Innovative Networks for Science Technology Engineering & Mathematics Education (INSTEM)

PI/s in Exeter: Associate Professor Lindsay Hetherington

CI/s in Exeter: Professor Rupert Wegerif

Research partners: University of Education, Freiburg (leading institution)

Funding awarded: £ 14,000

Sponsor(s): EU Lifelong Learning Programme: Comenius

Global challenges, such as climate change, call for innovative solutions. To meet these

challenges, European citizens must understand fundamental concepts of science.

Enquiry-based teaching, methods to reduce the gender imbalance and better

information on science careers can make science education more attractive.

Implementation of these educational innovations requires collaboration with key-actors

such as teachers, teacher educators and policy makers. But such actors need sustained

long-term structures, and an excess of innovative teaching resources from diverse

projects is overloading them with information.

INSTEM will synthesise the extensive knowledge and experience of current and former

(Comenius) projects and actively initiate sustainable national working groups to

transform science teaching. INSTEM is unique as all full partners (except 2 schools) are

representatives of European projects. It is a network of networks drawing upon

materials from 20 projects and 300+ institutions and bringing together 11 Universities, 3

schools and 56 associated partners (12 from additional projects, 44 key-actors for the

national working groups e.g. schools, policy makers). This will ensure the best possible

valorisation of existing project results to about 45,000 teachers.

The work of the project will be organised through 3 annual conferences alternating with

the activities of national working groups (transnationally linked e.g. through conferences,

fora). The 1st conference will bring together associated partners, structuring the project

knowledge to make it operational for key-actors. After this, national working groups will

develop strategies on using the knowledge within school systems, which in turn will be

discussed at the 2nd conference. These strategies will be implemented by all these

groups. A final conference will disseminate the project to a wider audience. Our

dissemination strategy and rigorous quality assurance will ensure the success of the

project.