Work Package 4: Implementation

Specific objectives

By completing WP4 we aim to implement the developed experiments in real classroom settings and eventually, we aim to obtain feedback from in-service teachers, preservice teachers, and students. Each of the partner countries will take part in the implementation of the experiments. Every county will implement one virtual and one real experiment and we will make sure to work with five teachers from at least two different schools in each country. The developed experiments will be implemented in university courses with preservice teachers and high schools with students. Feedback will be gathered from the students and teachers in a written form, via interviews as well as lesson observations. Since the implementation of the experiments will add to the improvement of the developed experiments, the objectives of this work package will contribute to achieving a more qualified set of experiments.

Results

Following the completion of this part of the project, the piloted activities were implemented at partner universities and in schools. Pre-service and in-service teachers took part in the activities and reflected on their impact on students. The aim of this work package was to examine how the developed experiments functioned in real classroom settings.

In total, eight activities were implemented. Pre-service teachers provided feedback on the activities, shared their impressions, and reflected on how they might use them in their own future teaching. Since each in-service teacher brings a unique perspective and each classroom has its own dynamics, the implementation provided valuable feedback on how the developed experiments could be further improved. For instance, teachers commented on individual steps of the experiments, their alignment with curricular programmes in different countries, and their appropriateness for students at different grade levels.

Overall, the implementation generated important information about the functionality and impact of the activities. Overall numbers of active participants are shown below:

The implementation involved feedback from the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory items from students and pre-service teachers, data from the activities’ implementation observation (field notes) as well as in-service teachers’ feedback after the activity was implemented with their students.

This resulted in final toolkit which is intended as a handbook for use in STEM classrooms applicable with modifications from lower-secondary to tertiary levels of education.