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Shaping Future Educators

The STEAME Teacher Facilitator Certification, developed by the European Federation, equips educators with the skills to integrate Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics, and Entrepreneurship into interdisciplinary, project-based learning for future-ready students

One of the key factors that can develop competencies and skills in school students, especially in grades 6-12, is the known interdisciplinary and multi-science project-based learning activity. In the last 20 years we have seen the development from STEM to STEAM and now to STEAME (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics and Entrepreneurship) becoming the subject set that through project-based learning activity, is considered the kinetic energy for producing the creators and innovators of the future. The catalyst in making this a reality is the subject teachers who need to develop related competence. The project STEAME-Academy developed a model through a network of regional STEAME Teacher Academies managed by the European Federation of STEAME Teacher Facilitators Academies, which can create the critical mass of professional STEAME teachers in support of the change in the curriculum in future schools. The STEAME Teacher Facilitators Academies offers the training of service teachers and the training of student teachers together with a mentoring programme. The mentoring programme supports networking between school education and university education and possibly industry, working together as co-creators for the sustainable development between teacher education providers impacting the quality of education in Europe. This is supporting the continuous professional development of teachers providing a micro-credential certification programme, already piloted in 2024 with the certification to 32 teachers in Cyprus.

The main results discussed are:

STEAME Teacher Facilitators Competence Framework for teachers

STEAME Teacher Facilitators Learning Modules/Workshops

International Observatory for STEAME Learning Facilitators – The Federation Platform

Mentoring and Certification Programme

The STEAME PBL Approach

STEAME PBL method for competence and skill development can be an essential part of every pupil’s curriculum. Resources and training have been developed to support European teachers’ knowledge and understanding of creating successful STEAME PBL learning programmes. It is also meant to assist schools in developing and implementing STEAME curricula. In a traditional school curriculum, all or most of the subjects constituting STEAME are taught separately. However social, economic, political, and cultural developments of mankind take place globally and seem to demand new approaches to education, including interdisciplinary learning activities.

Training, L&C Plans, Certification

The teachers’ professional development course "STEAME Project Based Learning: Learning and Creativity Plan Development", which led to the acquisition of the "STEAME Teacher Facilitator" Certification, was offered on a pilot basis in 2024, supporting 32 teachers in Cyprus to receive this certification in the form of a micro-credential.

The STEAME PBL Competence Framework published on 31 March 2024 was the basis for the development of the first set of 14 modules/workshops that service teachers and student teachers need to receive to develop knowledge and competence in order to become certified.

The Learning & Creativity Plans (L&C Plans) is a new name for Lesson Plans based on a template developed for the purposes of the project. It is required that every L&C Plan is developed in cooperation by at least two teachers of two different disciplines, integrating through a project scenario the use of at least two different subjects of STEAME.

Evaluation results and feedback from the 32 teachers and the 360 school students involved were overwhelming to trust that this approach has a future. The piloting report will be used to further design the common certification programme that the European Federation of STEAME Teacher Facilitators Academies will be promoting starting in 2025.

The Federation Regional Academies

To expand the impact and support the creation of a critical mass of STEAME Teachers in Europe who will facilitate the integration of STEAME PBL activities in school curricula, the project has established, as a legal entity, the European Federation of STEAME Teacher Facilitators Academies. This Federation as a membership organization consists of members who plan to set up a STEAME Teacher Facilitators Academy in their region. These academies can use the shared Observatory Platform with resources starting with 110 L&C Plans in 9 languages, 14 modules for training and workshops, video-learning, webinars in all EU languages, mentoring system, sharing and exchange. Regional Academies can function in their local language and support training and certification requirements to be submitted to the Federation for approval and issuing the certification.

Acknowledgements

The content of this article and related results are co-funded by the European Union under the ERASMUS+ programme.

*Professor of Mathematics and STEAME Education, University of National Education Commission, Krakow, Poland

President, European Association of ERASMUS

Coordinators

Makrides.g@eaecnet.com, www.steame-academy.eu,

www.federation-steame-academies.eu