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Miss to Hit: From misconceptions to learning insights through inquiry with playful physical objects
Start date: Sep 1, 2015, End date: Aug 31, 2017 PROJECT  FINISHED 

Several reports and studies warned us about the decline in scientific vocations in the last decade. Science education is not able to change the negative attitudes and lack of interest of students. The situation is alarming from a gender perspective, considering women have gone from a presence of 35% in the technology sector in 1980 to a meager 15% today. At the same time, a more detailed analyses of students’ learning processes revealed that students receiving inquiry based instruction engaged in a high proportion of elaboration processes related to reasoning about expectations and integration of knowledge. Carefully designed learning activities foster effective collaborative knowledge building activities. Therefore, the main goal of this project is to create a learning community where formal and informal learning initiatives can share STEM-related learning activities based on physical objects in an Inquiry-based learning (IBL) methodology. To accomplish it, several objectives have to be addressed: 1) Analyze the attitudes and skills around STEM of educators and students of secondary school level. 2) Design and develop a wide set of experiments based on playful physical objects in an Inquiry-based learning methodology. 3) Develop an open, free, open source and expandable platform to design and share a set of physical objects' models in 3D to conduct the experiments, ready to be printed in an inexpensive 3D printer or similar equipment. 4) Create initial content and activities available through the platform to facilitate its use with different levels of involvement (guides, activities, experiments, 3D designs, etc.). 5) Promote methodologies to contribute to the existing repository of learning activities, experiments, or physical objects by the educational community. 6) Assess the quality and impact of the project after its implementation, both in terms of attitudes and skills about STEM schools, and the quality of the methodology, platform, and initial materials developed. The main target groups of the project’s activities and results are Educators and Learners, in formal (schools) and informal (e.g. science museum) learning scenarios. Within the MISStoHIT community, learners and educators can adopt several roles: a) consumers of previously created learning resources; b) producers of new learning materials (remixing models, experiments, guides, etc.); or c) providers of learning insights: misconceptions, experiments' ideas, hints, or new approaches. Scientists and other stakeholders (industry, public bodies, etc.) are also invited to contribute to the creation of learning materials that match everyday practice in museums and classrooms. The project consortium is integrated by seven partners from three countries (Spain, Netherland, Italy). There are three R&D entities: University of Deusto, Spain (coordinator of the project); the University of Twente, Netherland, and IBIMET-CNR, Italy; two science museums: NEMO, Netherland and Fundación La Caixa, Spain; one company specialized in 3D printing, Interzonas, Spain; and a secondary school with a strong emphasis in technological and learning innovation, Sensale, Italy. The project will carry out preliminary studies to define and establish the fundamentals of the project, e.g. STEM and ICT curriculum, gender, legal and ethical issues will be analyzed. The new pedagogical methodology approach designed by educators will be the base to design and develop e-learning tools and resources, and an on-line collaborative platform where students and teachers will be able to learn, teach and co-create content for STEM courses. The collaboration of universities, research institutions, science museums, enterprises and schools allows a multidisciplinary approach that encourages making the project outcomes suitable and useful to a wider range of users. MISStoHIT project will have positive and long-lasting effects on participants, organizations, and people involved in the actions and target groups. New ways of collaboration beyond the local or regional sphere open to project members. Beyond the consortium the project will have a high impact from the local to the international level, educational modernization and improvement of resources and tools to develop key competencies, will lead to more creative, innovative and competent students. Promoting Science education with a motivating and attractive approach, will increase scientific and technological vocations, also among girls who at this age abandon the taste for science and technology.

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