Step by Step to Solution with STEM

A DROP OF WATER MAKES A DIFFERENCE

As part of the 2022 STEM Discovery Campaign, an eTwinning STEM project was planned using the “A Drop of Water Makes a Difference” learning scenario at the Scientix Resource Repository. The project was carried out under the name “Step by Step to Solution with STEM”. The project involved 13 teachers and 250 students from four different countries: Turkey, Italy, Portugal, and Poland.

Schools: Konya Ereğli Science And Art Center, Konya Ereğli Dumlupınar Scondary School, Konya Feriha Ferhat Koyuncuoglu Scondary School, Genova (GE), İtalyaICS Pra’ di Genova, Szkoła Podstawowa nr 1 im. Janusza Korczaka w Szprotawie Polonya, Alpaslan Ali Can Science And Art Center, Manisa Soma Science And Art Center, Agrupamento Escolas António Alves Amorim, Konya Akşehir Science And Art Center, Antalya Science And Art Center

Age students 10-11 years

Dates:1st of February 2021 – 25th of April 2021

Our Main Resource:A Drop of Water Makes a Difference

Our goals

Awareness among students about the problem of water scarcity and pollution in the world create.

  1. Developing 21st century skills such as global awareness, environmental literacy, creativity and innovation, critical thinking and problem solving, collaboration, knowledge and ICT literacy, citizenship and different thinking
  2. To encourage children in their active online participation
  3. To strengthen their active participation through the assumption of roles
  4. Developing your imagination
  5. To observe them, to try them, to draw conclusions, to invent, to make constructions, to make contact with art, to present their work.
  6. To manage to cooperate with the rest members of the group 

Timeline

Activities Time
Citizenship40 + 40
Natural Science40 + 40 + 40 + 40
Mathematics40 + 40
Art40
Music40 + 40
Designing and Prototypeing40 + 40
STEM Career Interviews: Architect40
Collaborative Studies40 + 40

Activities

First, our students and teachers introduced themselves to other partners. Afterwards, our students made logo and poster designs of our project. Afterwards, the students determined the logo and poster of our project with the survey. At the next stage, each team identified the “real-life problem” that it wanted to work on. We referred these issues to the survey. The students cast their votes. After all, “Water is very important for life. However, the earth’s water is gradually running low and polluting. Let’s find a solution to the water shortage.”

Citizenship (Brainstorming, discussion and preparation)

The students discussed the following questions with their teachers:

• How do you use water at home? At school?

• Give examples from your daily life: where do you
think you are wasting water?

• Do you think there is enough water for everyone? How can we stop waste?

• Do you think water will end?

Students were asked to discover some information about water using an inverted classroom. The students presented the information they discovered using the “Canva” tool. And they uploaded these presentations to the eTwinning common area. In addition, they watched other presentations that were there.

Natural Science (Watch, discuss and build)

After watching the relevant videos, students were asked to think about reducing water consumption and waste, reusing water, recycling it and using alternative sources (Videos are here: Part 1, Part 2). Students were then asked to think about the following questions and create a Mind Map.

  • Is water important for living beings? Why?
  • Do we consume a lot of water?
  • What can we do, in our daily lives, to reduce water consumption?
  • How can we ensure the sustainability of water?

Students used “popplet” for the Mind Map. In addition, schools collaborated on this event, and each team added a section to the map.

Then they designed an experiment that showed that water evaporates when heated and intensifies when cooled. They shared it with friends in the common area. In this experiment, they understood the “water cycle” in nature. They worked with the “Science” teacher at this event. The event continued both at school and at home.

Ebrarsu_ Buharlaşma ve yoğuşma – YouTube

They designed and built a water filtration device using materials commonly found in the next activity. They measured the effectiveness of the filtration device using pH measurement methods.

A selection of images from project practice

They then measured the ph value of water and different liquids. They used a “phet simulation” for this.

A selection of images from project practice

Then they played Kahoot about the Water Cycle. This event was very exciting and fun for them.

A selection of images from project practice

Mathematics (Water Statistics in your school)

In this course, students read and wrote statistics on water addiction. They searched for information on various websites like this (here). Then they checked their water footprints. Then they made a poster using the results. They commented on the “Water Footprint Results” on the poster.

A selection of images from project practice
A selection of images from project practice

Our students created and conducted a questionnaire to understand the truth about the use of water in our school community. The Survey is here. They then created a poster with graphic information about the collected data.

