On 6th June 2023, the SEER, SLEs and NBS EduWORLD conducted a workshop at the School Innovation Forum event held in Brussels.
The purpose of the workshop was to introduce the three projects to the participants and encourage them to reflect on critical questions related to STE(A)M education, sustainability and open-schooling.
During the workshop, representatives from the STE(A)M Education European Roadmap (SEER), STE(A)M Learning Ecologies (SLEs) and NBS EduWORLD presented their respective programs and its objectives. The participants were split into groups and were given a set of questions to work on together. The groups included teachers, industry members and policy experts. The group discussion was based on whether STE(A)M education was given a priority in their countries, the scope for open-schooling and the state of sustainability education in their communities.
The group discussion elicited insightful experiences and thoughts from all participants. It was evident that in all countries, there is strong interest in implementing STE(A)M education in their schools. The importance of sharing and building on existing frameworks on STE(A)M education was highlighted while the lack of the role of STE(A)M teacher was also brought up. Aspects of open-schooling are already implemented in some countries. A teacher from France shared that open-schooling was widely prevalent in her country, while the concept was unknown to teachers from Spain. NBS captivated the interest of participants who mentioned that with the right guidance and support material it can become a powerful practice within the educational process.
The workshop provided the participants an opportunity to talk to people with diverse backgrounds and learn from each others’ experiences, reflect on important issues and trends in education, and come up with realistic solutions.
The workshop also allowed The SEER, SLEs and NBS EduWORLD teams to understand what initiatives already exist across Europe, and the obstacles and opportunities to implement their programs.
