GOOD VIBES- INCLUSIVE STEM EDUCATION AND CREATIVE EXPRESSION
A good vibe makes us think to emotions but also to the vibration phenomenon of physics. It refers to our knowledge and perception, and to our ability of empathize and resonate together to build a sustainable future.
At the boundary between science and art, Good Vibes is the project for inclusive STEM education through creative expression. We design hands-on learning resources, related to creative STEM, accessible for disadvantaged groups. Co-design is at the heart of the initiative.
National
Italy
1°step: Lombardy
2° step: Sicily
Mainly urban
It refers to other types of transformations (soft investment)
No
No
Yes
As a representative of an organization, in partnership with other organisations
Name of the organisation(s): Fondazione Eos Edison Orizzonte Sociale Type of organisation: Corporate Foundation First name of representative: Laura Last name of representative: Savoia Gender: Female Nationality: Italy Function: Programme and Partnership Manager Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Foro Buonaparte 31 Town: Milano Postal code: 20129 Country: Italy Direct Tel:+39 366 645 3812 E-mail:laura.savoia@fondazioneeos.it Website:https://www.fondazioneeos.it/
Name of the organisation(s): THE FABLAB srl Type of organisation: For-profit company First name of representative: Francesco Last name of representative: Colorni Gender: Male Nationality: Italy Function: CEO Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Via Calabiana 6 Town: milano Postal code: 20139 Country: Italy Direct Tel:+393492330197 E-mail:francesco@thefablab.it Website:https://www.thefablab.it/
GOOD VIBES aims to generate educational resources, for young learners and educators, to contribute to STEM learning with attention to contexts of educational poverty. The activities developed are based on the emotional involvement of children through creative expression.
The project focuses on the importance of investigating the role of technologies as enablers of creative and participatory processes in which young people are placed at the center and where the ability to compare, share and aspire is encouraged in a logic of sustainable and inclusive development.
The project adopts an approach that integrates research procedures - best practice scouting - with the implementation of educational activities in the field, in a research-action process capable of producing defined and scalable resources, valuable experiences in the area for young people and for communities of education professionals, and methodological knowledge.
The project covers the Italian national territory, with the aim of placing itself in continuity with projects and sensitive networks already activated. It is aimed at young people and educators.
The educational planning work aims to:
1.Generate an educational impact thanks to the provision of activities, which contributes to the strengthening of the scientific capital of the participants and the acquisition of new pedagogical resources for the trainers with whom they will collaborate.
2.Generate an insight into the identified methodology and define the paradigmatic elements that characterize it, in order to allow the scalability of the value points and future developments.
The educational design methodology is based on hands-on, learning by doing and inquiry-based learning approaches. These educational approaches are essential to train key skills for sustainable development and building science capital. In fact they allow to implement system and critical thinking in exploratory processes, and to adopt problem solving in collective actions
STEM
Creative expression
Inclusiveness
Sustainable development
Innovative educational methology
At the heart of the Good Vibes initiative there is the development of educational resources, insisting on a creative STEM approach. Such approach train both to science literacy and to critical thinking and problem solving, elements at the base to educate the sustainability innovators and the citizens of the future, capable to recognize the value of the environment and of the R&D processes that can support sustainability. Open-ended and interactive methodologies foster creativity, which is crucial for the young learners to imagine possible future in the direction of the sustainable development.
Aesthetic dimension is the key driver for involvement and learning for the educational activities design in Good Vibes.
The objective of the project is to prepare and spread educational hands-on activities that adopt STEM content, science phenomena and new technologies possibility, as an aesthetic language.
In Good Vibes ‘aesthetic’ is considered in broad sense, not just in relation to the idea of ‘beauty’, but more in general involving sensory experience and self-expression.
Creative communication, storytelling, artistic works and performances are the educational frame for educational sense-making, with the aim to design activities where learners have the possibility to construct knowledge and meaningful experiences.
