inGenious: overview of findings and outputs from research, pilot...
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inGenious: overview of findings and outputs from research, pilot testing and internal and external evaluation
General Assembly, Warsaw
24th September 2014
Derek Bell
Campanula Consulting, UK

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• to increase young Europeans’ interest in maths, science and technology education [STEM] and careers;
by …
• coordinating, leveraging and building upon existing school/business partnerships in the field of MST [STEM] education across Europe.
InGenious /ECB aims to…

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• Organisations – schools, companies, charitable foundations, governments;
• Individuals – students, teachers, employers, employees;
• Society – economy, citizenship, democracy.
Because education industry links
benefit …..

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Supporting the development of:
• Subject specific knowledge and skills
• Generic learning skills including:
• literacy and numeracy
• Employability skills including:
• problem-solving, decision making, communication, self-direction, teamwork, building relationships and leadership.
And they fit into the curriculum ….

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• How productive are the links?
• Can we make them more effective?
But ….

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What have we learnt from inGenious?
So ….

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inGenious has….....
• researched school-industry cooperation (theory /practice /needs analysis)
• tested and evaluated existing innovations in STEM education (3 pilot years X 150 schools, 15+ countries in each year)
• created new innovative activities in STEM education and career advice (f2f and online)

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And involved over 1500 classrooms across 20
European countries.
Cycles Number of Pilot
schools
2011-2012 170
2012-2013 180
2013- 2014 195
2000+ teachers in 53 f2f and online events

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All supported by the inGenious website:
www.ingenious-science.eu ….
Main sections:
• Resources
• Communities
(provides access
to the teacher
community)
• Practices
• News
• Competitions

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Research showed students are
interested in STEM….

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All pupils who agree or strongly agree with the statement (%) N > 7203 ALL Girls Boys
Lessons in science and technology are among my most favourite
subjects at school55% 48% 64%
I like mathematics more than most other subjects at school 44% 40% 48%
I think school mathematics will have practical use in my daily life 70% 69% 70%
School science and technology will help me with everyday
practical problems63% 60% 66%
Doing well in mathematics, science and technology is important
for my further education and career79% 76% 83%
In my future career I have no need for good knowledge in
mathematics, science or technology27% 28% 25%
And students feel there is practical
value of learning in STEM.…

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Learning outside school is
significant…

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But interest in STEM jobs dips……

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Also with primary school children
(<11yrs) ….'I would like to have a job that uses science'; 'I would like to become
an engineer or an inventor'
% of pupils who Agree a Lot or
Agree a Little with the statements
No of
overall
respons
es
All
studentsGirls Boys
Science job 1578 64% 66% 61%
Engineer/Inventor 1584 55% 43% 67%
Science job AND
Engineer/Inventor1570 42% 36% 48%
Engineer/Inventor but NOT
Science job1570 13% 8% 18%
* primary pupil baseline questionnaire (Pilots 2 and 3)

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Analysis of practices identified four
groups…..
I. Putting at schools disposal resources
to promote the improvement of
scientific or technological knowledge
potentially related to the company
(materials, ambassadors, courses,
etc.)
II. Establishing personal communication
of STEM professionals with students
III.Giving accessibility of the company
premises to schools
IV.Engaging STEM professionals with
students’ work
Percentage of practices belonging to the
different kinds of initiatives.
0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
I II III IV
28.7 30.0 26.7 25.3
%

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MOTIVATIONAL
OBSTACLES
Different interests, motivations and expectations of
the parties involved
STRUCTURAL
OBSTACLES
Limited availability of resources, support and
infrastructures / geographical limitations
PROCEDURAL
OBSTACLES
Management difficulties of school-industry
cooperation (communication between partners,
regulations, etc.)
CULTURAL
OBSTACLES
Different realities of the worlds of industry and
school & negative stereotypes
And barriers to establishing and
maintaining initiatives include….

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Procedural
Obstacles
Structural
Obstacles
Motivational
Obstacles
Cultural
Obstacles
Of these the most common were…..

