Erasmus+ “KIDS INSPIRING KIDS IN STEAM” project with Experience Workshop’s contribution and support

On 29 September, 2017 Experience Workshop has contributed to the closing event of the Kids Inspiring Kids in STEAM (KIKS) international Erasmus+ project. The program was taking place in the framework of European Union’s largest science- and learning popularization program, the Researchers’ Night. In Finland the honorary guest of the event was Zach Shelby, CEO of Micro:bit Educational Foundation.

The goal of the Kids Inspiring Kids in STEAM (KIKS) international Erasmus+ project was to raise students’ awareness towards the multi- and transdisciplinary connections between the STEAM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts & Mathematics), and make the learning about these fields more enjoyable. In order to achieve these goals, KIKS project has popularized the STEAM-concept by projects based on the students inspiring other students-approach and by utilizing new technologies, tools, open-access educational resources, and everyday items and materials. Experience Workshop’s experts has provided methodological support, learning aids and resources focusing on STEAM for the project. 

Through the students inspiring other students-approach, we have aimed to get participating students developing STEAM learning activities for other students in their own local context and in a wider European physical and virtual community.

5 schools in Finland, 4 schools in Hungary, 10 schools in the UK and 9 schools in Spain were participating in the program. Each of the participating 28 schools were represented by minimum 1 team of minimum 4 students, facilitated by minimum 1 teacher, and there were several places, where complete school classes have joined to the KIKS-project. In Finland 115 students and 7 teachers have joined to the KIKS project.

KIKS-Experience Workshop in Researchers’ Night, Jyväskylä-Finland:
information in English on the KIKS-Experience Workshop in Finland

KIKS-Experience Workshop in Researchers’ Night, Budapest-Hungary:
information in Hungarian on the KIKS-Experience Workshop event in Budapest

The KIKS Erasmus+ project website:
www.kiks.unican.es

From Hothousing to International Collaboration in STEAM Multi- and Transdisciplinary Learning 

The Kids Inspiring Kids in STEAM (KIKS) Erasmus+ project was based on a three-stage process. The first stage was called ‘Hothousing’, to creatively develop ideas. On the second stage we have organized the Local Challenges, to develop those ideas into projects and support students to deliver them to other students. In the third stage, we have organized International Collaboration among the students and teachers.

In Finland 5 teams from 5 schools was involved in the project, but we have managed to achieve impact in non-participating school communities as well.

The project has positively contributed to the current processes related to the new Finnish National Core Curriculum’s “multidisciplinary learning module”, which requires the development of similar forms of learning like those, we have promoted in the KIKS project. Real success of the KIKS project was providing encouragement to the students and teachers to try new ways of learning, to test new hands-on and digital tools and the establishment of the community basis of the Finnish STEAM movement.

Key figures in Finland

• 5 Schools
• 115 participating students (22 students from the Huhtasuo School, Jyväskylä; 20 students from the Laukaa School, Laukaa; 15 students from the Mankola School, Jyväskylä; 21 students from the Palokka School, Jyväskylä; 27 students from the Viitaniemi School, Jyväskylä.)
• 10 Hothousing Project Activities developed by FINLAND KIKS project team
• 5 Local Challenge Projects developed by FINNISH KIKS students
• 3 international collaborations (Viitaniemi School – UK school; Laukaa School – Spanish School; Laukaa School – UK)
• Dissemination: KIKS project was introduced in 14 conference talks by the Finnish KIKS-team, including 2 special conference sessions devoted to the KIKS project: one Helsinki and one in Jyväskylä, both at international meetings. KIKS project has been part of the European Researchers’ Night in Finland.

Co-operation on all levels: students and teachers about KIKS

According to interviews made with the Finnish KIKS teachers and informal discussions with the students, the KIKS project has positively inspired most of the participants and opened up new perspectives.

KIKS also offered new methodologies and materials, ideas, and provided new co-operation opportunities for most teachers inside and outside the KIKS schools. Many of the teachers and students were generally satisfied with their experiences and the high level of student and teacher participation.

According to the teachers’ views in the most active schools, the students had the possibility to learn new skills, improve their English, and to develop on fields such as connections between mathematics and art, programming, chemistry on a new, sometimes unexpected way. Participating schools for the first time encountered such innovative digital and hands-on tools, like BBC micro:bit and 4Dframe.

Teachers found very important the experience of co-operation on all levels, including the institutional and personal dimensions. KIKS schools have explored new capacities in the involvement of artists, other specialists, teachers of other schools, university researchers, etc. in the learning process.

The most active KIKS schools’ teachers in Laukaa and in Viitaniemi are determined to bring forward the main components of KIKS, even when the project is finished. Most of the teachers generally seemed to be open to participate in future university-school projects.

