As the schools will establish or already have established a dedicated section SMART KIDS on their website, I will copy here the main contents, the introduction or summary to SMART KIDS which could be used (partially) to introduce the project on your website. This can be found of course in several documents of the project but I thought it could be helpful for you, so that you don’t have to search for it:
The SMART KIDS project is a learner-centred pedagogical method addressing the issue of declining interest in science, through the development of STEM skills and entrepreneurial competences of students between ages 10-14, based on the concept of Smart City.
A basic understanding of science is considered a necessary skill for every European citizen. Literacy, numeracy, science, and technology are the foundation for further learning and are a gateway to employment and social inclusion. In Europe, approximately 20% of the young generation is not equipped with the necessary basic skills in literacy, mathematics, science and technology.
Concerns about low student performance in basic skills, as revealed by international surveys, led to the adoption in 2009 of an EU-wide benchmark which states that ‘by 2020 the share of 15-year-olds with insufficient abilities in reading, mathematics and science should be less than 15 %’. In order to achieve the benchmark target by 2020, we must jointly identify obstacles and problem areas on the one hand and effective approaches on the other.
Partnerships between teacher education institutions and other stakeholders are important if teaching programmes are to meet the needs of schools and students. The most common area of collaboration is programme implementation, while research is the area least involved. Primary and secondary schools are the main partners of teacher education institutions.
Experiences in primary and secondary education are fundamental as there are many students who experience anxiety and boredom with regard to subjects in the field of science and technology and sometimes this condition their future career decision.
The novel teaching methods can contribute to improve the attitudes and to increase the levels of performance of the students and thus to boost students interest toward STEM careers.
SMART KIDS is one of the initiatives to contribute in addressing this complex issue through developing and implementing innovative learning module based on novel teaching techniques: learner-centred approach and context-based teaching based on the smart city concept. It will enhanced the achievement of basic skills amongst pupils ages 10-14, relevant for the further career development.
The main aim of the SMART KIDS project is to create and validate extracurricular learning model and SMART KIDS courses in order to boost the interest of pupils toward science. Through the SMART KIDS courses the levels of motivation of pupils towards science and math will be boosted and their skills and knowledge on STEM issues related to the concept of smart city will be developed or improved.