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And shortcomings of typical S-I collaborations…
Objectives
To enthuse/motivate
Target
group
Mainly SECONDARY and HIGH school pupils
Imple-
mentation
One-off project; school-based, a few hours long
Evaluation
Is often neglected and/or focused on numbers and satisfaction
Liking science is not enough!
Need to emphasize the other factors
Focus on Secondary school may be too late: Need to address
both, primary and secondary levels
Educational choices are not static
Need long-term relationship for long-term impact
Evaluation is important and needs to focus on intended
objectives (industry and school objectives should be aligned
BUT…
BUT…
BUT…
BUT…

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Factors influencing young people’s
career choice in STEM*......
A. Students’ engagement in
learning STEM subjects in
school
B. Information about careers and
job opportunities
C. Self-efficacy beliefs i.e.
awareness of how one’s own
knowledge, skills and personality
traits fit requirements for STEM
careers
D. Social perception of the STEM
careers and personal science
capital**
A
DC
B
* Raquel Rios, Anna Artigas, Roser Pintó,
CRECIM – Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (inGenious partner)
**Archer, L., DeWitt, J. and Willis, B. (2013), Adolescent boys' science aspirations:
Masculinity, capital, and power. J. Res. Sci. Teach.. do: 10.1002/tea.21122

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I. Putting at schools disposal
resources to promote the
improvement of scientific or
technological knowledge potentially
related to the company (materials,
ambassadors, courses, etc.)
II. Establishing personal
communication of STEM
professionals with students
III. Giving accessibility of the company
premises to schools
IV.Engaging STEM professionals with
students’ work
Contextualise, enrich
teaching & learning of
STEM subjects
School Factor
Linking practices to factors….
• material as support for schools in
implementing educational programmes
(serious games, teaching & learning
material, etc.)
• material for giving career information
(web portals, exhibition, etc.)
• science ambassadors.
• support to STEM Centres
• teacher courses, workshops, etc.

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I. Putting at schools disposal
resources to promote the
improvement of scientific or
technological knowledge potentially
related to the company (materials,
ambassadors, courses, etc.)
II. Establishing personal
communication of STEM
professionals with students
III. Giving accessibility of the company
premises to schools
IV.Engaging STEM professionals with
students’ work
and ….. Career Counselling Factor Psychological Factor
Achievable Role
Models to make
STEM careers
“thinkable”
• Talks /chats with STEM
professionals (job/academic
background, industrial applications,
etc.)
• Debates moderated by STEM
experts where students discuss
about a STEM-related topic
• Courses given by STEM
professionals about industrial topics
in the frame of the school curriculum

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I. Putting at schools disposal
resources to promote the
improvement of scientific or
technological knowledge potentially
related to the company (materials,
ambassadors, courses, etc.)
II. Establishing personal
communication of STEM
professionals with students
III. Giving accessibility of the company
premises to schools
IV.Engaging STEM professionals with
students’ work
and….
Broad range of
STEM profiles and
industrial reality
• School visits to company facilities
(with the possibility of including some
activities there)
• Classes performed by teachers
within a company facilities relating
students’ curriculum with the
company’s work
Career Counselling Factor Psychological Factor

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I. Putting at schools disposal
resources to promote the
improvement of scientific or
technological knowledge potentially
related to the company (materials,
ambassadors, courses, etc.)
II. Establishing personal
communication of STEM
professionals with students
III. Giving accessibility of the company
premises to schools
IV.Engaging STEM professionals with
students’ work
School FactorCareer counselling Factor
Psychological Factor
and…
Role Playing to
promote awareness
of own capabilities
• Research project or study in
collaboration with industrial
professionals
• Students’ Internship in industry
• Technological challenge to be
surmounted by students

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I. Putting at schools disposal
resources to promote the
improvement of scientific or
technological knowledge potentially
related to the company (materials,
ambassadors, courses, etc.)
II. Establishing personal
communication of STEM
professionals with students
III. Giving accessibility of the company
premises to schools
IV.Engaging STEM professionals with
students’ work
Family & Environment Factor
and last but not least…..
Possibility of
improving social
image of STEM-
related careers
• Involvement of parents and wider
family
• Role models and mentors

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Overall practices show increasing
degrees of interaction…..
Degree of interaction/communicationbetween
students and STEM professionals
Helping to
contextualise
and enrich
teaching &
learning of
STEM subjects
Introducing Role
Models and
industrial reality
to make STEM
careers
“thinkable”
Engaging students
in real industry-
related tasks i.e. playing the role
of STEM
professionals to rise
self-efficacy beliefs
*inGenious: Result of the analysis of School-Industry collaboration

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inGenious developed ….
With the support of partners,
teachers and policy makers, it
currently contains:
• 158 practices
• 71 policies

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and…

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inGenious has also enabled….
sharing of classroom practices developed by industry
partners:
Classroom activities, learning resources, e-practices and e-chats with STEM
industry experts
networking and professional development
opportunities for teachers:
Face-to-face events with industry partners and colleagues
Teacher summer schools; Teacher Academies; Teacher workshops
Online: Teacher communities of practice; chats; Online CPD courses;
databases of resources; STEM ambassadors database.

