“Science - Teacher Education Advanced Methods (S-TEAM)”

About the project
The S-TEAM is a Seventh Framework Programme - Science-in-Society 2008 project (action 2.2.1.1 „Innovative Methods in Science Education“), funded by the EU, which aims to disseminate inquiry-based science teaching methods* (IBST) to the widest possible range of teachers and teacher educators across Europe and associated countries.
This project was selected by European Commission as only one of 42 projects. It is financed with 4,7 mil Euro. The project is possible to influence of about 0,5 mil European science teachers. The project began with a start-up meeting in Trondheim on May 7th & 8th and will take 3 years. But now follow-up activities and projects are prepared.

Main objectives
The S-TEAM Project has three main objectives:
The First - To improve the motivation, learning and pupils' attitude in European science education which is necessary for the increase of science literacy and for future science –based careers.
The Second - Enabling large numbers of teachers to adopt inquiry-based methods for effective science teaching
The Third – To support teachers by providing them training in, and access to, innovative methods and research-based knowledge.
These objectives can be summarised as pupil engagement, teacher empowerment and teacher education. They should be implemented through existing structures, agencies and actors.
Moreover The S-TEAM Project has other objectives
– science teachers will be informed about S-TEAM,
- new graduating teacher will be able to access information on IBST and to access relevant materials from project.

Partners
The S-TEAM is large project widespread across whole Europe. There are twenty-five partners from fifteen countries from the European Union and associated countries as for example Israel or Turkey.

Participant institutions and countries are:
Cyprus                                    European University - Cyprus
Czech Republic          University of South Bohemia
Denmark                     University of Copenhagen & Aarhus Universitet
Estonia                        University of Tallinn
Finland                       Abo Akademi University, Helsinki University, University of Jyväskylä
France                         Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique,
Université Pierre Mendes-France, Université Rennes 2- Haute Bretagne
Germany                     Friedrich Schiller University of Jena, Leibniz Institute for Science Education at the University of Kiel (IPN)
Hungary                      Hungarian Research Teachers’ Association
Israel                           Technion – Israel Institute of Technology
Lithuania                    Kaunas University of Technology, Vilnius Pedagogical University
Norway                       Norwegian University of Science and Technology  (coordinator),
                                   University of Oslo
Spain                           Universidade de Santiago de Compostela
Sweden                       Mälardalen University
Turkey                        Gazi University, Hacettepe University
United Kingdom        University of Bristol, University of Leeds, University of Strathclyde

Work packages
Because the project is very large, the work of the S-TEAM project is divided into 10 ‘work packages’ (WP), each with a particular function. Several packages are common for all participants and several packages are special for selected partners:

1. Management
2. Policy overview - an observatory of the interaction between science and teacher education in Europe
3. Powerful learning environments: disseminating the successful SINUS programme from Germany to the other partner countries.
4. Teacher collaboration and its role in changing science education.
5. Innovative methods in initial teacher education for science teaching.
6. Professional development for science teaching
7. Argumentation in science teaching; structures underpinning talk about science in the classroom
8. Scientific Literacies: engaging with the discourses of science
9. Indicators - measuring our results
10. Media and dissemination: making sure our results are widely known

University of South Bohemia (USB) – especially the Faculty of Education is engaged in four following work packages. All are very important and interesting but in frame of packages number six and seven we are able to contribute with our own original experience. USB is also national liaison partner for the Czech Republic. Staff members who will be undertaking the work: Iva Stuchlikova (Department of Pedagogy and Psychology), Miroslav Papacek (Department of Biology) and Jan Petr (Department of Biology).

WP3
This common part of project consists in the implementation of successful project SINUS which improved quality of mathematics and science education in Germany.
The objectives are:

• to repeat the success of the German SINUS & SINUS-Transfer programmes in all the national education contexts represented in   S-TEAM
• to disseminate, test and develop SINUS modules and materials for these contexts

We hope that the S-TEAM will repeat the success of the SINUS in participating countries.

WP4
This part of project is common as well and its aim consists in use of teachers’ co-operation for improvement of science education. WP4 will promote the role of teacher collaboration and collective work
The objectives are:

• to use existing empirical research on teachers’ collective work as a basis for the systematic deployment of teacher collaboration in support of innovative methods in science teaching.
• to use teacher collaboration as a means of promoting equity and working with diversity in science classrooms

WP6
This work package is aimed directly on IBSTE ** and its incorporating into the teacher education.
The objectives are:

• to incorporate state-of-the-art knowledge about inquiry-based methods in science into effective professional development programmes for teachers, in order to improve attitudes, motivation and career choice disposition towards science for pupils

In this part of the project we will produce a training module on the base of science centred competitions. The training package will be used in pre-service or in-service teacher training. We will analyse selected tasks and in parallel student motivation. The analysed tasks will be used as case studies. We expect that this training package is useful not only for work with gifted youth but also for the improvement of science education in general.

WP7
In this Part we contribute to development and disseminate of training resources which will support mathematics courses based on P4C (Philosophy for Children is a worldwide educational programme using a wide variety of materials to instigate questioning and inquiry).
The objectives are:

• to disseminate specialised training resources and related materials to support the teaching and learning of argumentation in science classrooms, as a component of IBSTE

USB will prepare training packages for primary school mathematics courses based on the P4C. Programme is adapted to Mathematics (P4CM). It consists in the learning of mathematics among pupils 10 -12 years of age and in the stimulating their dialogical and critical thinking, by assisting them to overcome prejudices and understand mathematical concepts, in dialogue with their peers and through critical thinking.

More information
about S-TEAM is available on https://www.ntnu.no/wiki/display/steam/SCIENCE-TEACHER+EDUCATION+ADVANCED+METHODS

*  Inquiry based learning methods allow scientific knowledge, processes and contexts to interact in the science classroom to promote scientific literacy.
Generally, inquiry-based science teaching and education engages students in: authentic, problem-based learning activities where there may not be a correct answer
(1) Experimental procedures, experiments and "hands on" activities, including searching for information
(2) Self-regulated learning sequences where student autonomy is emphasised
(3) Discursive argumentation and communication with peers (so-called "talking science").
There is a small problem with terminology in the Czech Republic. Inquiry based science teaching/education (IBST/E) is not exactly defined, exact translation of this term is not available in the Czech language and it is not used on the national level of science education. But that does not mean that the science inquiry is really absent. It is amalgamated or distributed in some other education approaches and included in projects supporting transformation of science education.