Periodic Reporting for period 2 - CONNECT (Inclusive open schooling through engaging and future-oriented science)
Berichtszeitraum: 2022-03-01 bis 2023-12-31
CONNECT project explored three questions to make open schooling in science education more widespread and give students traditionally excluded from science careers greater interest and positive attitudes, CONNECTING is addressing three questions in each phase of the project:
Q1. How can open schooling increase the value and priority of partnership activities and reduce the barriers to entry, so more schools adopt them?
Q2. How can open schooling facilitate the interaction between all partners (science professionals, teachers, students and their families), for more effective learning experiences linked to R&I?
Q3. How can open schooling make science careers more inclusive by giving disadvantaged and disaffected students positive experiences and insight into STEM jobs?
To examine these questions, CONNECT had three objectives:
•Year 1: To establish and support Science-actions for 1200 students in 20 schools, with 20 science professionals, in 5 countries. 75% of schools and science professionals will want to continue their involvement in year 2. (4 schools in each country).
•Year 2: To increase the numbers to 15,000 students in 100 schools, with 250 science professionals and to establish a tested model for science-action partnerships. To show a measurable impact on science capital with 20% of students showing a significant increase. (20 schools in each country).
•Year 3: To extend the numbers to 31,500 students in 210 schools, with 525 science professionals. To sustain the open schooling model by convincing 50% of participating schools to adopt an open school policy that integrates 2 science-action projects per year into their curriculum. For 30% of students to show a significant increase in science capital. In addition, to make CONNECT sustainable with evidence-based partnership and policy guidelines in Europe, 30 schools in each country and also in new places across Europe and abroad.
CONNECT has been concluded exceeding by far those objectives and drawing specific conclusions on the adoption of open schooling.
Q1. How can open schooling increase the value and priority of partnership activities and reduce the barriers to entry, so more schools adopt them?
Q2. How can open schooling facilitate the interaction between all partners (science professionals, teachers, students and their families), for more effective learning experiences linked to R&I?
Q3. How can open schooling make science careers more inclusive by giving disadvantaged and disaffected students positive experiences and insight into STEM jobs?
To examine these questions, CONNECT had three objectives:
•Year 1: To establish and support Science-actions for 1200 students in 20 schools, with 20 science professionals, in 5 countries. 75% of schools and science professionals will want to continue their involvement in year 2. (4 schools in each country).
•Year 2: To increase the numbers to 15,000 students in 100 schools, with 250 science professionals and to establish a tested model for science-action partnerships. To show a measurable impact on science capital with 20% of students showing a significant increase. (20 schools in each country).
•Year 3: To extend the numbers to 31,500 students in 210 schools, with 525 science professionals. To sustain the open schooling model by convincing 50% of participating schools to adopt an open school policy that integrates 2 science-action projects per year into their curriculum. For 30% of students to show a significant increase in science capital. In addition, to make CONNECT sustainable with evidence-based partnership and policy guidelines in Europe, 30 schools in each country and also in new places across Europe and abroad.
CONNECT has been concluded exceeding by far those objectives and drawing specific conclusions on the adoption of open schooling.
During the three years of CONNECT Project the consortium engaged a total of 1,283 schools, 51,488 students and 636 scientists who participated in open schooling educational scenarios produced by the CONNECT Project based on the Care-Know-Do model and open-ended scenarios in 5 different languages.
The results drew upon quantitative and qualitative data, and provide a significant overview of students’ scientific mindsets, interpreted through the lenses of students’ science capital and aspirations, epistemic beliefs and fun in learning and science identity with recognition.
Key Findings for Students:
• There was an increase in science capital among underserved students, with an improved thought process, knowledge, and social connections.
• A significant percentage of students recognized the value of science in solving global issues and approached it with confidence.
• Despite less engagement in science activities outside school, many students had confidence in their scientific knowledge and collaborative abilities.
• There was a shift from rote learning to valuing problem-solving, with students showing interest in science-related careers.
Key Findings for Teachers:
• The CARE-KNOW-DO model improved teachers' confidence in open schooling, with most feeling comfortable integrating real-world issues and facilitating diverse discussions.
• Teachers from Greece and Romania showed the highest confidence in promoting classroom discussions about science.
• Teachers faced challenges with time demands and pressures of curriculum coverage.
The results drew upon quantitative and qualitative data, and provide a significant overview of students’ scientific mindsets, interpreted through the lenses of students’ science capital and aspirations, epistemic beliefs and fun in learning and science identity with recognition.
Key Findings for Students:
• There was an increase in science capital among underserved students, with an improved thought process, knowledge, and social connections.
• A significant percentage of students recognized the value of science in solving global issues and approached it with confidence.
• Despite less engagement in science activities outside school, many students had confidence in their scientific knowledge and collaborative abilities.
• There was a shift from rote learning to valuing problem-solving, with students showing interest in science-related careers.
Key Findings for Teachers:
• The CARE-KNOW-DO model improved teachers' confidence in open schooling, with most feeling comfortable integrating real-world issues and facilitating diverse discussions.
• Teachers from Greece and Romania showed the highest confidence in promoting classroom discussions about science.
• Teachers faced challenges with time demands and pressures of curriculum coverage.
