Abstract:

This work describes the design and development of a gender-sensitive toolkit for implementing gender-sensitive activities in the field of Clean Energy Transition (CET). Following a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) approach, the toolkit draws insights from a set of practices, methodologies, and tools for incorporating an inclusive gender-sensitive teaching approach in CET. The toolkit adopts Bloom's Taxonomy as a guiding framework, aligning cognitive processes with specific learning objectives. This structure progresses learners through diverse cognitive stages, cultivating analytical, evaluative, and creative thinking skills essential for addressing gender equality within the Clean Energy Transition domain. Selected toolkit activities were tested during the FemPower Summer School in the form of a Design Thinking Workshop (DTW). The participants, comprising teachers and students from diverse countries including Cyprus, Greece, Spain, Netherlands, Italy, and Serbia, engaged in individual and collaborative activities over three days to ideate, design storyboards, and prototype sustainable and gender-inclusive spaces. Through this workshop, participants not only explored innovative methodologies but also contributed to the advancement of gender inclusivity in CET environments. The majority of the participants expressed high levels of satisfaction with the gender-inclusive STEAM-driven activities, highlighting its effectiveness in providing opportunities for knowledge application and awareness-raising regarding gender issues in the CET. Participants also voiced suggestions for improvement, including task design and duration of the activities. This paper concludes with practical guidelines for designing and implementing gender-inclusive STEAM-driven activities in CET classrooms.

Keywords:

Gender inclusion, social justice, digital artifact, STEAM, STEM.