Abstract:

This paper presents the procedure followed at St Peter’s School in Barcelona to change current subject matter content in Science, Technology and ICT to a STEM-project based approach from 1st to 3rd of ESO. The three mentioned subjects had been combined into a new area, STEM, following the Backward Design Methodology by setting student goals, aligning them with existing competences and creating appropriate assessments and tasks. A team of experts created the new materials and resources necessary for the students to be able to perform the required tasks and assessments. Main efforts had been focused on introducing the Engineering Design Process as a vehicle to guide the students through this new pedagogical approach and coach them to be more independent learners, critical thinkers and successful team members.

Main issues encountered had been related with teachers’ reticence to embrace this new teaching methodology, students’ hesitation to be risk takers and to think outside the box and families concerned about alignment with exams and the standard teaching methodology used in other subject matters and other year levels. This paper suggests possible solutions and our approach to solve these challenges.

Keywords:

STEM, Curriculum Design, Science, Engineering, Innovation, Pedagogy.