RATIONALE

Climate change is an inherently interdisciplinary field, in which many scientific disciplines interact, it involves a multitude of societal aspects and is related to many real problems and debates taking place today. Therefore, its educational approach requires an interconnected STEM teaching approach, where different S-T-E-M fields intersect in order to equip citizens with i) knowledge about the causes, consequences and mitigation measures of climate change and ii) sustainability competences. However, recent research reveals that both primary and secondary school teachers face difficulties in adopting an interconnected STEM teaching approach, therefore appropriate professional development programmes need to be designed. In order for science teachers to effectively implement an interconnected STEM teaching approach, they need to move beyond the teaching identity of individual fields and align it with a more integrated STEM teaching identity.

AIMS & OBJECTIVES

The STEM-ID project aims to study the professional development of primary & secondary school teachers to integrate interdisciplinary approaches to climate change through the lens of teaching identity.

The sub-objectives of the programme are:

1. Developing an interdisciplinary STEM teaching identity for practicing teachers in the context of teaching competences for Climate Change.
2. Development of an interdisciplinary STEM module on Climate Change.
3. Establish learning communities to act as frameworks for the development of an interdisciplinary STEM teaching identity.
4. Establish a framework for the development of an interdisciplinary STEM teaching identity for Climate Change.

WORK PACKAGES

The STEM-ID program is structured around five (5) work packages, which are linked together.

• WP1: Project Management
• WP2: Development and Piloting of the interdisciplinary STEM module on Climate Change
• WP3: Development of the STEM-ID Platform
• WP4: Interdisciplinary STEM teaching identity development project
• WP5: Project Dissemination

EXPECTED OUTCOMES

Expected outcomes will be focused on studying how a teacher's STEM teaching identity develops, providing useful insights into the characteristics of contexts, resources, and experiences that are appropriate for enhancing STEM teacher identity development. Specifically, through the ongoing evaluation of all stages of the STEM-ID project, conclusions will be drawn about

1. the scope for convergence that can be achieved between STEM education and the sustainability competences framework in the context of the interdisciplinary issue of climate science,
2. the characteristics of educational materials and the mentoring process as resources for the development of STEM teaching identity; and
3. the different pathways towards the development of an integrated STEM teaching identity followed by practicing teachers.

PROJECT DETAILS

Title: Development of an Integrated STEM Teacher Identity for Climate Education (STEM-ID: Development of an Integrated STEM Teacher Identity for Climate Education)

Project Number: ΕΛ.ΙΔ.Ε.Κ.:015419

Funding program: The research project entitled STEM-ID is implemented in the framework of the EL.ID.E.K. "Funding for Basic Research (Horizontal support for all Sciences)" of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan "Greece 2.0" with funding from the European Union - NextGenerationEU.

Project duration: 22/11/2023 - 21/11/2025 (24 months)

Project Coordinator: Michailidi Aikaterini-Aimilia, Associate Professor, PTDE, UoC