This model is being developed, implemented and evaluated as part of a large-scale classroom pilot project leading to policy recommendations at both national and European levels for further transformation of education. The project  work is centred around the key dimensions of:

• The development and assessment of transversal skills: Transversal skills are essential to success in school, further education and the world of work as they include the ability to think critically, communicate, solve problems, work collaboratively, take initiative and use digital tools
• Integrated STEM curricula development: new approaches of teaching, learning and assessment in STEM that support the creation of integrated curricula (practical integration of each of the constituent STEM disciplines within STEM education), which provides opportunities for more relevant, less fragmented and more stimulating experiences for learners as well as holistic approaches for high quality of STEM education. This holistic and integrative approach is necessary if we are to prepare students to tackle the big problems facing societies.
• Digital assessment: formative and summative assessments help teachers better understand the goals of (integrated) STEM education as well as transversal skills. Effective assessment is on-going process between student-teacher, student-peers, teacher-teachers. Technology is playing an increasing role in helping to facilitate these interactions.

Teachers, researchers as well as students involved in the project will help map new pedagogical approaches and learning outcomes in order to affect systemic changes that allow them to succeed in achieving their educational goals. Project activities also aim to ensure policy makers have a deployment strategy for engendering creative learning environments appropriate to their national or regional context.

The ATS STEM project has prepared a series comprising of five reports that arose from the project deliverables. Reports #1 and #2 are concerned with the research pertaining to STEM education in schools and with national policies for STEM in various European countries, respectively. Report #3 deals with key ideas and principles underlying formative assessment theory and the current state of the art with respect to how STEM digital formative assessment is conceptualised and leveraged to support learning of transversal skills in STEM. Report #4 examines the potential of various technology-enhanced tools and architectures that might be used to support assessment for learning in STEM. Drawing on all four of these, Report #5 presents an integrated conceptual framework for the assessment of transversal skills in STEM.

STEM Education in Schools: What Can We Learn from the Research? (ATS STEM Report #1)

Government Responses to the Challenge of STEM Education: Case Studies from Europe (ATS STEM Report #2)

Digital Formative Assessment of Transversal Skills in STEM: A Review of Underlying Principles and Best Practice (ATS STEM Report #3)

Virtual Learning Environments and Digital Tools for Implementing Formative Assessment of Transversal Skills in STEM (ATS STEM Report #4)

Towards the ATS STEM Conceptual Framework (ATS STEM Report #5)

Project Partners

DUBLIN CITY UNIVERSITY, IRELAND (CO-ORDINATOR)
H2 LEARNING, IRELAND
KILDARE EDUCATION CENTRE, IRELAND
DANUBE UNIVERSITY KREMS, AUSTRIA
GO! HET GEMEENSCHAPSONDERWIJS, BELGIUM
CYPRUS PEDAGOGICAL INSTITUTE, CYPRUS
UNIVERSITY OF TAMPERE, FINLAND
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, SCIENCE AND SPORT, SLOVENIA
NATIONAL EDUCATION INSTITUTE SLOVENIA
UNIVERSITY OF SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA, SPAIN
CONSEJERÍA DE EDUCACIÓN, UNIVERSIDAD Y FP (XUNTA DE GALICIA), SPAIN
HANINGE KOMMUN, SWEDEN

Project Partners

ATS STEM is co-financed by the ERASMUS+ Programme (Action 3 – Policy Experimentation), where ministries of education are compulsory partners and national education agencies or education faculties essential development partners as well as piloting schools as a creative learning environment to provide experimentation activities.