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Data-driven Decision-making in STEAM fields

Within the framework of the Erasmus+ project “EXPLORE+ creative exploration of curiosity for innovative transdisciplinary, STEAM and social learning”, together with project partners from Faro (Portugal), Timișoara (Romania) and Chemnitz (Germany), methodological materials have been created for educators and they will have the opportunity to explore them and try during the workshops which will be organized during the multiplier-event.

During the multiplier event there were invited more than 50 teachers from Cēsis city, Cēsis district and other regions from general and vocational educational institutions. These were teachers who are teaching STEM and Arts subjects who wanted to explore new methodologies and teaching approaches on how to teach science and arts subjects in an integrated and more innovative way. Teachers were invited using schools' official e-mail addresses and social media posts created by Latvian project partners.

During the multiplier event teachers attended the presentation from EXPLORE+ project partners form Latvia - Friendly Appeal Cēsis State Gymnasium and Cēsis City Council - to get to know information about the goals of the project and outcomes created during the project - methodological toolkit and self-directed professional development course for teachers (MOOC) - and practical suggestions on how to use these materials during the teaching and learning process with students. Participants also got the possibility to explore the MOOC webpage and take printed versions of the toolkit with them to bring it back to their schools. Participants also were informed about the project EXPLORE+ webpage www.exploreplus.eu where they can find all the materials and download digital version of the toolkit and get the access to the MOOC.

After the presentation of the Erasmus+ project “EXPLORE+” and Space Education Center teachers attended practical workshop during which they created the space rocket and tested it for different measurements, for example, weight, form of the rocket ect., to make data-based decisions about the improvements to create the best possible rocket. Teachers used different materials offered by workshop organizers, for example, paper, scissors, glue, plastic tube ect. which can be used also during the lessons and that is how they tried one of the lesson plans which is included in the EXPLORE+ toolkit.

After the workshop teachers gave oral feedback to the organizers of the event about their experience during the workshop. The main comments were that it was really practical and useful and they already know the topics according to Latvian national curriculum to which they could use an approach like this - data driven decision making in teaching STEAM subjects.  

'By the way: Do you remember Pythagoras's theorem and what you need it for in life?' With these words, Graziela Hennig opened the projects Multiplier-Event "EXPLORE" on 25th April 2023 in Chemnitz/Germany hosted by the  Deutsches SPIELEmuseum (German Games Museum). She's the responsable person for it at the project carrier organisation  solaris FZU. Since she's a mom, she knows the situation when she asks her children 'What was your school day like?' and they just answer 'Good' with poor motivation - without any further explanations.

That's why the project EXPLORE+ is needed - to research and develop innovative learning methods in order to not only teach pupils and students knowledge but also create their excitement on it and thus keep the information sustainably stored in their heads.

At the Multiplier-Event, Chemnitz European Capital of Culture GmbH (Ltd.) and the EU office of the city as well as local players from different parts of the society have been introducing their offer and concepts for the challenges of present and future. The international audience of about 60 people finally voted for the one that had convinced them the most.

The project "GenerationenLandWirtschaft" (Generation agriculture) from Chemnitz gained the highest amount of votes. It offers advanced training and consulting for sustainable agriculture in order to create understanding and give recommended action. The interactive world for learning and experience PHÄNOMENIA from Stollberg/Germany and the city library of Chemnitz that for example presented how to make dealing with maps more fun if you combine it with riddles or informed about digital reading learning concepts were also very popular.

We thank every of our cooperation partners and supporters, the exhibitors and the engaged audience for their contribution! The final event of EXPLORE+ in Timisorara/Romania is planned to take place in the middle of may 2023.

The Multiplier Event in Faro took a special form. Under the name "Arts and Sciences Fair" Portugal the event was organized at April 28, 2023 by the Agrupamento De Escolas Pinheiro E Rosa took place in the facilities of the Portuguese Institute of Sports and Youth, in Faro, with several exhibitions and activities.
Various workshops and exhibitions have been organized in the time between 24 and 28 April 2023 in the so called program PELE Percurso Artístico Faro and Bienal Cultura e Educação and culminated with a final conference about how to implement STEAM methodology (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) in the classroom.