A selection of images from project practice
A selection of images from project practice

They watched videos of water recirculation on the ISS. Video 1, Video 2

The students then prepared puzzles on the “conscious use of water”. They used “learningapps.org” and “wordwall.net” for this event.

Art (Creative activity)

In this lesson, they learned how to create colors that differ from the main colors, and
They watched the videos (Video 1, Video 2). Phet practiced with the “Color Vision” simulation. They determined what color the person would see for various combinations of red, green and blue light. They defined the color of the light, which can pass through different colored filters.

Color after students watch videos they worked together to create a poster of the series. They described the “Water Cycle” on the poster. For this they used colored crayons and cardboard.

A selection of images from project practice

The students decided to work together for “World Water Day”. And they created a calendar. Every school team designed a month. In the design, they created “a picture and slogan on the water problem”. They worked collaboratively using the Canva tool. They finally created the 2022 Calendar. The calendar is here.

Music (Musical Water)

In this course, they collaborated with our school’s music teacher. We asked the students to find the water content needed for each glass to make a different sound.
Ingredients: Cups of the same size, water, food dye, spoon or stick

Then they filled the glasses with different levels of water. They added food dye to further distinguish them. In this way, they created a “Water Xysytophone”. When it was over, they took a metal rod and slowly hit the glasses. They finally created a melody. The music teacher accompanied them using the piano.

Designing and Prototyping

In the first lesson, all the students made designs that they thought would solve the water problem. For this, some students used paper and crayons. Some students chose to design with the “tinkercad” program. At the end of the first lesson, they presented their designs to their friends. Together they decided on the best solution.

In lesson 2, they all built a prototype of a building that harvested rain. They also wanted to add wind roses to their building. They installed an electrical circuit inside the building. At the end of the lesson, they discussed the good and the bad of the prototype. They decided on aspects that needed to be improved.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61MTXAYXlQs


STEM Career Interviews: Architect

In the next lesson, they met with the architect. The meeting was held online. How did he become an architect? What do architects do? they asked questions like. Later, they contacted our project. How do you design to make sustainable buildings? What materials do you use? What do you pay attention to regarding the use of water? They tried to understand the profession with questions like.

In the next lessons,

the Students did studies to tell people the truth about “water scarcity and water pollution” and to raise awareness about them.

Groups of 13 teachers and their teams created an “e-book”. They named the book “Adriana and Carlos In Search of Clean Water.” Here’s the ebook.

Then they created a “Public Spotlight”

They made a video message. This event was held in collaboration with all teams. The video discussed “we are running low on water, we are getting dirty”, “the future is in danger”, “what should we do about it for a better future”. And he gave me messages. This study was done with “canva”. Each team edited its own page. Here’s the “Public Spotlight

Then the students designed a game for their peers using “Scratch”. The game moved with the slogan “Clean the Seas”. In this study, the teams worked collaboratively. Students were divided into mixed school teams. Each team was guided by a teacher. The IT teacher also supported the teams. The study took place online. Because each team had students from all four countries. The teams improved the next stage of the game. Finally, this game came about.

A selection of images from project practice

They planted trees at the last event. We wanted to collaborate with local governments for this event. That’s why we had help from the mayor of the city where we live. The mayor helped us with everything. He’s prepared the area where we’re going to plant trees. He dug holes. He brought the saplings ashore. They even took our students to the field by bus and also provided food and drink.

The event was attended by 90 students, 5 teachers, parents and municipal employees. Each student also planted at least 15 trees. In the end, 1,000 trees were planted that day.

https://youtu.be/fXhW5FnlcKs

Ultimately

Our students were very excited and curious during the project activities. They were given the opportunity to observe and experiment, draw conclusions, invent and take care of art. Critical thinking, creativity, problem solving and collaboration skills have improved. The students were actively involved in the project. On the other hand, intercultural interaction was provided as well as environmental literacy. And most importantly, awareness of water scarcity and pollution has increased.
In addition, the families followed the project with interest. They even said their monthly water bills were down. The students left to discuss another project.

Şerife TAKMAZ

Not every water is H2O

This year, the students of the 4th grade of the elementary school Hugo Badalić from Slavonski Brod, Croatia will join the STEM Discovery Campaign 2022. with the topic Not every water is H2O. In the conducted activities, the students used the skills of observation, measurement, observation, graphical presentation of data, inferences, and the activities marked the World Water Day.

