Xabier Basogain is professor of the University of the Basque Country - Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea. He is doctor engineer of telecommunications by the Polytechnic University of Madrid, and member of the Department of Engineering Systems and Automatics of the School of Engineering of Bilbao, Spain. He has taught courses in digital systems, microprocessors, digital control, modeling and simulation of discrete events, machine learning, and collaborative tools in education. His research activities include the areas of: a) soft computing and cognitive sciences to STEM; b) learning and teaching technologies applied to online education and inclusive education; c) augmented and virtual reality with mobile technologies.
Speech title: Strategies for the Successful Implementation of STEAM in the classroom
Abstract: STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, The Arts, and Mathematics) education was created as a unifying curricular paradigm in which students were educated in four distinct disciplines: science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, in connection with the arts and humanities, in an interdisciplinary and integrated way. First developed in USA, STEM/STEAM education has been attempted in several countries, both in the public and the private education systems. The data, however, shows that the number of students interested in these topics is small and decreasing, with special impact on women and minorities.
We summarize the main trends in the integration of STEAM in school systems, and identifies the three fundamental obstacles for its successful implementation: a) the curriculum in math is obsolete, and therefore physics, chemistry and biology are studied with obsolete tools and perspective; b) students are not educated in the resolution of complex problems that require higher level mental processes, involving higher level cognitive modules, globally known as System-1; and c) students still use pencil and paper to solve problems, while complex problems need for their resolution and iterative process of experimentation and discovery that requires external micro-worlds or ecosystems for their implementation and manipulation.
We also propose a set of curricular strategies to address these three fundamental obstacles. Specifically, we present six areas of interdisciplinary curricular development for the successful integration of STEAM education. A set of examples are used to illustrate the main constituents of these strategies and the implications on students’ performance.
A. Pfennig was born in Büdelsdorf, Germany in 1970. She studied Minerology at the Rheinische Friedrich Wilhelms University Bonn, Germany, where she graduated in 1997. Her Ph.-D. in the field of ceramic moulds for liquid metal casting was earned in 2001 from the Friedrich Alexander University of Erlangen, Germany. She then worked for Siemens Energy in charge of ceramic shields for stationary gas turbines and transferred to Berlin in 2008 where she conducted scientific research on the oxidation of high temperature materials and corrosion behavior of steels used in Carbon Capture Techniques. 2009 she became full professor at the Applied University Berlin, HTW where she currently teaches material science for engineering students. Anja Pfennigs research interest and expertise is in the field of corrosion and corrosion fatigue of materials at high temperature and high pressure simulating geothermal environments. Here she involves students in practical project based lectures. For 6 years her teaching and teaching related research focusses on matters concerning first year students. Diversity, motivation, duration and step-by-step success are important when designing a new course. Inverted classroom scenarios, blended learning concepts, online courses and alternative grading are important research topics with regard to practical and theoretical study results and development of self-confident young engineers. Anja Pfennig successfully produces lecture videos using the peer-to-peer approach and implements these in her first year courses as study source in inverted classroom scenarios. The impact of lecture films on study behavior, continuity and study results is her main interest as lecturer and researcher.
Speech title: Improvement of Learning Outcome through Inverted Classroom Techniques and Alternative Course Assessment
Abstract: First year mechanical engineering students fear material science as one of the fundamental courses with high work load. As one of the most of important learning outcomes students are enabled to apply complex science of materials on the appropriate selection of engineering materials in different designs. Here knowledge on the correlation of materials properties, microstructure and their intended manipulation is substantial. The ability to combine these three columns of material science are not well constituted in one final exam. Therefore peer-to-peer lecture film supported inverted classroom scenarios were established to work in the course. These are provided via a highly structured Moodle course following the blended learning approach. The special design of the Moodle course gives students the chance to cumulatively accomplish micro-grades via multiple activities, such as tests, lectures, presentations, forum discussions, written homework and glossary entries. Micro grades are then summed to obtain the overall course grade. Improved learning outcomes are demonstrated in high quality class discussions and most -important to students- in better grades (average B) compared to those being assessed by one final exam only (average C+). The majority of students agree on enhanced study skills when forced to study throughout the entire semester and solve hands-on problems instead of learning theory intensely towards the end of the semester. The learning structure as well as graded activities match the learning outcome both being crucial elements of the course.
Dr. Eric Cheng is a specialist in knowledge management, educational management and Lesson Study. He is currently associate professor of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction of the Education University of Hong Kong. Eric earned his Doctor of Education in education management from the University of Leicester. He has been publishing locally and internationally, with over 50 articles in various media covering the areas of knowledge management, school management and Lesson Study. He is the author of an academic book entitled Knowledge Management for School Education published in 2015 by Springer. Eric has been successful in launching more than 10 research and development projects with external and competitive funds in the capacity of Principal Investigator (PI). He received the Knowledge Transfer Project Award from EDUHK in 2014-15, Scholarship of Teaching Award in 2013-14 and Knowledge Transfer publication Awards in 2012-13 form Faculty of Human Development of EDUHK.
University of the Basque Country - Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea, Spain
Applied University Berlin, HTW, Germany
The Education University of Kong Kong, Hong Kong
Keynote Speakers
Prof. Mario Barajas, University of Barcelona, Spain
Mario Barajas is Professor at the University of Barcelona (Spain), and founder member of the new Institute of Educational Research of the Faculty of Education. He earned his doctorate degree in Education from the same University, with an specialisation in e-learning. He is Master’s Degree in Educational Technology from San Francisco State University in the USA, and holds degrees in Engineering and in Philosophy. Dr. Barajas teaches about Digital Learning Environments at the doctoral program ‘Education and Society’. He is a member of different Research Committees and Journals at an international level. His research areas include: a) creative digital education, b) game-based learning, c) STEAM education -Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics; d) impact evaluation of digital education. During the last two decades, Dr. Barajas has coordinated and participated in a large number of competitive projects funded by the European Union. He leads the research group Future Learning (www.futurelearning.org)