Start of activities related to strengthening STEM skills among students
Last week, began activities related to strengthening STEM skills among students. It is about the introducing of educational programs in the STEM field for students as part of extracurricular activities. The activities will be done through the curriculum during regular classes (science and society, mathematics, informatics) and other subjects (biology, chemistry, TE, CE) and through the work of school collective. At least 200 children will be involved in the project activities. The children are primary school aged and come from 5 different school partners. 14 students with disabilities will also be directly and actively involved. The reason for that is to provide their equal opportunities, to improve their quality of life, as well as for them to be successful on the labor market in future. 5 new extracurricular activities are introduced: Little scientists, STEM household, Creative workshop, Little robotics, Little contractors. Little Scientists (students) will collect seeds and create a seed bank of some healing herbs and decorative plants, they will monitor, read and collect meteorological data, collect rainwater, analyze rainwater and soil samples. They will do it during the extracurricular activities. Younger aged students will learn about the process of sowing and planting, living conditions, animals that are useful in agriculture and the synergy of various plants. They will learn it through play-like activities. They will make research on the amount of light and heat which plants need, research the processes of making compost, natural fertilizers, natural insecticides, establish a solar dryer for healing herbs, create information cards about plants (QR code), design packaging for finished products, establish a digital platform with all information about the project and the done activities, which will have a digital herbarium, but also a place where all collected data will be analyze in one place. The students, with the help and mentoring of the teacher, will monitor the activities throughout the project and a short video by themselves.
STEM household means different activities with products from the garden, to learn how to use them and to learn how important they are in nutrition. Employees and volunteers of Zvjezdice association will help children to sew canvas bags, mainly using recycled materials. The bags will be used for keeping and distribution of the final products collected in the school gardens. In this way, the students will learn cooperation and creative action, and in the end they will receive a concrete marketable product that they can further develop in terms of marketing. The students will learn cooperation and creative work. At the end they will have a finished product ready to be placed at the market. Creative workshops include various activities under subject TE (making garden beds, bee house, insect hotel, composter. “Little robotics“ will use their meteorological station to collect data, to program micro bit system for automatic irrigation. They will study and record the amount of water needed for optimal plant growth and improvement. A visit to Meteorological station Gradište will help students to learn and gat more familiar with meteorological and hydrological measurements and observations, measurements of air quality elements and distant measurements from DHMZ station . Activity 2 will be organized in cooperation with the University of J.J. Strossmayer in Osijek; Department of Chemistry "Soil Analysis" where three experiments are planned (Determination of soil pH, Titrimetric determination of carbonate content in soil and Approximate testing of soil pH value for acidity and alkalinity). High school for agriculture and forestry in Vinkovci will adapt teaching to primary school children level to teach them and members of Zvjezdice Association (children with disabilities) the technology of growing plants in protected area, high flower beds, growing aromatic and medicinal plants outdoors. They will teach children about the irrigation system as well as hydroponic cultivation. They will learn how to finish preservation of herbs, aromatic and medicinal plants as well as about the preparation of the final products from the garden.
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