Abstract:

This paper presents a case study from an Erasmus+ project. It describes a teacher training initiative designed to strengthen high school teachers’ competencies in addressing misinformation and improving students’ digital skills in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). The workshop employed a Creative Learning–inspired methodology (based on the framework developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology — MIT — Media Lab), emphasizing hands on making, iterative exploration, and learner agency. Central to the approach is the principle that “the process is greater than the content”, promoting active knowledge construction rather than passive content consumption.

Although intended for high school educators, the course was developed by a polytechnic university seeking to bridge the gap between high school and higher education. Evidence of limited autonomy and reasoning skills among first year engineering students — despite high academic profiles — motivated the creation of a shared pedagogical space that supports continuity across educational levels.

During the workshop, teachers assumed the role of learners, enabling them to re experience the importance of agency in meaningful learning. By engaging teachers in reflective and participatory learning activities, the training path models the same kind of autonomy and inquiry-based attitude they are expected to nurture in their students. Participants were encouraged to co-design the task they had to carry out with the course instructors, i.e. develop an educational project to experiment with digital tools and manage misinformation through making. In doing so, the project contributes to the broader goal of transforming the curriculum towards an inclusive, and sustainable model, where both teachers and students act as co-creators of learning experiences.

While participants valued the methodology they had experienced as a promising strategy to spark student curiosity, many reported uncertainties about applying it within the structural rigidity of the national school system. One notable case, however, demonstrated successful implementation: by framing activities with a process oriented mindset, a teacher encouraged students to articulate what they wanted to learn, activating their motivation and sense of ownership. This example illustrates how attitude and agency can catalyze authentic knowledge production.

Nevertheless, most participants identified systemic constraints — characterized by a theory-exercises-tests instructional model — as obstacles to experimenting with innovative pedagogies. Such constraints limit both teacher agency and the co agency between teachers and students essential for building learning communities. Peer collaboration among teachers, another critical factor, also remains underdeveloped.

Despite these challenges, the workshop’s outcomes suggest that meaningful pedagogical innovation is possible even within rigid systems. The reported successful case demonstrates the potential for empowering students to reshape pre‑packaged syllabi and rediscover the value of learning. Building on these insights, the project team plans to integrate a generative makerspace environment into future editions of the workshop to further support creative exploration and agency‑driven learning.

Keywords:

Student Agency, Critical Making, Learning Experience, Creative Learning.