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PRIMAS (FP7 / University of Education Freiburg / 2010-2013)The PRIMAS project is about bringing innovation to 21st century education and thus it aims to effect change across Europe in
PRIMAS aimed to change the teaching and learning of
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maths and science in Europe by supporting teachers to develop inquiry-based learning
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(IBL) pedagogies, and thus to give students first-hand
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experiences of scientific inquiry. Besides overall support and dissemination of the idea of IBL, PRIMAS provided teachers with a collection of teaching materials and training.
During the project, 14 partners from 12 European countries worked together to disseminate the IBL strategies. The members of the consortium are highly experienced in IBL, in training teachers in IBL pedagogies as well as in research related to the topic. With this diverse background PRIMAS aimed at bridging the gap between the researchers, teachers and local actors.
Research has shown that IBL can foster what the PRIMAS consortium considered to be characteristics of good maths and science education:
- Stimulates motivation and generates interest for learning science and mathematics.
- Gives the basic knowledge.
- Develops a “task culture”.
- Enables students to learn from their mistakes.
- Develops cumulative learning.
- Develops autonomous learning.
- Allows pupils to cross subject boundaries and experience interdisciplinary approaches.
- Promotes student cooperation.
- Reduces gender stereotypes.
However, the new approaches can be demanding for teachers as they need to combine the new approach with the school curriculum and to use new materials, teaching styles and pedagogies. PRIMAS supported teachers in this by providing teaching materials and training.
PRIMAS believes that an increase in inquiry-based teaching strategies can be achieved by providing adequate support to the relevant groups: to teachers but also to other stakeholders and supporting networks. This is why PRIMAS also organised guidance, information meetings and events for parents, students, politicians and other target groups.
Within the National Consultancy Panels (NCP), specific education authorities, political authorities, disseminators and teacher training institutions were integrated in the project. The NCP met regularly to exchange experiences and continuously develop the implementation of PRIMAS activities.
PRIMAS is the interaction between the international and regional level: the project was coordinated and the results were shown at the European level, but it was locally based, locally adapted and locally implemented.
Link: www.primas-project.eu Ultimately, the project’s objective is that a greater number of pupils will have a more positive disposition towards the further study of these subjects and the desire to be employed in related fields. To this end the project provides materials, professional development and works with teachers, parents, students and policy makers.Link: http://primas.ph-freiburg.de/
COMPASS (LLP / University of Education Freiburg / 2009-2011)
The goal of COMPASS was to provide teachers with interdisciplinary teaching materials which link mathematics and science. With the materials students could analyse and discuss problems relevant to society and their everyday lives.
Throughout Europe there is an alarming decline in young people’s interest in scientific disciplines. Considering the importance of science, technology and innovation (and their founding subjects) in our dynamic and interdependent knowledge society of the 21st century, Europe may in the future be seriously disadvantaged without people’s interest in learning about the concepts and developments in these fields. European citizens need to be prepared and educated to actively contribute to the knowledge society and need to have a critical understanding of the important issues (und underlying scientific concepts) that affect the world in which they live.
Therefore, COMPASS developed teaching materials that connect science and mathematics with each other and, most crucially, with the lives of individual students and their communities. The materials have the potential to foster young people’s desire to learn and their interest in science, its concepts and new developments throughout their lives.
The interdisciplinary and real-life focus together with the working methods applied can also foster the development of transversal key competences and equity for students across the partnership nations.
Classroom materials were developed in iterative cycles of research-based pedagogical design, trial implementation and evaluation by teachers, and subsequent revision as well as local adaptation. This process ensured quality classroom materials combining high applicability to all countries across Europe with easy adaptation to local needs.
A variety of methods ensured impact and exploitation of the project results that go beyond the scope and scale of the COMPASS project.
Link: www.compass-project.eu is an EU funded project in the LifeLongLearning Program. The chief aim is to inspire the interest for mathematics and science in students by providing them with reality-based, interdisciplinary tasks that show them that these topics are not meant to be executed in ivory towers but are instead helpful in the process of decision finding and making, both on the macro (societal) and micro (personal) level. The teaching units use a problem oriented, inquiry based approach and set focus on critical argumentation and reflection on the basis of the results of students’ inquiries.Link: http://compass.ph-freiburg.de/
LEMA (Comenius / University of Education Freiburg / 2006-2009)LEMA (Learning and Education in and through Modeling and Applications) was an EU Comenius funded project in which mathematics educators from six countries worked to produce materials to support teachers’ professional development. LEMA supported teachers with development of their pedagogic practice in mathematical modeling and applications by developing a teacher‐training course. Current good practice across partner nations was captured to inform the development
Throughout Europe people are growing increasingly aware of the fact that students have to learn how to apply mathematics both critically and deliberately in order to meet the demands of a responsible citizen and of a productive member of society. In order to be able to guarantee this, teachers’ competencies have to be broadened so that they are, unlike in today’s current situation, in the position to integrate modelling into their everyday lessons.
This project aimed to support math teachers in the development of their pedagogical and didactical competencies through teacher training on the topic of connections to reality and mathematical modelling.
The primary goal was to establish professional development concepts which can be flexibly transferred to other countries and which comply with the requirements of both involved partner nations and other European nations.
The different experiences made by participating countries with innovative ways of teaching have been incorporated into the project. The teacher training program should address both practicing teachers and those studying to become primary and middle school teachers.
The training was developed, tested, evaluated and optimized by means of a need assessment, which were developed particularly for this project. During the project, the Europe-wide communication took place on an internet platform which is used even after the project is over. Among other things, a DVD was provided containing miscellaneous materials and sample videos of lesson sequences from the individual partner countries. This DVD, in this way, emphasize the European dimension of this project as well as contribute to the distribution of its results.
Link: http://www.lema-project.org
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