STEMcooking: Discovering science and mathematics through cooking

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“STEMcooking: Discovering science and mathematics through cooking” is a collaborative project that aims at developing a strategic partnership for cooperation, innovation and exchange of good practices among four schools, funded by the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union. The project involves students who carry out science and mathematics activities, following the methodology for Project Based Learning (PBL). Students work in international groups, in which they communicate with students from other countries in English, French and Spanish.

The STEMcooking project is based on an analysis of the needs in teaching and learning processes in relation to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects and schools’ environments. In three out of the four partner institutions involved in this project, there has been a noticeable decrease in the number of students who are interested in following training itineraries that lead them towards scientific and technological studies. Often students have the idea that sciences and mathematics are boring subjects, mainly because the classes are difficult to follow. This can result in low performance and demotivation. Due to this, students lose interest in science, technology and mathematics.

As part of this project, students are asked if they really enjoy what they do in relation to those disciplines and subjects. The outcome is a methodology that is based on contextualised teaching and good practices for teaching through real-world examples.

Based on this approach, STEMcooking is designed as a contextualised project in the kitchen, within the framework of a research project on learning processes in STEM subjects, which mainly follows the principles of project-based learning and integrates STEM in the kitchen with real-world examples. As a result, students learn to think in a scientific way about their environment.

Target groups

The main target groups of the project are students, aged 15 to 17, and teachers of science, technology, mathematics and languages.

Objectives

The project has ten main objectives.

  1. To improve the knowledge and skills of students in STEM subjects, propose activities and practical research through project-based learning, while favouring the development of critical and creative thinking and students’ capabilities in becoming active agents in the construction of their learning. Each STEM project focuses on one of the five thematic areas on which the project is based.
  2. To strengthen the professional profile of teachers and improve the processes in which students acquire STEM skills, through effective methodologies that are based on multidisciplinary and innovative approaches, such as project-based learning.
  3. To optimise the knowledge and skills of teachers in teaching STEM disciplines through learning strategy projects, case studies and collaborative learning.
  4. To enhance the ICT skills of students and teachers and make those skills part of everyday life in the classroom.
  5. To promote knowledge and understanding about the diversity of European languages and cultures and the value of that diversity among students and teachers.
  6. Improve skills in linguistic communication, among both the students and the teachers who are involved. This is achieved by using English, Spanish and French as vehicles, both for the development of the project’s activities and for the products resulting from the project.
  7. To increase the quality and the European dimension of the relevant teacher training.
  8. To include the European dimension in the everyday life of the coordination centre, internationalise it and enrich the sense of community through knowledge of new realities and cultures.
  9. To facilitate cooperation among the four schools that are involved in the project, by creating a network with the same objectives for work at the transnational level, encourage innovation, participate in joint educational activities and exchange good practices.
  10. To celebrate the First International Week STEM Fair at Gabriel and Galan High School, Plasencia (Coordinator Centre). This first edition focuses on science, technology and mathematics in relation to the kitchen.

 

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