STEM4YOUTH
Promotion of STEM education by key specific challenges and their impact on our life and career perspectives.
STEMFORYOUTH produces a comprehensive, multidisciplinary series of courses presenting key STEM discipline challenges to support young people in their education. Contents are organised around six STEM disciplines: Mathematics, Physics, Astronomy, Chemistry, Engineering and Medicine, and one trans-disciplinary module (Citizen Science at Schools, i.e. scientific projects created by students with no specialised training in science, based on their concerns on everyday aspects of science.
Basic information
The following outcomes and/or activities are carried out as part of the STEMFORYOUTH project, relevant to researchers:
- An analysis of the labour market, in terms of supply and demand for skills in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) in Europe. An analysis is carried out of current and future demands in relation to jobs and competences in STEM within the European Union (EU). The research is focused on competences that significantly contribute to raising innovativeness, competitiveness and growth of the EU’s economy. Data from primary and secondary education is analysed, obtained through various fieldwork and desk research, in order to provide a comprehensive overview of current and future trends in STEM competencies beyond traditional STEM occupations in the EU.
- A definition of learning tools and methodologies for sub-courses. Those are tools and methodologies that can make STEM related content more attractive and tailored according to the interests of various disciplines and topics, examined as part of this project.
- Content creation, tools and the development of learning methodologies. A multidisciplinary course is developed that takes into account the needs of the labour market and innovative learning tools and methodologies. The content of this course is created for the projects Open Learning Content Management System (OLCMS) in the form of multimedia, such as videos and digital games, in addition to PowerPoint presentations, interactive PDFs, pen-and-paper exercises, online quizzes, simulations, worksheets, images and experiments. This innovative format of the learning content makes it possible to use it in various learning scenarios, such as formal education, extra-curricular activities in schools and informal events like science festivals, workshops and others.
- Creation and development of an Open Learning Content Management System (OLCMS). This platform is a repository of engaging educational materials from six main disciplines in STEM. The platform is primarily intended for secondary school students who wish to expand their general knowledge in STEM-related disciplines and for secondary school teachers who are looking for ideas for extra-curricular lessons. The platform is publicly accessible at: https://olcms.stem4youth.pl.
- The development and launch of the project’s communication and dissemination strategy and its channels. This communication has three main aims: promoting the project’s activities and engaging teachers and students; informing society and all stakeholders about the project’s results and the use of resources; contributing to the project’s exploitation in the long term, especially by involving educational authorities in the project’s work.
- The organisation and implementation of the project’s pilot and educational activities. Participants’ opinions, in particular students’ and teachers’ opinions, about the STEMFORYOUTH sub-courses, OLCMS platform, trial implementations and citizen science experiments, are analysed.
The approaches and results of the STEMFORYOUTH project are presented in more detail on www.stemyouth.eu and https://olcms.stem4youth.pl
STEMFORYOUTH produces a comprehensive, multidisciplinary series of courses presenting key STEM discipline challenges to support young people in their education. Contents are organised around six STEM disciplines: Mathematics, Physics, Astronomy, Chemistry, Engineering and Medicine, and one trans-disciplinary module (Citizen Science at Schools, i.e. scientific projects created by students with no specialised training in science, based on their concerns on everyday aspects of science.
For each discipline, seven to nine modules are presented largely through their practical applications and their impact on our everyday life and work. STEM4YOUTH also shows the skills and competences developed in each discipline and required by the labour market. STEMFORYOUTH therefore helps young people to take conscious decisions on their field of study and finally on their career path.
Course materials and guidelines are complemented by community-building activities. STEM4YOUTH engages students, teachers, parents and citizens in general, in our social networks, and actively involves them in its events taking place in the streets or during other science festivals, so as to make them feel part of an international community. Finally, STEM4YOUTH gathers feedback from the school courses and produces a set of recommendations for policy makers on how to improve STEM education across the school systems of partner countries.
All content developed as part of the project is available on its Open Learning Content Management System (OLCMS) platform at: https://olcms.stem4youth.pl
The materials of the online portal are primarily intended for secondary school teachers, as sources of inspiration for their extra-curricular lessons, as well as for those students who wish to expand their knowledge, to have a more holistic view of subjects in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), and to discover possible career paths in STEM.
The portal is open, so everyone can upload their own materials, which are made publicly accessible after a technical verification by the system’s administrators.
All materials uploaded onto the OLCMS are published under a specific Creative Commons 4.0 or higher license, which means that, provided that files are in an editable format, everyone can modify their existing content and if necessary adapt it to their needs.