At the beginning, the students answered the questions What does water look like? What shape is water? What does water smell like? What does water taste like? What is water for? How important is water to us? What do we use water for? What would happen if we didn’t have water? They repeated the acquired knowledge about water circulation in nature.

In the first activity, students learned that there is 71% water on Earth and the rest is land. They showed this percentage by filling the squares with color (blue percentage of water, and brown land). They found out that out of this 71% of the water surface, as much as 97% is salt water, and only 3% is fresh water, and they showed that ratio by filling in the squares.

In the next activity, they researched on the Internet that the human body contains as much as 70% water, and they also showed that percentage graphically by filling that percentage of the body with color.

The students listed which animals live in water (fresh or salty) and made a graphic presentation of the number of animals shown on a piece of paper.

We also mentioned the beaver which also lives in the water. On the CodeMonkey programming platform, students helped the cheerful beaver with sequence, branching, and repetition commands to complete the dam and make cocktails for his friends.

For the Running Water activity, we prepared six glass cups, different food colors, paper towels and, of course, water. The students filled three glasses to half full with water and added 5 drops of food coloring. They arranged the glasses in a circle so that every other glass was empty. They took a paper towel and folded it into strips and placed it over the edges of the cups. The water slowly moves towards the paper towel through a process known as capillary action. The paper towel is made of fibers and water can travel through the gaps in the fibers. These voids act like capillary tubes, pulling water upward. Students compared this process to watering a plant, where water travels from the root of the plant to the leaves at the top of the plant or tree.

For the Colorful Rain in a Glass activity, we prepared a larger glass cup, an oil cup, edible oil, food coloring and water. The students filled a larger glass with water up to 3/4. They carefully poured the oil into another glass to a height of about 2 cm, and then carefully added food coloring of different colors to the oil. With the help of a wooden stick, they broke the food coloring into small drops. Oil and drops of food coloring were poured into another glass and they were surprised by the result of the experiment. They noticed that water and oil did not mix, and that drops of paint fell slowly, like colorful rain, to the bottom of the glass. They learned that water, although they claimed otherwise at the beginning of the experiment, has a higher density than oil.


For the activity Melt, don’t melt! we prepared six glasses and sugar, salt, pebbles, soap, paper, eraser, and of course, water. The students added 100 ml of water to each glass, and sugar to the first glass, salt to the second, a piece of paper to the third, a pebble to the fourth, soap and a rubber to the fifth. After that, they observed what of the above dissolves in water and what does not.

For Hot or Cold activity! we prepared water, four glass cups, different food colors, a kettle. The students filled four glasses: one glass to the top with cold water, one glass to half cold and half hot water, one glass up to a quarter with cold water and three quarters with hot water and one glass to the top with hot water. Add a few drops of food coloring to all the glasses and watch what happens in the glasses. They concluded that the paint dissolves faster in hot water and became acquainted with the concept of diffusion, ie spontaneous mixing of substances with their environment.

XIAOYI

For activity Thicker than you think! we prepared a larger glass, edible oil, water and honey. The students filled a glass with one third of honey, one third of water and one third of oil. They observed how three layers were formed, depending on the density. On the Internet, they found that the density of a physical quantity is characteristic of each substance and is equal to the quotient of the mass and volume of that substance.

The students enjoyed today’s activities and learned something new about water that they did not know until now. The activities of the international eTwinning project Full STEAM ahead were also carried out.

STEM FOR RACE (STAND WITH UKRAINE)

https://stemaddie.blogspot.com/

STEM refers to a process where we produce solutions to daily life problems beyond interdisciplinary work in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Therefore, it is our most important responsibility to be with our students when they face the problems of daily life.

Our most important problem today is that our colleagues and children in Ukraine are being persecuted before the eyes of the world.

As the STEM Applications With ADDIE Project team, we asked our students a daily life problem. They told us about the invasion of Ukraine. When we asked what kind of a solution we could come up with, they said that we could build a bridge that would save them and support them.

Based on this great idea, we built bridges of love, peace, and friendship from our countries to Ukraine with the participation of many European countries.

With an international and intercultural perspective, our students experience both the happiness of working with each other and the pride of producing solutions to problems.

Analyzing the problem and producing alternative solutions in problem-solving processes is the most important skill to be taught today.

With this activity, our students did not only do a STEM activity but also a peace movement. It was very important to be able to write peace to their small hearts and big ideas with such a job.