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Teachers were very positive about
practices….TEACHERS’ feedback
The practice fully achieved its expected learning
outcomes94%
Pupils enjoyed the practice 97%Pupils showed that they improved their
understanding of STEM89%
Pupils learnt how STEM subjects relate to
everyday life93%
I would like to do more of this type of practice
with my pupils94%
I plan to use this practice in my future teaching 95%(% of teachers who Strongly Agree/Agree with the statement)
“Pupils are developing imagination and logic
and associated ICT courses with classical
teaching”(Croatian teacher, Pilot 2)

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Students slightly less so…
Students’ feedback on practicesALL
pupilsGirls Boys
improved knowledge and understanding 71% 69% 73%
learned new things about jobs 65% 62% 68%learned about practical applications and
real life use72% 71% 74%
learned about personal and professional
qualities of people who work in STEM65% 62% 68%
I enjoyed the practice 83% 82% 84%I would like to do more of this type of
practice81% 79% 82%
(% of students who Strongly Agree/Agree with the statement)
‘Working in the field of science is
interesting’(post-16, female student, Estonia)

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inGenious has had an impact….
Estimated number of unique
participants
Number of schools > 300
Teachers > 350
Classes > 1500
Pupils > 20000

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Furthermore ….
96% reported impact on
teachers’ knowledge, skills and
classroom practice, especially
in teaching about real-life
applications and STEM
careers.

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as teachers said…..
‘Overall I became more aware of how to make connection
of Science and Technology learning to Industry. I tried to
connect Science/Technology and Society even before my
participation in the project InGenious. However, with this
project (implementation of practical, on-line chat,
Communities of practice ...) I learned a lot more about the
opportunities for school-industry connection’ (Portuguese
teacher, Pilot year 1)
There is a positive change in my way of
thinking about the teaching of science, since I
started to participate in the project. And I want
to thank inGenious for that.’ (Israeli teacher, pilot year 3)

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There was also an impact on
students in secondary school…

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and in primary…

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In addition inGenious has (among other things)…
Defined some theoretical baselines for establishing, designing, implementing and maintaining school-industry partnership activities
Provided concrete opportunities for Industry & Education collaboration
Developed a set of STEM ‘model’ practices, which have been tested in schools
Established & reinforced ‘Communities of practice’
36

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And…
Created the inGenious ‘brand’
Raised the level of STEM-awareness amongst students
Helped teachers recognise that collaboration with industry partners is a catalyst for change
Enhanced intercultural approaches in education and industry at a European level
37

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And produced…..
“The inGenious Code, giving useful information for companies and/or schools not yet engaged in partnerships, but willing to do so, on what to expect / how to understand each other. Even for “seasoned” partners, this is a good reference” (Teacher)
38

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Looking ahead inGenious might
consider…
Exploring connections between STEM model practices &
the content of school curricula
Emphasising pedagogical issues in STEM - not just content
Growing links with and between National STEM Platforms
Enhancing productive links with creative arts curricula (e.g.
STEAM)
Promoting connections with other EU initiatives (for
example, mentoring & volunteering)
39

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Whatever is done needs to be....
Strategic Tactical Operational
Institutionalise and
integrate school-
industry cooperation
Establish and
facilitate
multi-stakeholder
networks
Improve the
process of
collaboration
- change school
programme/
curriculum
- add to initial and
continuous teacher
training
e.g. career advise services,
Vocational training
programmes, national
STEM platforms
- establish
frameworks for
cooperation
- coordinate levels
(national,
regional, local)
e.g. Incentivise teachers
and Head teachers to
participate
- formalise goals, and
milestones
- Set up evaluation
process
- Ensure
dissemination
e.g. guideline docs
Evaluation tools
Databases of resources

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Key messages include…..
Interest and enjoyment of STEM subjects are
necessary pre-conditions for STEM career motivation
of students, but learning of STEM careers and real-life
applications of knowledge are crucial for raising
student aspirations towards STEM careers, especially
among girls.
To provide high quality learning of STEM subjects and
careers schools need external support from industry
and business as part of long-term collaborations.
This support has to include not only learning activities
and resources, but opportunities for professional
learning and networking for teachers and industry
experts.

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In short…
ECB-inGenious has become a successful European
platform that brought schools and industry stakeholders
together and created opportunities for networking,
professional learning, understanding of each others
needs, sharing of good practice and facilitation of
school-industry collaboration.
This is only the beginning:
actions now need to be taken
to promote an inGenious legacy
(sustainability activities ,
inGenious2…)
BUT….