More than 50 teachers and educators, trainers, cultural educators, workers from municipalities and other public interested in developing partnerships for the implementation of STEAM projects from various schools, cultural institutions, and further private institutions attended the multiplier event conference.
The first part of the event consisted in introducing of the project to the Commissioner for the National Arts Plan and the Director of Live Science Centre of Algarve, which showed a great interest for the project and even for a second part of the project.  After a brief overview on the role of arts and sciences for the educators, the participants discussed the importance of the STEAM approach as a way to deepen the curricular learning.
During the second part of the event, the project "EXPLORE+ Creative Exploration of Curiosity for Innovative Transdisciplinary, STEAM, and Social Learning" displayed the results - intellectual outputs. João Vargues, representing Zer0 Museum, presented the toolkit of activities designed to disseminate the learning outcomes and methods of the EXPLORE+ project. The primary objective of this toolkit is to promote and exchange innovative pedagogical practices that foster curiosity, creativity, STEAM skills, scientific literacy, and critical thinking within the learning process. It aims to equip students and community members with the necessary tools to explore their own capabilities, interests, and the relevance of these skills to the local community.

André Lara, representing AE Pinheiro e Rosa, introduced the EXPLORE+ Curiosity- and Creativity-driven Learning MOOC, the second result of the project The online course is an open source and specifically designed for teachers, youth workers, and pedagogues working with science centers and museums. The course draws upon the knowledge and insights gained from three distinct Learning Activities organized in Germany, Portugal, and Latvia as part of the study visits EXPLORE+ Project. It encompasses practical exercises, guidelines, tutorials, assessment quizzes, learning exercises, and a forum for discussions, all focused on fostering curiosity, creativity, scientific exploration, and STEAM principles.

In the third part of the Multiplier Event, have been presented various STEAM practice examples that were tested and implemented by the classes of Pinheiro e Rosa Secondary School and Zer0 Museum throughout this project.

It is important to mention that the EXPLORE+ project was the catalyst for the establishment of a particular regional collaboration, which aims to facilitate the implementation of the "Resident Artist" initiative in schools located in the Algarve region. The program emphasizes the involvement of artists in educational settings, fostering regular interaction and collaboration between artists and schools. The objective is to integrate artistic processes and practices into the curriculum, promoting a comprehensive artistic experience for students.
The special relevance of the project, is also highlighted by this important aspect, namely the official signing of the Collaboration Protocol between the National Plan for the Arts and the Regional Directorate for Culture. The signing ceremony involved Paulo Pires do Vale, the Commissioner for the National Plan for the Arts, and Adriana Nogueira, the Regional Director for Culture.
Multiplier Event Program:
24th to 28th 2023 April

"Science fair" - Exhibition:
- Scientific Posters - Students ES Pinheiro e Rosa
- Scientific Models - Students ES Pinheiro e Rosa
- "Our skin" - Associating the functions of the skin and its tonality, by 4th year EB Vale de Carneiros
Optical Illusions Illustration 9th grade EB Neves Júnior students
"Whisperers of Stories" (Opening 24th April 18 p.m.)
- Maria Flaminga Theatre

27th April
09:30 4th Student Climate Change Adaptation Conference ES Tomás Cabreira - organized by ES Tomás Cabreira in partnership with the Secondary Schools of Faro, Olhão and Loulé

28th April
Conference: "Application of the STEAM Methodology in the Development of Essential Learning in Portuguese Curricula" and addressed teachers, educators, other educational technicians, students (up 9th grade and Secondary Education), as well as cultural pedagogues, artists and scientists interested in working with schools.
The program of the event:
9:00 Reception of participants
9:30 Opening and welcome by Director of AEPROSA, Francisco Soares, and Regional Director of the Portuguese Institute for Sport and Youth, Custódio Moreno
9:45 Panel I - The Contribution of the Arts National Plan and Live Science Clubs in the Development of Essential Learning, from a Transdisciplinary Perspective and the Connection of Science and Art through the Use of STEAM Methodologies (Sciences, Technologies, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics)

• Paulo Pires do Vale, Commissioner for the National Arts Plan
• Cristina Veiga-Pires, Executive Director of Algarve Living Science Centre

11:15 Panel II - Presentation of the Explore+ Activity Handbook and Massive Online Open Course (MOOC) built under the scope of the Explore+ project: Creative Exploration of Curiosity for Innovative Transdisciplinary, STEAM, and Social Learning

• André Lara, Coordinator of the Project at AE Pinheiro e Rosa
• João Vargues, Project Coordinator at Museu Zer0

12:15 Signing of a Collaboration Protocol between the National Arts Plan and the Regional Directorate of Culture

• Commissioner for the National Arts Plan, Paulo Pires do Vale
• Regional Culture Director, Adriana Nogueira

12:20 Arts and Sciences practical activities
13:00 End of Conference

As part of the program  PELE Percurso Artístico Faro and  Bienal Cultura e Educação the Arts and Sciences Fair took place during the week of 24-28 April.