Our project not only developed a training program but also carried out important studies in STEM discovery week activities by producing solutions to problems in cooperation. We just wanted to share the bridge of friendship with you.

Wishing for a world where friendship and peace prevail…

TEENS ON POLE FOR A SUSTAINABLE WORLD

As the Earth’s climate warms, the polar ice caps continue to thaw. Human activities have enormous impact on the climate. Especially in the Arctic, these effects are seen more rapidly and in 2040, we will see summer season without ice in the Arctic.The disappearance of glaciers can have deadly consequences for the creatures that live, breed and hunt at the poles. This is a serious problem for all people. Both, rising sea levels and melting glaciers, will cause serious problems in coastal cities, as well as the change in components of the ocean, such as food chains will be turned upside down.

With our TEENS ON POLE eTwinning Project, we drew attention to the change in climate and poles and we investigated its effects on the earth’s atmosphere and living ecosystem. Thus, we tried to explain the work that needs to be done for the threatened future, which is our common concern, showing why it is necessary to protect the environment, with the new concept of sustainability.

TEENS ON POLE is an international eTwinning project. The aim of our project is to investigate the impact of changes in the poles on the entire living ecosystem and the world. Additionally, our goal is to leave a liveable world for new generations, develop environmentally sensitive curricula, and get new environmental ideas with sustainable development education. Instilling this awareness and raising conscious individuals who respect nature, also means investing in the future.

It is possible to raise environmentally sensitive individuals by enabling them to interact with environmental problems at the right time and in the right way. Our main goal has been to encourage students to develop curious, creative, responsible and independent ideas while ensuring that students are at the center of the learning process. School teams and mixed country teams were formed in the project, enabling students to participate in different activities to explore climate change and its effects on the poles in different dimensions. All studies were carried out on the basis of inquiry and project and in connection with the objectives.Our project was carried out jointly with schools in Turkey, Albania, Spain, Portugal and Romania. 11 schools and 16 teachers took part in the project, in which 150 students aged 16-19 participated. A total of 5 mixed international country teams worked to draw attention to the effects of climate change in our polar research project. Mixed-country teams studied the effects of global warming on agriculture, wildlife, forest and vegetation, and melting glaciers. Developed solutions for a more sustainable and environmentally friendly life. In line with these suggestions, joint and collaborative studies were carried out by using innovative educational technologies. All these events took place between September and December of 2021. Below are the topics that mixed country teams work with their students in the presence of mentor teachers.

In order to increase awareness, posters that draw attention to the subject were prepared. Here are some of them:

We have also arranged and carried out several activities, you can find some of them below:

1) We watched documentaries about melting glaciers and its consequences.

2) Students contribute to recycling by making eco-friendly paper bags.

3) They carried out awareness studies on ways to reduce global warming.

4) Participated in the European Climate Change Pact with their works.

5) By sponsoring the Deception Island penguins, together we have helped spread the commitment to protect the environment so we can make planet Earth a cleaner, healthier and more balanced place with nature.

6) We interviewed academics traveling to the poles.

7) We have prepared an e-book from the news about the polar regions from the past to the present.

8) We participated in the Sustainable Development Education Webinars to raise awareness about the environment and for a sustainable Environment.

 “Spring Campaign 2022: Education for Sustainable Development – Make Environment Great Again”

Finally, the issue of global climate change was addressed by conducting teamwork between countries, a joint STEM study with students and teachers, as well as by carrying out different activities with students. Additionally, 3D animations were made to increase awareness. By raising awareness about the poles, our students were able to gain a sense of responsibility towards their environment by recognizing their individual characteristics with our project. In this way, they developed problem-solving skills by researching their environment. At the end of our project, they tried to show why it is necessary to protect the environment with a new concept of sustainability, which is our common concern, as well as the work that needs to be done for the threatened future.

STE(A)M Solution To Obesity Problem

STE(A)M IT

We created an eTwinning project which to find solutions to the obesity problem and we implemented most of our lessons with distance education.The project also includes healthy living and quality education efforts that are included in sustainable development goals. https://sdgs.un.org/goals Because we wanted to increase students 21. century skills as critical thinking,collaboration, creativity,etc. We tried to explain Stem jobs as statisticians, computer programer, electronic engineering, etc.

SCIENCE : In science lesson Our project science teachers Arzu K.(İstanbul) and Eray B.(Samsun) tried to explain on healthy nutrition in the circulatory system and obesity.With distance learning students walked 1000 steps and create healthy plates.

Continue reading