Author: Olga Juravschi
STEM is an educational initiative which develops creativity, critical thinking and problem-solving skills to pupils. These skills will help them be more competitive in the work environment of 21st. Within STEM projects, teachers find out different ways of teaching and engaging students in various activities that make them more curious and motivated.
In the framework of the 2020 STEM Discovery Campaign, two years in a row, my school is hosting a great event that aims to emphasise the undeniable role of STEM implementation for the future pupils’ careers. We have been prepared for this event for months, but as schools are closed now because of the Coronavirus outbreak, we decided to organize the event online on 23 April 2020. This year the event was entitled “STEM implementation for students’ education”, and gathered together students and teachers online. Partner for the event is the Technical University of Moldova (TUM).
As I mentioned above, the preparation for the event took more time, we started with the development of eTwinning project “Visual Math” where students created different objects such as Archimedean and Platonic solids to be presented to the public. Another STEM project product that was presented on the event was a mechanical manipulator created by a pupil from the 10th grade. The development of eTwinning projects in this period of time (lockdown) continues and it keeps pupils’ motivation awake, they are eager to experience new things even at home.
What makes STEM teaching different from traditional teaching is the integration of science subjects in real-life problems. These approaches provide those skills needed for the work environment of 21st century.
In order to extend the STEM education beyond the school’s walls, representatives from the Technical University of Moldova welcomed pupils’ presence in their classes and laboratories in February. The pupils were amazed to understand that almost everything around us is related to STEM: clothes, roads, infrastructure, buildings, transport, food and so on.
All these activities we had to put them together at the conference dedicated to STEM Discovery Campaign 2020. A way out, a solution to carry on this campaign was to organise it online.
All in all, this challenge was a great experience for both teachers and pupils. Pupils were very happy to see each other again, to share their thoughts, emotions and to encourage each other. These kinds of activities assure the good development of students: critical thinking, communication, creativity, a collaboration that are extremely important for their life.