Erasmus+ STEMbot
The project
STEMbot is an Erasmus+ project. The project is intended to bring math and science to life and show children how STEM knowledge is applicable in the real-life setting and offer them practical experiences using an innovative approach. The project promotes a hands-on approach to STEM as the best way to boost STEM interest and subsequently, the students’ results in this field.
The aims
We want to bring mathematics and science to life, show girls and boys how STEM knowledge is applicable outside of the classroom and give them the practical experiences they crave for using an innovative approach. With the help of a chatbot, a computer programme using Artificial Intelligence (AI) that can conduct conversations, students will get access to videos of practical experiments and thus see how science works in the real world, instead of only on paper. The chatbot we will develop for this project will help make science more accessible by first showing students how science is applied through experiments and then providing them with the explanations behind the shown experiments. By providing students in secondary education with real-life applications of what they are learning in school, we intend to foster their interest in STEM subjects, so that girls and boys feel confident choosing a career in STEM later on. Our methodology will integrate inclusive elements for disadvantaged learners, especially the ones with Specific Learning Disorders (such as dyslexia or dyscalculia). The results of these learners tend to be lower than average in STEM subjects, not due to a lack of capacity but due to their difficulties with some aspects of the formal approach (especially in mathematics). The nature of the chatbot is another component of the project’s accessibility. Students will be able to chat with it at any given time and in any given place, be it at school or at home. As chatbots are conversational agents and can be used on mobile phones, they are very easy to use for youngsters. The chatbot will allow for more personalised and self-empowered learning as students will be able to ask questions and choose which subjects to work on. The interactive approach will also promote
students’ engagement, especially because students who feel insecure about their skills in mathematics and science are more likely to feel comfortable asking questions to a bot than in front of all the other students in the classroom. Using a chatbot to learn about STEM subjects will also enhance students’ digital literacy skills, which are a necessity, even more so in a post-Covid-19 pandemic world.
Implementation
This project will produce several project results, leading to the testing of the chatbot and its innovative approach in all partner’s countries. To reach this phase, we will create introductory guide based on relevant literature, record science experiments videos based on chosen scientific concepts which will be accompanied by relevant lessons and FAQs on every topic. Once these steps are finalised, chatbot for STEM (STEM bot) will be created and hosted on multilingual Facebook page as one entrance point, and on another online platform to ensure there is more than one entrance and access to the chatbot. The STEM bot, containing the videos of science experiments and lessons with background information and FAQs, created by the partners will be tested in all partner countries by a total of at least 500 students and 40 teachers who will have been reached through the partners’ networks and dissemination activities. The partner schools will test the material internally and contact their network of schools to do the same, while other partners will only test the material externally. The testing phase will last 8 months, and a survey will be provided at the end of the experiment to assess all the aspects of the project results and assess the teacher’s confidence in using innovative approach in teaching STEM subjects. After these tests, the partners will make the necessary modifications according to the received critical feedback to arrive to the final versions of different planned results.
Results:
Through this project and its project results, the following results are expected:
• Innovative and inclusive teaching methods and tools, enhancing digital skills of teachers and students
• Improvement of online education accessibility for students with specific needs
• Promotion of inclusive practices for online and distance learning among educators. The practical results of this project will be a total of at least 200 resources.
• The introductory guide “STEM: from interest to integration” based on existing literature • 20 science experiments video tutorials
• The science behind the experiments (20 lessons and at least 5 FAQs and exercises on every topic addressed in the videos)
• STEM bot – chatbot for STEM subjects
• Pedagogical guide on how to use the STEM bot based on literature and expert’s recommendation
• Creation guide on how to create a chatbot for STEM learning