Thanks for the generous support of BBC micro:bit Foundation, in the framework of the KIDS INSPIRING KIDS IN STEAM project, Experience Workshop’s Finnish and Hungarian division have received a great number of BBC micro:bits, which will hopefully inspire a new generation to start coding. If you are interested to have Experience Workshop’s BBC micro:bit program started in your school in Finland or in Hungary, please contact us at info@experienceworkshop.org

The micro:bit itself is a small circuit board, which kids can program via a web-based interface to do many things, including flashing up numbers, letters and scrolling messages on the LEDs. Plus, since there’s a built-in accelerometer and compass, it can detect movement and tell which way it’s pointing.

You can use your BBC micro:bit for all sorts of cool creations, from robots to musical instruments – the possibilities are endless. This little device has an awful lot of features, like 25 red LED lights that can flash messages. There are two programmable buttons that can be used to control games or pause and skip songs on a playlist. Your BBC micro:bit can detect motion and tell you which direction you’re heading in, and it can use a low energy Bluetooth connection to interact with other devices and the Internet – clever!

The micro:bit is an educational and creative tool to inspire a new generation of young people. It can be used across the curriculum, not just in STEM subjects. It can help give young people the knowledge and skills to move from being consumers of digital information, to being designers and creators of new tools to enhance learning, to solve problems or just to have fun, enabling them to make the most of 21st Century life and the economy.

Experience Workshop Student Teams’ first projects from Finland:

Joonatan Kuosmanen’s BBC micro:bit chess clock invention (Jyväskylä Christian School, Finland) 

Teemu Koivisto’s digital dice (Jyväskylä Christian School, Finland)

Links:

BBC micro:bit homepage

BBC micro:bit homepage in Finnish

KIKS Micro:bit collaboration wiki

Materials:

Family guide to micro-bit

First steps with microbits for control and physical computing

Cross-curricular STEM activities with microbits

Bloodhounds and micro-bits

Credits:

Thanks to Adrian Oldknow, Tony Houghton, Philip Meitner, Philip Moffitt, Ákos Vecsei, Jukka Sinnemäki, Merja Sinnemäki, Leena Kuorikoski, Mirka Havinga, BBC micro:bit Foundation and Kitronik for making this happen!

Purchase Experience Workshop’s best tools today! Click on the image below for further details:

Can mathematics be playful, can it be fun? Can mathematics be artistic, creative, amazing and magical, even for those who do not think it is the most inspiring class at school? 

Experience Workshop is organizing creative school days / mathematics & art education programs for all ages / multidisciplinary festivals of learning and creativity / family days / interactive exhibitions / workshops / seminars and trainings in Finland, Hungary and all over the globe.

Take a glimpse into our exciting world!

Members of the Experience Workshop community, including artists, scholars and educators prepare interesting problem-solving activities, games, workshops, interactive demonstrations and presentations to provide the opportunity for everyone to enjoy a multidisciplinary learning module in the school or a cultural event in a festival.

An amazing addition to our activities is Experience Workshop’s ‘Traveling Bridges’ Exhibit. More details:

The “Traveling Bridges” Exhibition: invite Experience Workshop’s International Collection of Mathematical Art to your school in Finland!

If you are interested to have Experience Workshop in your program or institution, please contact us at info@experienceworkshop.org

INTERDISCIPLINARY AESTHETICS (NOT ONLY) FOR CHILDREN!

Let’s take a trip into our mathemaGical universe:

Experience Workshop’s International Travelling Exhibition of Mathematical Art is located in Finland and ready to visit you. The collection includes artworks, scientific modelling tools, math-art puzzles, and other spectacular objects.

If you are interested to have Experience Workshop’s Travelling Exhibit in your program or institution, please contact us at info@experienceworkshop.org

More details on the collection:

The “Traveling Bridges” Exhibition: invite Experience Workshop’s International Collection of Mathematical Art to your school in Finland!

Our international research team’s interests involve, but not limited to

• STEM and STEAM education
• education tool development
• inquiry-based, cooperative, playful and experience-oriented mathematics education
• girls in mathematics, science and coding
• problem-solving in science, art and design learning
• connecting hands-on activities and digital modeling in the learning process
• phenomenon-based learning and co-teaching
• multidisciplinary learning
• inter-, cross- and transdisciplinary management and trans-curricular leadership in education

Contact us if you think we can help to achieve your goals: info@experienceworkshop.org

A small selection of our publications:

‘Adventures On Paper! Math-Art Activities for Experience-centered Education of Mathematics′. The collection is edited by Kristóf Fenyvesi, Ilona Oláhné Téglási and Ibolya Prokajné Szilágyi and published by the Eszterházy Károly College, Eger, 2014. CLICK ON THE IMAGE AND DOWNLOAD IT FOR FREE!

Experience Workshop has a lot of experience in contributing to international research and education projects and providing scientific and practical support in various fields of STEM, STEAM and art&science education, leadership and management.

If we can help you in putting together a successful project proposal, please let us know: info@experienceworkshop.org 

Some of our on-going and past projects: