Section 1 - Summary 1.1 Author(s) Sofronia, Maravelaki, Iraklia's Junior High School, Vice-principal 1.2 Background I am a teacher of English, ICT and History. I have been teaching in Iraklia's Junior High School since 2010. 1.3 Descriptive title Steaming with STEAM Steam activities with all school subjects 1.4 Abstract The introduction of the new subject into the curriculum named SKILLS LABS this school year will give us the opportunity to integrate STEAM activities into the school subjects. The policy is about integrating STEAM activities into the school curriculum. Students and teachers will benefit as they will learn how to combine subjects in order to organize and implement steam activities. The policy will last one school year and it will involve the school community and will be part of the Yearly Activity Plan of the school. Section 2 – Goals 2.1 General goal The main goal of the policy is to introduce steam activities to students and teachers and familiarize them with a new holistic approach to teaching and learning. The problem we want to address is the complete lack of Steam activities in our school. The solution we envision is to make steam activities popular and integrate them into the curriculum, so as we repeat them each year and familiarize more and more students and teachers. 2.2 General goal description Our students have never been involved in STEM activities and disciplines such as science, technology and maths are taught separately according to each subject’s curriculum. Isolation of teaching and learning leads to one-dimensional frontal learning making students learn things by heart and not investigate real problems. This year Skills Labs have been introduced into the curriculum of junior high school and it is the perfect opportunity to combine STEAM with various subjects in order to provide a more holistic approach of teaching and learning in an investigative, problem'solving manner. The school has been recently equipped with a set of lego mindstorms which was donated by the parents’ association. 2.3 Strategic goals The proposal is to organize a group of students which will act as ambassadors for the promotion of STEM education at school. With the help of the ICT teacher and the teachers of the other subjects students will create learning activities combining robotics with English, Maths, Technology, Science, History, etc, Every month, in the context of the skills lab curriculum, students and teachers will be responsible for creating a learning activity and present it to the rest of the school community. The activities will be recorded and will be assessed I terms of peer evaluation with the help of a rubric. The cost of the activities is manageable and can be covered by the parents’ association or the school committee for the purchase of any extra materials needed for the activity. Section 3 – Targets 3.1 Beneficiaries The final beneficiaries of the policy we propose are the students and the teachers of the school. They will be introduced into STEAM activities in order to be familiarized and be encouraged to integrate them into their lessons. 3.2 Recipients Recipients of the policy are the same with the beneficiaries. 3.3 Special needs Our policy does not involve beneficiaries or recipients with special needs or disadvantaged. Section 4 – Value Proposal 4.1 Value proposal The main value proposal of our policy is to engage the whole school community into STEAM activities in order to enhance the collaboration of teacher and students, familiarize them with STEAM activities and make them part of our curriculum. 4.2 Results At the end of the school year all the activities can be uploaded to the school’s web page. This way the dissemination of STEAM activities will take place. The expected results of the proposal will be the creation of more student groups for the next year and the purchase of more STEM equipment for the school. 4.3 Impact The long-term impact we hope to achieve is the purchase of equipment and the involvement of more teachers and students each year. Section 5 – Costs 5.1 Cost structure Keep the entries in the below list that are appropriate for your polices: - Labor (internal staff) - Students and teachers - External consultants - School Advisor - Administrative costs - None - Financial costs (interests on loans, etc.) - None - Travel & Accomodations - None - Rental of premises - None - Furnishing - None - Hardware - Equipment, Lego Mindstorms - Software - Arduino, Scratch - Miscellaneous services - None 5.2 Funding opportunities Parents' Association School Committee Section 6 – Action Plan 6.1 Activities October - Find the students that will beome the ambassadors of the policy and create a team November - Familiarize students with the equipment and the software December - Organizing and presenting the first activity: English and Robotics January - Organizing and presenting the second activity: History and Robotics etc Section 7 - Risks 7.1 – Risks/Competition a. Risk description Lack of teacher participation b. Probability 2 c. Severity 2 d. Mitigation strategy Introduce teachers first and explain what to expect and that they are going to be supported 7.2 – Risks/Opposition a. Risk description Some teachers may find it difficult to plan or take part in the activities. b. Probability 2 c. Severity 2 d. Mitigation strategy Organize a workshop on STEAM methodology. 7.3 – Risks/External Menace a. Risk description Lack of time to participate b. Probability 2 c. Severity 2 d. Mitigation strategy Organize the activities to take place during an excursion or after a school celebration