STEM-Education Project from Donbas Entered the Top 10 in Finland
A team of teachers from Kramatorsk Secondary School № 8 took part in the International LUMA StarT Education Award 2019 (Finland) contest in the category «Best Teacher's Practice», NA «Vchasno» reports.
The author and coordinator of the project «AR — travel, and research of the towers» Olena Kovaleva said that the project was highly appreciated by the international jury.
«The main thing in the project was to interest children. They saw the world's towers with the addition of augmented reality — they went up and down on the desk. After that we offered to study them on various subjects, to combine theory with practice because this is the essence of the STEM approach», — Olena Kovaleva, coordinator of the project said.
For the lesson of the Ukrainian language, schoolchildren prepared a message in the form of a dialogue in the teams created about each of the towers — Eiffel, Burj Khalifa, Lippo Center, and Petronas Towers. On mathematics they made diagrams, they studied the technology of complemented reality on computer science, created presentations. Also, everyone was able to create a paper tower on his own — these were the student's creative projects. Children with special needs took part in the project, who together with others performed tasks and presented their work.
«This project further united children and motivates them to study the topic, they were not forcing anyone, they themselves were interested. The speed of work in the classroom grew, everything was very productive. This approach is the future», Oksana Galuzinskaya, a class teacher of 6th grade said.
The teachers' presentations were presented to the organizers of the competition in a video. The project from Kramatorsk was among the top ten, which was selected by the commission in Finland following an open vote. In total, 250 participants from twenty countries of the world took part in the competition.
«STEM education is very popular in Europe, Europeans have long been aware that not the amount of knowledge, but their practical application, is important, therefore, STEM-movement is now gaining popularity around the world, — Olena Kovaleva says. — I am glad that this gradually comes to the Ukrainian school».
Soon, her experience in project activity Olena Kovaleva will present to colleagues at the mini edCamp conference at the Donbas State Pedagogical University. And in early June, project participants are invited to an educational symposium and (are going to) a gala evening of the winners to Finland, where they will be able to see how the STEM approach is being implemented in European schools and share experiences