From STEM to STEAM Education: A New Learning Approach
Davorka Medvedović
Dates: March 21, 2022 - March 26, 2022.
Place: Europass Teacher Academy – European Academy of Creativity, Barcelona, Spain
Day 1
16.5.2022.
After long preparations, that day arrived, the beginning of my mobility in Barcelona. I give lectures at the Europass Teacher Academy - European Academy of Creativity, Rambla de Catalunya 15, in the very center of Barcelona. In the introductory part, our lecturer Daniel Schmidt introduced himself and introduced us to the activities of our course. He spoke to us about the connection between the STEM field and the STE(A)M field of teaching: how to improve teaching with STE(A)M activities, how to approach the introduction of STE(A)M into the classroom as a teacher-coach. He talked to us about everyday things related to our stay in Barcelona, so he shared some tips and tricks for Barcelona to make you feel at home in this beautiful Catalan city. Our lecturer-trainer is from Brighton, Ontario, Canada, EFL teacher, worked in South Korea, Spain and in the corona crisis online. He is a design lover, graphic designer and DJ as a musical fantasist. The participants of my group came from the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Latvia. There are 13 of us and everyone prepared a short presentation about themselves and their school. After introducing ourselves and our school, we had group activities. In the Coogle tool, we got to know each other even better as a couple. Teacher Daniel also introduced us to another coach, Tony Torralba. We will do part of the activity with him in the next two days. Thought of the day: Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works." Steve Jobs With those words, we ended our first meeting and agreed on tomorrow's meeting.
Day 2
17.5.2022.
The second day started with the introduction of our new coach Tony Tarralba from USA, Davis, Berkeley and Oakland. He presented himself with his scientific career as well as his long-term work in education with immigrants. He is particularly proud of that part of his career. Now he is a Trainer Teacher at the Europpass academy in Barcelona. After our presentation, we started with getting to know how to start a STEAM program in your classroom. We got to know several such implemented programs in the world. Started working as a team and started planning our tomorrow's Biodiversity project in Guell City Park. Teams: Science Team, Art Team, Math Team and Technology Team. Each team planned the implementation steps on the field, made a plan and presented the plan to the whole team. Thought of the day: "A person who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new." Albert Einstein
Day 3
18.5.2022.
Meeting of our group in front of the Academy and departure by public transport to Park Guell. Work in the field by teams according to the plan. My team uses the applications Wikiloc, Google Maps, Picture this. Observations and a concrete "product" were presented by members of the Art Team by showing their installation. The installation remains on the ground and represents the biological diversity of the park. After that, we all go on a tourist tour of the area where our field is located, Barrio Gracia. Gracia was an independent town until the late 19th century, and even now the community is small and tight-knit. People are very proud of their roots and don't say they come from Barcelona, but from Gracia. It is completely self-sufficient. This means you can stay in Gracia and never have to leave. The famous clock tower in Plaça de la Vila de Gracia is surrounded by trendy Catalan bistros and wine bars. The entire area is marked by the architecture of Antoni Gaudí in the style of Catalan modernism, from the neo-Moorish museum Casa Vicens to Park Guell located on the hill above the city and covered with fantastic mosaics. We ended our meeting today with a joint lunch. Thought of the day: "Beauty is the radiance of Truth." Antoni Gaudí
Day 4
19.5.2022.
Meeting in front of the Academy and going to the city gallery CCCB, Center de Cultura Contemporania de Barcelona. We learn the new See, Think, Wonder technique at the exhibition La Mascara nunca miente. The exhibition takes us on a journey through the political use of masks in modern society and looks at the politics of face control, cultural resistance to identification, the defense of anonymity, strategies of terror in the act of concealment and the way villains, heroes or heroines and dissidents use masks as a symbol of identity. Structured in seven areas, the exhibition covers different but interconnected stories: Ku Klux Klan, Fantomas, Leo Taxil and Freemasonry, Dadaism, Surrealism, Mexican wrestling mask, masked political activism, plague and pandemic, etc. Today's day in the gallery connected us with art and provided a motive for further discovering the connection between art and science by learning new work techniques. Thought of the day: We understand science in the most open definition. Far from a clear division between literature and science, we try to find connections between the disciplines. Scientist
Day 5
20.5.2022.
Final presentation of our work in the field: Biodiversity of Park Guell, CCCB technique evaluation. After the presentation of our works, we exchanged impressions about the entire education, about the acquired knowledge and skills on the course. Thought of the day: "Education is what remains after a person forgets what he learned in school." Albert Einstein
Day 6
21.5.2022.
On the last day of our course, we received certificates of attendance, treated ourselves to national specialties and exchanged contacts in an informal gathering. We spent the rest of the day sightseeing in Barcelona.