posted on 2020-12-16, 13:37authored byRenato Rogosic, Benjamin Heidt, Juliette Passariello-Jansen, Saga Björnör, Silvio Bonni, David Dimech, Rocio Arreguin-Campos, Joseph Lowdon, Kathia L. Jiménez Monroy, Manlio Caldara, Kasper Eersels, Bart van Grinsven, Thomas J. Cleij, Hanne Diliën
The need to develop interest in STEM
(science, technology, engineering,
and mathematics) skills in young pupils has driven many educational
systems to include STEM as a subject in primary schools. In this work,
a science kit aimed at children from 8 to 14 years old is presented
as a support platform for an innovative and stimulating approach to
STEM learning. The peculiar design of the kit, based on modular components,
is aimed to help develop a multitude of skills in the young students,
dividing the learning process into two phases. During phase 1 the
pupils build the experimental setup and visualize the scientific phenomena,
while in phase 2, they are introduced and challenged to understand
the principles on which these phenomena are based, guided by a handbook.
This approach aims at making the experience more inclusive, stimulating
the interest and passion of the pupils for scientific subjects.