Cell EXPLORERS run "STEM in Primary Education" European events
Cell EXPLORERS joined the European community for science Education this June by running two international events with Scientix on the topic of "STEM in Primary Education".
Attendees at the 13th Scientix Projects’ Networking Event, June 27th 2018, Brussels.
Our programme was invited to be co-organiser, along with GFOSS Open Technologies Alliance, of the 13th Scientix Programme Networking Event (#SPNE13) in Brussels on 27th June, 2018. On June 28th, Cell EXPLORERS were also invited to run a workshop for primary school teachers from across the EU attending a week-long Future Classroom Laboratory (FCL) training training course.
SPNE13 was held in the European Schoolnet’s office in Brussels and had the following objectives:
- Sharing experiences and initiatives addressing innovative STEM teaching in primary schools
- Reflecting on the role of STEM training for primary school generalist teachers
- Exploring good practice in motivating students into science from early ages
- Defining a set of recommendations and follow-up actions in STEM for primary education.
The morning session involved a fascinating exposition of STEM outreach projects across the EU, by Scientix ambassadors and event co-organisers, including our director, Muriel Grenon. In the afternoon, teachers, ambassadors, partners and Scientix staff then participated in a stimulating workshop aimed at addressed the following three important limitations to the delivery of STEM in primary schools; 1) lack of STEM culture, 2) lack of teaching support and 3) lack of resources. The outputs of this workshop will result in a Scientix Observatory article to be presented on the Scientix website.
Teachers participating to the Cell EXPLORERS workshop as part of FCL.
The Cell EXPLORERS Teacher workshop was run the following day by our national coordinator Shane Mc Guinness with Muriel.
Activities from our "Little Cells" and "Fantastic DNA" sessions were presented in a format that could be used in a classroom setting by 23 European teachers from Portugal, Poland, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Slovenia and Turkey.
The Scientix seminar room in Brussels was thus transformed into a biological laboratory for the morning. All attendees readily jumped (literally) into activities, with the enthusiasm you might expect from a group of primary school teachers. Great feedback was received for this event too, with one participant describing it as “the most interesting part of this STEM course ‘til now”.
Feedback provided by teachers attending the workshop
Massive thanks are owed to Dr Agueda Gras-Velazquez (Scientix Project Manager) and Adina Nistor (Networking Events Coordinator) for facilitating such a valuable couple of days.
