Secondary Education

The members of the SEER Network will work together to produce state of art knowledge on STE(A)M education,
collect pedagogical resources for teachers and schools, and collaborate to build the foundations
of the SEER Roadmaps.

Emakumeak zientzian is a project promoted by POLYMAT (Basque Center for Macromolecular Design and Engineering) which was set up in 2017 in order to inspire science, technology and engineering vocations among girls and female adolescents, as well as to contributing to combat the gender stereotypes associated with research jobs. The project was launched on February 11 - the International Day of Women and Girls in Science – as a purely promotional activity. However, over time it has become a programme of STEAM activities aimed at different segments of the population and run by Polymat and a further 17 entities from the Basque scientific and technology ecosystem.

Currently the programme involves over 25 activities which are implemented annually. The majority of these activities are directly focused on inspiring science, technology and engineering vocations in girls and female adolescents and for them to aspire to careers in those areas, as well as to contributing to combatting gender stereotypes.

Emakumeak Zientzian’s accolades include:

• Gender perspective mention by STEAM EUSKADI.
• First place in the STEAM EUSKADI Awards.

The main objective of this initiative is to address the problem of gender inequality in the STEM field by introducing the gender perspective throughout the activities programme. In addition, the programme implements two specific STEAM education objectives:

• Inspire professional careers and vocations in STEM
• Improve students’ mathematic and scientific skills

The NPO Robotics programme aims to offer different learning and competition opportunities in robotics. The NPO Robotics has several different projects and outcomes and some of its programmes are connected to international initiatives and competitions:

• Competition RoboMiku - gives pupils the opportunity to build their own robot individually or in teams and put them to the test. The competition has different categories depending on the robot and age of the pupil
• First Lego League - a three-part robotics program meant for different age groups and based on that, have different difficulty levels. The aim is to popularize science and technology in a fun way. With that, other necessary skills and knowledge are being developed.
• School visits - workshops in robotics are offered to the interested schools. In one workshop, 20 students can participate. The necessary tools, equipment, robots and instructors are visiting schools all over Estonia
• Several projects that aim to promote robotics in pupils and teachers. They also offer additional training to teachers so that robotics would be a natural part of the curriculum.

The objective is to give young people practical knowledge about technology and robotics. The main focus is on practical knowledge and opportunity to work with technology that otherwise may not be available in schools. In addition, students have the opportunity to compete with each other.

The objectives are related to Estonia's broader government strategy to raise the popularity of engineering and technology as a career path. The aim is also to develop the STEM teachers so that the teaching quality would be high and the used methods modern and in compliance with the needs of the students.

The Mobile Bioclass project started in Estonia in 2014 with the aim to introduce the biosciences in Estonian schools. The programme brought the latest DNA testing and research methods to schools all over Estonia.

The Mobile Class project started originally in Lithuania by Thermo Fisher Scientific and has since been the main collaboration partner for the University of Tartu (project coordinator). Thermo Fisher Scientific is providing the project with laboratory tools and equipment ever since. The instructors of the programme are University of Tartu students mainly from science and technology faculty.

The main target group for the Mobile Bioclass is high school students. The project also aims to bring its programme to the smaller schools that otherwise do not have the possibilities to visit research laboratories and universities.

The programme lasts for about six hours and is for 24 students at the time with 6 instructors. The necessary tools for the programme are brought to the school from University of Tartu. The programme consists of a lecture (about four hours) and practical experiment (about two hours). The programme uses a DNA PCR analysis as its practical part to consolidate the theoretical knowledge.

The objective of the project is to popularize biosciences and introduce the modern methods for researching DNA and technology used in the biotechnology laboratories. As a result, the project increases the knowledge about the learning opportunities of biology and gene technology. The objective is to visit one school per week during a school year with the emphasis on smaller schools.

The objectives are measured by the number of schools the Mobile Class has visited and the number of kilometers traveled doing that.

The KVARK project was grown out of the Rocket69 science TV contest (see related page). The main reason for the creation was to broaden the public knowledge about science and scientific thinking. KVARK concentrates on three main actions:

1. Popularizing science, technology, and engineering
2. Rising the quality of the scientific, engineering, and technological education
3. Adding value to working in the science, technology, and engineering subject fields

The team of KVARK includes undergraduates and graduates from different STEM specialities.  KVARK’s objectives are to popularize scientific thinking and scientific approach in public by offering scientific content for different events, scientific entertainment in a form of science theatre, and by conducting clever workshops for both children and adults. KVARK also produces scientific and educational exhibits for museums and helps organisations to arrange projects that support science-based society, and environment.The objectives also include raising young people's (primary target group) interest in STEM education, professions, and careers in these fields. The objectives are measured by the projects supported; the number of events/workshops carried out. The indirect indication is evaluated based on the statistics of popularity of STEM specialties among the students’ enrolling universities, vocational schools, and hobby education.

The Cool Geography Class was developed by the EGEA-Tartu (European Geography Association for students and young geographers) in 2016. The aim of the project is to popularise the scientific geography and its career opportunities in Estonian schools. The development of the programme is based on the input of (geography) teachers and their needs for practical lessons.

Every year, the programme develops four new lesson topics that consist of theoretical and practical work. The lessons are conducted by the University of Tartu geography students (all together about 20 students). The lessons are provided based on the schools interest and for them and for the school. The lessons are completely free of charge.

In 2020, the lessons topics were:

• spatial planning
• smartphones as a tool for geography
• natural geography
• 3D modelling

The progress of the programme is measured in terms of the number the schools visited every year. The programme supports the countries aim to increase the number of applicatns in the universities in the STEM fields and with the goal of smart specialisation.