As part of the EXPLORE+ project, a field trip was organized to a school, to test the applicability of the developed learning materials from the Toolkit in the educational process and to introduce them to teachers who could utilize these materials in their classrooms. The materials have been designed in the field of STEAM, with the theme of "space" serving as an engaging element to generate interest among students in acquiring the necessary knowledge and skills in school.

During the field trip, a workshop on space exploration and its most significant discoveries was conducted for approximately 25 5th-grade students. In addition, students had the opportunity to create their own cosmic models using project-based learning methods. And after workshop also school teachers learned about ways to incorporate the developed Toolkit materials into their everyday teaching in school.

On 21st and 22nd October 2022, the German national agency for international exchange and cooperation in the field of school education invited organisations that are engaged in Erasmus+ projects to Bonn, the former German capital. The two-days-event was conducted in order to do networking among the organisations and their representatives, exchange experiences with the projects and create new ideas.

37 organisations followed the invitation, also solaris FZU from Chemnitz as the lead partner of the Explore+ project. As the project is about rethinking established methods, finding new paths and creative solutions, it was presented by the so-called talking poster: Interested people could tap on the element they want to experience more about - by that action, an audio file started presenting more details about that part of the project. So Harry Potter is not magic any more! This method was developed by the Junge Tüftler gGmbH from Berlin.

The event showed a wide variety of project subjects, ranging from the influence of mathematics on our thinking to the question of how a school building should be designed in order to support the learning process.

In October 2022, the Portuguese project partner Museu Zer0 started its workshops in Augmented Reality with the artist Alexandre Piedade, in Pinheiro e Rosa school, in Faro.

These workshops are going to happen in the classes of biology, chemistry and geography in this school, in classes of about 20 students, showing them that through this area of Digital Art is possible to learn in a modern and fun way.

At the end of June, the partners of the Erasmus+ project Explore+ met in Faro, Portugal, for a meeting directed by the leading partner solaris FZU, in order to overlook and discuss the goals already achieved, and to define the course and tasks for the second half of the project. Intermediate results, such as publications about the project, as well as project´s website were examined, and the next steps discussed accordingly.

An interesting project result emerged, for example, from the Portuguese partner Agrupomento de Escolas Pinheiro e Rosa — inspired by the previous activities of Explore+, a new concept for school curriculum, which creates access to science through art, has been created. In the further course of the project, the main task is the finalization of the structure of a learning material set for teachers, educators, social workers and other people working in the cultural and educational sector. In addition, content creation of an interactive learning course, which will soon be integrated via a corresponding platform, was discussed.

The next meeting in Timisoara, Romania, in 2023 will also be the last face-to-face meeting in the project. Explore+ is to be presented there as part of the cities´ European Capital of Culture program and thus reach a broad audience.

In May 2022, all the project participants met up for a study visit in Germany, Chemnitz. The meeting was hosted by project lead partner solaris FZU, and among the guests were project partners from Latvia, Portugal and Romania.

The first project day started at the EU office of the city of Chemnitz, where the visitors learnt a lot about the history of Chemnitz, had a small tour of the town hall, and enjoyed the views from the tower over the city.

The next days were spent at solaris FZU facilities, where the focus was the education of children and young people, and project participants were learning and discussing how to embrace various interests of youth in a way that brings positive impact to the society. The guests could slip into the roles of students and experience the learning process first-hand. For example, in Kosmonautenzentrum "Sigmund Jähn" (Space Centre "Sigmund Jähn") the group could test their abilities to become astronauts, as well as try out teambuilding activities, such as archery. The following day participants visited solaris Jugend- und Umweltwerkstätten  (Educational Centre for Youth and Environment), and did some chemistry experiments, created sensors for determining moisture in soil of potted plants, and handcrafted “solar flowers” that rotate, when exposed to sun. At the Deutsches SPIELEmuseum  (German Games Museum), the project team had a guided tour, where they learned some interesting facts from the history of games and saw some unique exhibits. However, the main activity was a workshop with game developer Ronald Hild, with whom the participants created their own games and learned the basic techniques and mechanisms of game development. On the last day of the visit, the group took part in the “Neighbours´ day” at the Mehrgenerationenhaus Chemnitz  (Multi-generation House of Chemnitz) and helped planting an apple tree in its garden. Afterwards, as the last activity before the end of the stay, participants tried out a monotyping workshop at the Chemnitzer Kunstfabrik (Chemnitz Art Factory), and created their own art pieces.

The next Explore+ meeting will happen in June 2022 in Faro, Portugal, where the next project activities and goals will be discussed, before the final meeting in Romania, in 2023.