Designing a Tool for an Innovative, Interdisciplinary Learning Process Based on a Comprehensive Understanding of Sourcing: A Case Study

The paper presents a case study describing the process of creating and validating the benefits of two Innovative Learning Tools (ILTs) aimed at more effective knowledge acquisition in the interdisciplinary field of earth resource extraction with links to the status of renewable energy. The philosophy behind the original designs and the design of the two tools, the way they are used, and the results of their application in the educational process are presented in a framework. The opinions and attitudes of both students and educators towards the tools were surveyed, and some research questions related to this form of knowledge acquisition were validated. The presented results show the students’ interest in the educational form as well as the attractive content that goes beyond conventional educational subjects, with its connections.

Digesting performance: An embodied-environmental approach to food pedagogy

Food and food systems are distinct from many other areas of study, in part because of the material, experiential, and affective elements they comprise. Teaching about food can therefore benefit from pedagogical approaches that acknowledge, account for, and activate intersubjectivity, emotions, and relationships to both physical space and food matter. A pedagogy of performance responds to these needs with both theoretical and practical tools, as well as an inherently systems-based perspective and opportunities for experiential and interdisciplinary learning. This article presents the processes and observed outcomes of an intensive food and performance course taught at Quest University Canada during the Fall of 2019. [Course Name] brought together critical discussions of food studies and performance texts, analysis of food-related performances and artworks, bodywork and affect exercises, and practical experience in performance creation. The result was an experiment in mixing discursive and embodied learning that raised and examined complex food issues, activated individual investment in these issues, and brought about student success and transformation.

Is It Possible for Young Students to Learn the AI-STEAM Application with Experiential Learning?

This study attempted to evaluate the learning effectiveness of using the MIT App Inventor platform and its Personal Image Classifier (PIC) tool in the interdisciplinary application. The instructional design was focused on applying PIC in the integration of STEAM (i.e., Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics) interdisciplinary learning, so as to provide sustainable and suitable teaching content based on the experiential learning theory for 7th grader students. Accordingly, the sustainable AI-STEAM course with the experiential learning framework has been implemented and verified, so as to confirm that the AI-STEAM course is not too difficult for young students. Many basic concepts involved in the AI-STEAM course, regarding programming logic, electromechanical concepts, interface design, and the application of image recognition, were measured in this study. The results showed that the students not only made significant progress in learning effectiveness, but also in particular made significant improvements in two parts: electromechanical concepts and image recognition knowledge. In the end, this study further provides some advice on the sustainable AI-STEAM course based on the survey of some important factors including active learning, and self-efficacy after confirming that it is not a barrier for the young students to learn the sustainable AI-STEAM course developed in this study.

The many flavours of STEAM education for an inclusive environment

<p>STEAM is often seen as the integration of an art form into the teaching of sciences. Although that is not necessarily wrong, it is a very limited view of the powerful tool that STEAM learning can be. Just like a pizza, STEAM education can have “many flavours” and each of these “flavours” can be focused on with different intensities.</p> <p>POLAR STAR is an Erasmus project that focuses on innovative educational methods. One of its pillars is an innovative STEAM methodology that focuses on delivering an engaging education for a diverse classroom. To make the methodology more understandable, the team has come up with an amusing exercise called “the pizza challenge”. It invites teachers to create a pizza. The aim is to reflect on the fact that even for a specific diet (for e.g., vegan), different people with choose different ingredients and flavours according to their likes and dislikes. Similarly, in a classroom, each student will have their likes and dislikes, their interests, their way of thinking and of working, turning them into unique “consumers”. With this parallel, teachers realize that it is important to offer different “flavours” to different students in a classroom.</p> <p>The POLAR STAR methodology offers teachers a variety of lesson planners, focusing on the different flavours of STEAM. It guides teachers into reflecting on their students and choosing one or more activity templates for a given lesson. These templates can focus on <strong>S</strong>TEAM (with special emphasis on a science-based activity), on ST<strong>E</strong>AM (with special emphasis on an engineering-based activity) and on STE<strong>A</strong>M (with special emphasis on an arts-based activity). By diversifying the way they deliver their lessons teachers will be reaching a wider diversity of students and providing them with more engaging, motivational and interactive activities.</p> <p>POLAR STAR integrates these methodologies in a diverse kit of activities provided for teachers and students, following the different activity templates, in the fields of Astronomy and Polar Science, as well as holistic interdisciplinary learning approach, based on the Big Ideas of Science.</p> <p>All teachers are welcome in the project and can find more information on the projects’ website: http://polar-star.ea.gr/. During this talk the STEAM methodology to deliver Astronomy and Polar Science interactive lessons will be presented.</p>

Interdisciplinary Learning Methodology for Supporting the Teaching of Industrial Radiology through Technical Drawing

Technical drawing (TD) is a subject frequently perceived by engineering students as difficult and even lacking in practical application. Different studies have shown that there is a relationship between studying TD and improvement of spatial ability, and there are precedents of works describing successful educational methodologies based on information and communications technology (ICT), dedicated in some cases to improving spatial ability, and in other cases to facilitating the teaching of TD. Furthermore, interdisciplinary learning (IL) has proven to be effective for the training of science and engineering students. Based on these facts, this paper presents a novel IL educational methodology that, using ICT-based tools, links the teaching of industrial radiology with the teaching of TD, enhancing the spatial ability of students. First, the process of creating the didactic material is described in summary form, and thereafter, the way in which this educational methodology is implemented in the classroom. Finally, we analyze how the use of ICT-based didactic tools such as the one described in this paper can contribute to the achievement of the sustainable development goals set out in the 2030 Agenda of the United Nations.