Abstract:

STEM teaching in South Africa higher institutions is facing some criticalities, requiring innovative pedagogical approaches integrating Self-Directed Learning (SDL) and Open Educational Practices (OEPs) (Govender, 2022; Gravett & Petersen, 2022).

In this context, the purpose of Erasmus Project “Transforming STEM teacher education in South Africa through Self-Directed Open Educational Practices” (TED-SOEP) is to improve STEM education through the collaboration between South Africa and Europe Higher Education Institutes.

As a part of the TED-SOEP acitvities, a face-to-face training programme for South African Higher Education lecturers and professors has been organized by the team of University of Florence from 26th to 30th May 2025. The present contribution reports the results of the implementation of this training event, aimed to improve trainees’ knowledge and competence on STEM teaching in a higher education context.

The training event “Innovative STEM teaching in Higher Education: from theory to action” aimed to provide innovative approaches for STEM education integrating Open Educational Resources (OERs) and self-directed Open OEPs into STEM teacher education programmes. The course was structured in 5 modules: the morning sessions included expert-led lectures, demonstrations, and example analyses from UniFi Professors, Researchers and Research Fellows. These presentations showed real-world applications of each teaching method in various STEM contexts (the use of OER and OEP, Inquiry Based Learning, Simulations, Game Based Learning, and Problem Based Learning). Afternoon workshops brought the theory into practice through collaborative group work, applying the "4T tools" framework (Persico et al., 2013) to design practical STEM teaching scenarios. The target group consisted of 25 STEM Professors and Lecturers from 5 South African Universities. The evaluation questionnaire was organized into 5 dimensions, evaluated with a score ranging from 1 to 10 in terms of Relevance of the training contents, Effectiveness of the teaching methodology, Accessibility of the didactical resources, Clarity of the training contents, and Competences of the trainers. The results obtained confirm the successful implementation of the training, which was perceived as highly engaging, as shown by the high scores reached in all dimensions of evaluation. The structure of the morning and afternoon sessions was appreciated, and participants underlined the possibility to learn from different experts in STEM fields and the use of innovative games for learning design. Moreover, the possibility to learn innovative practice and tools was recognized as a strength, inspiring both teachers’ practice and their research direction. These findings underline the importance of sharing practices and know-how in STEM education in a multiperspective approach, including theoretical explanation and practical application.

References:
[1] Gravett, S., & Petersen, N. (2022). Future-proofing teacher education. Taylor & Francis. https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/books/9781000623437.
[2] Govender, I. (2022). Research status in computational thinking in STEM education. In Advances in research in STEM education. IntechOpen.
[3] Persico, D., Pozzi, F., Anastopoulou, S., Conole, G., Craft, B., Dimitriadis, Y., ... & Walmsley, H. (2013). Learning design Rashomon I–supporting the design of one lesson through different approaches. Research in Learning Technology, 21, 20224.

Keywords:

STEM, Higher education, OER.