Background
New strategies and tools for STEM and Entrepreneurship fields
Eurydice thematic report on “Developing Key Competences at School in Europe: Challenges and Opportunities for Policy” consider STEM related skills, metacognitive strategies and sense of initiative and entrepreneurship among the eight key competences and attitudes that are necessary for personal fulfilment and development of the active citizen as well as for the prosperity of modern economies. But in one third of European countries the focus on Entrepreneurship education does not start until secondary school level and many European countries have concerns about declining numbers of higher education graduates in STEM fields or have highlighted skills shortages in areas requiring high levels of MST knowledge. Concerns related to the insufficient number of graduates in these fields compared to the high demand from the labour market are equally shared by other countries outside the EU. Consequently, it is necessary to develop or re-invent strategies and intuitive tools to enhance the motivation and engagement in STEM and Entrepreneurship fields with the development of innovative approaches, new methods, and dynamic, up-to-date, interactive and engaging tools such as serious games that appeal to young students’ interests, experiential attitude and preferred learning style(s).
Aims & Benefits
A serious game to promote interdisciplinary approach
ACTiFE aims to help adult learners that attend Lifelong Learning courses, Adult Second Chance Schools or Vocational training (VET) courses and even more those that are unemployed and/or at risk of exclusion to:
- get inspired and pursue alternative work careers that could ensure a better future for them
- appreciate the benefits of deploying state of the art tools and innovative methodologies in order to create "smart", effective and low-cost work environments
- develop a positive attitude towards Coding, Ubiquitous computing and Sciences
- adopt responsible entrepreneurial attitude towards the serious game promoting an interdisciplinary approach.
Innovation
Innovative scenarios for learning
ACTiFE is innovative in terms of:
Core idea
The project develops learning scenarios that combine Computational Thinking principles, entrepreneurship and professional orientation to allow young people to align their ambition with real market needs.
Learning methodologies
The project promotes "hands-on" experiential learning scenarios and active role playing in the Food and Agriculture Industry through digital games that attract and retain the interest of students
Educational objectives
The project aligns training practices to real market needs updating adult education practices and curricula through the deployment of educational technologies (serious games, coding).
Pedagogical design
The project introduces a collaborative learning approach through computational thinking to promote entrepreneurial abilities.
Technical implementation
The project intends to develop a serious game for desktop computers and tablets in which learners will be encouraged to design and synthesise solutions that address specific professional needs.
