot, Chartres PORTUGAL Agrupamento de Escolas Marinhas do Sal, Rio Maior IRELAND Gortskehy National School, Hollymount, Mayo ITALY Istituto Comprensivo Statale San Giorgio, Catania |