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Description
The project addresses the problem of insufficient number of educated teachers and adequate programs in primary schools in Croatia that encourage children to acquire STEM knowledge and skills. The purpose of the project is to increase capacity and provide support for primary school teachers to use robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) in STEM education in order to increase the quality and relevance of education and to improve the overall learning environment in primary schools. The project will develop a curriculum, train and provide mentoring for 300 teachers for the application of AI in working with children, and will involve 60 schools in the activities of exchanging knowledge , practices and cooperation.
Summary of project results
The project addressed the issue of an insufficient number of educated teachers and adequate programmes in Croatian primary schools that would encourage children to acquire STEM knowledge and skills. The project achieved this by increasing capacities and providing support to Croatian primary school teachers in using robotics and artificial intelligence in STEM education. The goal was to enhance the quality and relevance of education and to improve the overall learning environment in primary schools.
The project consisted of several phases aimed at enhancing teachers'' capacities to work with children on developing STEM knowledge and skills, with a focus on using artificial intelligence and computer vision. The project included:
- Development of curriculum and teaching materials for the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in STEM education. An analysis of teachers'' needs was planned and conducted (digital questionnaire for needs analysis, analysis with 100 teachers, interviews with 10 teachers), development of a curriculum on the use of AI, a manual for working with AI in STEM education, an online course on AI in STEM Education (creation and publication), and the procurement of AI cameras distributed to schools in the project and a smaller part to the project promotor for preparation and execution of activities.
- Education of teachers on using artificial intelligence in education. It included the selection of teachers and schools that would participate in the project and participation in the online course (teacher education on using AI in education).
- Education of teachers on applied skills for teaching students about artificial intelligence - mobile workshops. An education about applied teaching skills for AI was planned and organized in the form of mobile physical workshops.
- Mentorship programme. Teacher participation in a mentorship programme was planned and conducted, aiming to provide support to the involved teachers in direct work with children to develop their knowledge and skills in teaching STEM, focusing on the use of AI and encouraging children to acquire knowledge and skills.
- Webinars for knowledge exchange and sharing of best practices. Webinars for exchanging and sharing knowledge and best practices for all teachers were planned and conducted by the Project Promoter and project partner.
- Robotics conference "Artificial Intelligence in STEM Education". A robotics conference "Artificial Intelligence in STEM Education" was planned and conducted for representatives from 60 primary schools, featuring lectures, presentations of best practices, interactive workshops for participants, and a roundtable discussion.
According to the contribution indicators of the Call, the project educated primary school teachers, improving their skills/competencies in STEM, ICT, entrepreneurship, and active citizenship areas (target value 210, achieved value 297). Their satisfaction level with the quality of education to enhance skills/competencies was high (target value 4 out of 7, achieved 6.37 out of 7). Educational materials were created for teaching implementation and school operation improvement (target value 4, achieved 5). Teachers were educated on the use of enhanced learning models, methods, and teaching strategies (target value 300, achieved 305). Institutions were involved in collaborative activities (target value 60, achieved 60), and a project that includes collaboration with a partner from the donor country was conducted (target value 1, achieved 1).
As for the expected project outcomes, teachers'' capacities to work with children on developing STEM knowledge and skills, focusing on the use of artificial intelligence and computer vision were increased. The project developed a curriculum and teaching materials for using artificial intelligence in STEM education. Based on the curriculum, an online course was developed on the basics of using AI and fundamental knowledge about its impact on society. Mobile workshops were organized and conducted where teachers acquired practical skills in applying AI in STEM education. A mentorship programme and continuous support in direct teacher work with children were organized, equipment for work (AI cameras) was provided, and a manual on artificial intelligence was developed. Also, collaboration with a Norwegian project partner was established, and 60 primary schools involved in the project and their teaching staff participated in educational programmes, which included curriculum development through needs analysis and coordination of content creation with the expert team, webinars for knowledge exchange and sharing of best practices, and the robotics conference "Artificial Intelligence in STEM Education."
Summary of bilateral results
The European Wergeland Centre (EWC) proved to be a highly successful and quality partner in this project. IRIM established cooperation in the project, which involved the planning and creation of the curriculum, manuals, and online courses. They also participated in the organization and execution of webinars titled "The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Society and its Possibilities in the Elementary School Environment," and they also took part in organizing and conducting the robotics conference "Artificial Intelligence in STEM Education." The partner successfully held all 5 out of 5 planned webinars for which they were responsible, delivered lectures, and participated in the activities of the robotics conference, and contributed to the creation and assistance in developing other educational tools.Both IRIM and EWC are actively seeking other forms of funding and collaborations on other projects, as both parties wish to continue their cooperation, which best demonstrates the quality of the partnership achieved through this project. The project partner efficiently and promptly fulfilled all their obligations and tasks as anticipated by the project application and partnership agreement. The project benefited from the bilateral partnership due to a different approach to artificial intelligence and teaching it to the project participants, the primary schools. Additionally, the project partner and IRIM complemented each other in knowledge, competencies, and working methods, thereby achieving higher quality project implementation.