Out of the Box
Start date: Sep 1, 2015,
End date: Aug 31, 2017
PROJECT
FINISHED
„Out of the box“ is a project where three primary schools with experience in former Comenius projects and one newcomer primary school bring together their pedagogical background and expertise each in one of the topics of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering an Maths). In all European countries lately there have been changes in the school curricula. The focus in the schools is on a stronger development of the basic skills of the pupils. The four subjects of STEM need a stronger promotion in school and the competences of the pupils in these subjects are more and more important to grant European pupils a good position in future professional competition.
The expertise of each country plays an important role. Each school can provide special knowledge on one of the four subjects. Every school has one or more keypersons who is specialized in one of the 4 STEM-topics. The teachers of the schools have already taken part in teacher trainings connected with these topics and the school programmes include already activities linked with these topics. Additionally the schools are connected with institutions as firms, museums, universities, that can be used as extern experts to provide well-approved material for the other countries. Our project is innovative because it combines knowledge, skills and attitudes appropriate to the context. It combines also the knowledge and expertise of specialists on the 4 STEM topics.
„Out of the box“ means also thinking of a new angle, a new perspective. Here all the partners bring in their knowledge about learn theory, compare their practical realization of learning theories in the schools and find a common way of establishing a simple and easy to use pattern for teachers and pupils to cope with the tasks in the STEM topics. Learning theories as the self-instruction training of Meichenbaum are found in all the tasks and the pupils can develop a strategy to work on the different challenges.
Finally „Out of the box“ means that a concrete material, four boxes, each on one topic, will be developed during the project work. This collection of tasks and experiments put together in lessons and activities that pupils in all countries can use, will ensure that the project can be multiplied in several other countries and has a great value and a sustainability much further than the two project years and for much more countries than the four project partners´.
During our two years project we also organize two short term joint staff trainings to give the teachers of the four schools the opportunities to share their expertise and learn from others in workshops. During this trainingsessions the teachers will also meet companies and institutes focused on STEM.
To guarantee a sustainable project, evaluation plays an essential role. During the meetings the discussion of the coordinators will be characterized by a continuous evaluation in the short way of overthinking ideas and communicating them. This way of evaluating ideas and progress will be practiced by regular mail exchange between the meetings and in discussions during the meetings. In addition to that each school implies an evaluation through extern staff, e.g. students or teacher trainees who accompany the project and evaluate the results. In all schools teachers, pupils and parents are involved in the project and an evaluation in all groups is planned.
„Out of the box“ is therefore a project which is combining current progress in schools, latest developments of curricula, results from psychological and pedagogical research, cooperation of highly motivated teachers to give our pupils the chance to develop competences for lifelong learning and professional success. By the dissemination of best practices we are fostering the provision and the assessment of key competences.