CONNECT identified both drivers and barriers for students and teachers in open schooling, with the aim of overcoming these obstacles to enhance science education and make it more inclusive and engaging.
The main drivers and the main barriers which were identified related to students’ views about science education supported by open schooling:
Drivers:
● The number of students with positive science capital increased in three dimensions, primarily related to ‘how they think’, ‘what they know’, and ‘who they know’.
● Compared to baseline findings, there are more students who have positive views of the value of science to their lives and society. 80% think that Science, Technology, and Maths are important for solving world problems.
● Science for the students is related to health, research, discovery, invention, knowledge, intelligence, sustainability, innovation, curiosity, experimentation, evolution, development, technology, earth and the universe.
● They identified various world issues that could be solved through science, such as COVID, other diseases, climate change, carbon emissions, deforestation and biodiversity loss, pollution, poverty, health, food security, and the economy.
Barriers:
● After lockdowns and the return to school, some students (44%) are not as active in science projects outside school (e.g. at home, in the neighbourhood) as before. However, at least 65% feel confident about doing science projects with others and also with their knowledge in science (67%).
● In terms of epistemic beliefs about how they learn, 50% of students agreed with the statement that learning science is about memorising terms and equations, but 37% thought that knowing the correct answer is more important that knowing how they reached it.
● In terms of science identity, the number of students that consider ‘science is for them” increased by 20% compared to phase 1. 63% considered science enjoyable and 62% considered it fun, whilst 39% would like to be seen as an expert in science and 43% would like a job that uses science.
Similarly the main drivers and barriers for teachers were identified.
Key Recommendations:
Recommendation 1: Amplify curriculum resources and engagement strategies to promote open schooling adoption. The evidence showed that meaningful curriculum resources and engagement strategies significantly improved students' self-concept and self-efficacy in science, which suggests that expanding these resources could facilitate wider adoption of open schooling practices.
Recommendation 2: Strengthen open schooling partnerships through community and family engagement. The project demonstrated that multilingual platforms and resources that include families lead to more effective learning experiences linked to research and innovation.
Recommendation 3: Enhance inclusivity in science careers. CONNECT aimed to make science careers more inclusive, which is evidenced by the development of the Open Schooling Declaration and the positive experiences provided to disadvantaged students.
Recommendation 4: Support teacher confidence and adaptability under curriculum pressures. The findings revealed that the CARE-KNOW-DO model boosted teachers' confidence, particularly in integrating real-world issues and facilitating discussions.
Recommendation 5: Address the barriers to student engagement in science outside of school. Despite less engagement in science activities outside of school, CONNECT findings indicate that many students remained confident in their scientific knowledge and abilities.
The main drivers and the main barriers which were identified related to students’ views about science education supported by open schooling:
Drivers:
● The number of students with positive science capital increased in three dimensions, primarily related to ‘how they think’, ‘what they know’, and ‘who they know’.
● Compared to baseline findings, there are more students who have positive views of the value of science to their lives and society. 80% think that Science, Technology, and Maths are important for solving world problems.
● Science for the students is related to health, research, discovery, invention, knowledge, intelligence, sustainability, innovation, curiosity, experimentation, evolution, development, technology, earth and the universe.
● They identified various world issues that could be solved through science, such as COVID, other diseases, climate change, carbon emissions, deforestation and biodiversity loss, pollution, poverty, health, food security, and the economy.
Barriers:
● After lockdowns and the return to school, some students (44%) are not as active in science projects outside school (e.g. at home, in the neighbourhood) as before. However, at least 65% feel confident about doing science projects with others and also with their knowledge in science (67%).
● In terms of epistemic beliefs about how they learn, 50% of students agreed with the statement that learning science is about memorising terms and equations, but 37% thought that knowing the correct answer is more important that knowing how they reached it.
● In terms of science identity, the number of students that consider ‘science is for them” increased by 20% compared to phase 1. 63% considered science enjoyable and 62% considered it fun, whilst 39% would like to be seen as an expert in science and 43% would like a job that uses science.
Similarly the main drivers and barriers for teachers were identified.
Key Recommendations:
Recommendation 1: Amplify curriculum resources and engagement strategies to promote open schooling adoption. The evidence showed that meaningful curriculum resources and engagement strategies significantly improved students' self-concept and self-efficacy in science, which suggests that expanding these resources could facilitate wider adoption of open schooling practices.
Recommendation 2: Strengthen open schooling partnerships through community and family engagement. The project demonstrated that multilingual platforms and resources that include families lead to more effective learning experiences linked to research and innovation.
Recommendation 3: Enhance inclusivity in science careers. CONNECT aimed to make science careers more inclusive, which is evidenced by the development of the Open Schooling Declaration and the positive experiences provided to disadvantaged students.
Recommendation 4: Support teacher confidence and adaptability under curriculum pressures. The findings revealed that the CARE-KNOW-DO model boosted teachers' confidence, particularly in integrating real-world issues and facilitating discussions.
Recommendation 5: Address the barriers to student engagement in science outside of school. Despite less engagement in science activities outside of school, CONNECT findings indicate that many students remained confident in their scientific knowledge and abilities.