Good Vibes aims to an inclusive activity design, referring to contexts of educational poverty, with particular attention to those deriving from particularly critical socio-economic conditions. In this sense, the aim is to guarantee economic accessibility for everyone, promoting the creative and intelligent reuse of waste and existing elements.
The objectives of inclusiveness are set on different levels:
- In the cost of resources and materials required to implement the activities for educators and learners. STEM education can easy rely on expensive tools, creating gaps in the participation. Good Vibes aims in research and design activities accessible on an economic level in order to include stakeholder belonging to poverty contexts.
- In the terms of content accessibility of the activities: the open exploration at the base of the educational design, aims at including different kind of learners, with different learning styles and prior knowledge.
The stakeholders involved are young learners (with possibly families) and educators.
The way they can benefits of the initiative are various: the participants to the activities are involved in educational programs implemented by relevant actors of the territory, such as museums or educational association. The programs have the form of specific events or summer camps.
The educators benefit of the initiative by participating to the co-design production of the activities and by receiving training and guidelines to embed the new resources developed in their programs as a permanent asset, at the base of the production of new resources directed to civil society.
The initiative is formed by the partnership between EOS Edison Orizzonte Sociale - business foundation of Edison Spa - and The Fab Lab Milano, an innovation laboratory that promote the digital transformation through educational and scientific methodology with the use of lean and prototyping techniques.
This initial partnership is opened to involve other partners, for examples cultural organization and third sector organizations that will be selected on the basis of the territory in which the initiative is tested and on the basis of the selected cultural goal.
The first test took place in summer 2022, in partnership with Fondazione Cineteca Milano, a private non-profit cultural foundation of public interest, which deals with the conservation and enhancement of film heritage and the dissemination of film culture both in Italy and abroad.
This initiative could be also integrated into the school curriculum or alternatively as a form of informal education complementary to school.
Moreover, a future goal will be to involve the local public administration, in particular the departments dealing with education and culture, on which the educational and cultural organizations depend in terms of governance.
The initiative is in the field of STEAM education for young learners with an inclusive and sustainable approach.
The development and the implementation of the initiative applies innovative educational methodologies (hands-on learning, inquiry-based learning, Tinkering, learning by doing, arts and performances, storytelling).
The content refers to the disciplines of science, technology, engineering and maths, linked to engaging topics for learner in the field of arts, culture and sustainability.
The lead educators in charge of the development of the activities, research and training are experts in the field of informal science learning, with experience in relevant European networks (i.e.: Ecsite, Ars Electronica Festival).
Good Vibes aims to be an innovative initiative in the field of education, by generating new educational resources that are based on innovative learning methodologies (STEAM, hands-on learning, inquiry-based learning, Tinkering, learning by doing, arts and performances, storytelling). Adopting a multi-disciplinary approach in science and technology learning in order to involve disadvantaged groups for sustainable and inclusive education is a field of open research, and the project includes the gathering and the generation of tools and guidelines to foster such kind of development. Furthermore, the initiative includes action of training, co-design and dissemination to share the innovative approach of Good Vibes in contexts of interest.
The project will deliver specific guidelines of learning activities for educators, useful to replicate the implementation of the resources developed in different contexts of interest. The design aims to economic and content accessibility, in order to adapt to the need of the contexts of educational poverty.
Beside the specific guidelines to ready-made activities, the project will produce transversal indications in relation to the methodology adopted, to be transferred to the educators as design principles for further development of inclusive creative STEM education.
GOOD VIBES aims to produce a collection of educational activities framed in a methodological approach that takes into consideration the following levels:
Content: As an educational content it embeds expressive dimensions (art, movement, music, as levers to strengthen personal identity and creativity and enable new modes of expression). Opportunities for creative expression can be a strong driver of inclusion and learning.
Tools: As tools and materials the projects adopts the use of technologies and scientific phenomena as expressive languages: participants are invited to master and familiarize themselves with STEM elements, motivated by the frames of creative expression and rather than offering acquisitions of knowledge for their own sake.