IT24 is a project organised by the Basque Institute of Telecommunication Engineers. The programma seeks to inspire young people to be technology leaders and solve problems in their lives and their community. It is aimed at young people from 12 upwards. There are two categories: Junior from 12 to 16 and Senior from 16 onwards. The participants solve a real problem set up by one of the partner companies and they have 24 hours within the same complex to solve it in diverse teams. The activity is organised annually.

The project’s main objective is to inspire young people to be technology leaders and solve problems in their lives and their community.

Junior Category Objectives:

• Foster STEAM by means of imagining to be entrepreneurs
• Learn to appreciate technology through clear examples
• Bring companies to the classrooms so students learn about the local business fabric and its problems

Senior Category Objectives

• Bring STEAM centre-stage in any challenge facing companies in the 21st century
• Encourage entrepreneurship
• Foster STEAM degrees among young people aged 16 to 18
• Opportunity for the participating companies to attract young talent

The initiative’s objective is in line with the objectives of the Basque Institute of Telecommunication Engineers, which is foster STEAM studies due to the lack of vocation in technology degree. It also seeks to overcome the gender gap in those professions.

At the core of UCL's 50.50 Engineering Engagement Strategy is the aim to strengthen and diversify the engineering workforce, by encouraging young people from a wide range of backgrounds - especially young girls - to consider career pathways both ‘in’ and ‘from’ engineering. The initiative focuses on sustained, meaningful engagement, designing programmes that are based in engineering’s real social, ethical, environmental and humanitarian contexts. UCL wants young people to appreciate the interdisciplinary nature of engineering. The programme focuses on gender equality and inclusion, both for the course design and pupil participation, and promote diversity in every sense. Through the 50.50 Initiative, UCL has been able to create a step change in the representation of girls, women and ethnic minorities across all our STEM engagement programmes.

The 50.50 UCL Engineering Engagement Initiative focuses on six key priorities

1. Promoting gender equality and inclusion
2. Learning through experimental engineering
3. Inspiring through relatable engineering role models
4. Discovering STEM career pathways
5. Prioritising early intervention
6. Supporting teachers through professional development

The programme is linked to the UK government’s “Girls Education” and “Year of Engineering” programmes, as well as policies to get more girls into science and engineering careers and degrees.

As part of the initiative and partnership with EngineeringUK, Royal Academy of Engineering, Institute of Physics, Institute of Engineering & Technology and Institution of Mechanical Engineers, through the programme UCL co-developeds “Meet The Future You” (see background documents) based on real-life UCL engineers, with an emphasis on intersectionality and representation.

The UCL Engineering Mentoring programme, supports 1000-1500 young people every year, aged 14-19 years old, providing high quality tutoring, mental health support, a safe and quiet space to learn; books and digital equipment; healthy meals; and a personal mentor.

The objectives of the UCL Engineering Tutoring Programme are:

1. To bridge the education attainment gap for those most affected in terms of their access to educational opportunities.
2. To build resilience and self-confidence in young people. Enable, encourage and empower them. Increase their motivation and sense of achievement.
3. To support the most vulnerable children and young people, those in under-represented communities and from disadvantaged backgrounds.
4. To remove all barriers linked to digital poverty including lack of access to internet connection, devices, tools and more.

Access to tutoring is often limited to schools and parents that can most afford it. It is estimated that around 80% of disadvantaged pupils do not have access to quality tuition (Source: EEF).

In partnership with the government’s National Tutoring Programme (NTP) with EEF, Sutton Trust, Impetus Trust and Teach First, UCL offers secondary school pupils from under-served communities, free daily tutoring and mentoring sessions, throughout the school year. In March 2020, in response to the COVID19 pandemic, it was offered also as an online programme, and is now being offered as a hybrid model (both online and face-2-face).

The programme is linked to the government’s National Tutoring Programme (NTP) with EEF, Sutton Trust, Impetus Trust and Teach First and STEM Learning’s mentoring programme.

“The Education test” is a research-based test that aims to inform young people or pupils about educations and professions within STEM.  The test was created by psychologist Helge Brovold (NTNU) and takes 10-15 minutes to complete. Based on four different factors – personality, preferred learning method, personal and professional interests, the test presents occupations within STEM that might be suitable. The test result provides the pupil with information about his or her personality traits, how he or she learns best, and suggest some STEM occupations that fits their personality. After taking the test, the pupils may discuss the result with their parents or friends, and further evaluate different studies, careers and job opportunities. The main target group are pupils in junior high school and students in high school, but the test is also used in some universities to examine the students preferred learning methods and further to adjust the teaching methods.

NCSR (the Norwegian national STEM platform) has done focus groups to learn more about how young people make their choice of education. Its findings show that most youths have little knowledge about careers within STEM and what kind of occupations are eligible after studying STEM.
The education test aims to address this by providing the pupils with new ideas about what one can study and work with within STEM. In tandem to the test, the NCSR runs campaigns in social media throughout the year to inform the target audience about the test and the importance of educational choices.

The main goal of the programme is to make the pupils reflect on their interest, personality and their learning preferences in relation to STEM. Furthermore, the goal is to make the target audience aware of the different educations and jobs within STEM. The programme aims to:

• Inspire youths to choose STEM subjects and careers
• Provide the student with ideas about education choices and occupations within STEM
• Expand their horizon when it comes to their choice of education

These objectives are aligned with the Norwegian Directorate for Education and Training’s STEM strategy – “Close to STEM” (see background documents).