Modality: The modality is an inclusive design with respect to contexts of educational poverty, with particular attention to those deriving from particularly critical socio-economic conditions. In this sense, the aim is to guarantee economic accessibility for everyone, promoting the creative and intelligent reuse of waste and existing elements.
The approach intends to integrate the concept of science capital, which goes beyond scientific literacy (a less inclusive concept) towards the recognition of the value of a wealth of knowledge, attitudes, experiences and resources, all linked to science, which each individual acquires during his life. The concept of scientific capital helps us understand how people relate to science, how they can improve their (often negative) relationship with it and what changes we should make if we want to encourage the growth of a rich scientific capital in each individual, activating not only cognitive development, but also emotional, physical and social. Creative participation helps shape the innovators of the future – not so much by what or how much they know, but by developing a strong ability to think and act critically and creatively.
As an educational project about inclusive STEM learning, Good Vibes works to promote inclusive culture and creativity for the social actors, focusing on young learners and educators and delivering innovative interactive activities at the boundary between science and art. The modules developed aim at increasing the science capital and the science identity of the participants, contributing to the future development of the workers and citizens of the future in relation of innovation.
Considering the UN Sustainable Development Goals framework, this initiative addresses more than one global challenge. The main are:
Goal n. 4. QUALITY EDUCATION: in particular our initiative contributes to:
- target 4.4: increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship
- target 4.5: eliminate gender disparities in education and ensure equal access to all levels of education and vocational training for the vulnerable
- target 4.7: ensure that learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development
- target 4.A Build and upgrade education facilities that are child, disability and gender sensitive and provide safe, nonviolent, inclusive and effective learning environments for all
Goal 10: REDUCE INEQUALITIES: in particular:
- Target 10.2 By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status
- disabilities
GOAL 17: PARTNERSHIP FOR GOALS:
- Target 17.14
- Target 17.17
The project partners already designed and implemented the first activities in the north of Italy, and are setting the conditions for a co-design process with social association of the South of Italy.
As regards the first activity implementation, the context of action was the suburbs of Milan, during an educational summer camp of the local Cinema Museum.
Good Vibes Educators took care of the full-day program in each week of the camp, proposing to the kids to investigate the technological aspects of cinema through interactive activities. For this reason, the proposed theme focused on the world of special effects, exploring analogical and traditional techniques related to animatronics together with the most modern special effects based on digital technologies. Participants experienced STEM topics related to the functioning of mechanical structures for movement, and to digital tracking which, together with artificial intelligence technologies, allow computer graphics animation. All within an educational planning that put them in a position to concretely experience the topics covered through hands-on activities. During the three weeks, the delivery was accompanied by a research analysis using qualitative methodologies to collect feedback on the performance of the activities. The day was divided into two main moments. The morning was dedicated to the construction of an animatronic hand with simple materials, in reference to the giant animatronic hand. The afternoon focused on the theme of digital animation, starting from a movement activity inspired by the discipline of parkour aimed at imitating the movements.
As regards the co-design activities, it is foreseen to organize a meeting to train the target educators to new technologies and to share needs and opportunities linked to the local context.
At the heart of the Good Vibes initiative there is the development of educational resources.
Regarding the level of the young learners, the key objectives in terms of sustainability refer to the competences developed thanks to the methodology adopted.
Hands-on, exploratory and collaborative STEAM activities foster several learning dimensions that are crucial to develop sustainability competences.
The aim is to design tools capable of training critical thinking and problem solving, involving the participants in creative tasks with no pre-set solutions, in order to deal with complex systems.
Buy building science capital, learners improve their ability and attitude to value those science and technology processes linked to sustainable development.
Since Good Vibes activities train also the dimension of creative expression in collaboration, the objectives are set to create the base for building collective relations, empathy and fairness.
