STEAM - Noticias

Erasmus+ Final Meeting of the "Qualified Generation With Steam Education" project in Slovakia.

The "Qualified Generation With Steam Education" project ended with a final meeting in the country of the coordinating school, Slovakia, namely in Komárno. The meeting took place between March 4th and 6th, bringing together representatives of all the schools and entities of this consortium (Slovakia, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Turkey). Distinguished representatives of the Erasmus+ Agency of Slovakia and other guests were also present. During the event, the STEAM experiences and practices of each country were presented, in addition to enriching exchanges by local teachers. The Ermesinde School Group was represented by teacher Bruno Reimão.

The Erasmus+ Team thanks all the teachers and students who, either systematically or more occasionally, collaborated with the activities organized within the context of this project. We would also like to extend a special thank you to the Project Coordinator, Katarina Kucerova, for her dedication and commitment.

The activities carried out during the project can be found on the AEE Erasmus+ website https://sites.google.com/view/steamqualifiedgenerations/p%C3%A1gina-inicial which allows you to view the international website.

Given the wealth of experiences associated with this type of partnership, this week, the AEE officially submitted its application for a new consortium project which, if approved, will be coordinated by a Polish school.

Erasmus + STEAM Education at AEE

The Ermesinde School Group welcomed from 3 to 7 February 2025 students and teachers in the context of the “Qualified Generations with STEAM Education” project. This was the third meeting with students from four countries: Portugal, Slovakia, Türkiye (two groups) and Finland. More than 40 participants were involved in all the activities.

On the first day, the foreign delegations were received by members of the Board, the Erasmus+ Team and the Portuguese delegation. After a brief reception ceremony and the presentation of the five teams involved, participants were invited to visit Ermesinde Secondary School. In the afternoon, the delegations participated in a study visit to the Technological Support Center for the Metalworking Industry - CATIM in Porto. In addition to visiting the facilities, it was possible to work on computer programming content, applied to small robots.

The morning of the second day was dedicated to activities organized by the team from Finland and the two teams from Türkiye. Before the first lunch in the ESE canteen, there was a moment of dancing and socializing, in the school's multipurpose area, between our students and the foreign participants. At the end of lunch, congratulations were sung to one of the students in the Slovakia Team who turned 17 years old. The Tuesday afternoon was dedicated to a study visit to the Cruise Terminal at the port of Leixões. The visit began at TITAN, a crane used in the construction of the port. The guide who accompanied the group explored the history of the construction and rehabilitation of this structure and its importance for the port of Leixões. The visit continued to the Main Building of the Cruise Terminal, stopping at several spaces. In the end, it was possible to meet with a scientist from CIIMAR (Interdisciplinary Center for Marine and Environmental Research), who, in addition to explaining what CIIMAR is, presented the lines of research currently underway and the most relevant projects in which this center is involved. This visit allowed the meeting of several of the central elements of the “Qualified Generations with STEAM Education” project, namely Science, Engineering and Art.

On Wednesday morning, the foreign delegations were divided into two groups. Teams from Slovakia, Finland and the oldest student from Turkey participated in activities led by teachers from the Department of Experimental Sciences. In the Biology and Geology class, students from class 11th B gave a brief presentation of the equipment, materials and spaces of the LB1 laboratory. Then, samples of biological and geological materials and other teaching resources were explored. Finally, participants were invited to carry out a practical activity under the theme “Biological Classifications”. In Physics and Chemistry A class, 10th grade students collaborated in organizing two activities “Vertical movement of a ball that falls and bounces: transformations and energy transfers” and “Energy and movement”. Due to the feedback received, both from foreign participants and Portuguese students, these activities were widely successful. The youngest students, coming from the two groups in Türkiye, had the opportunity to participate in activities in the context of the Arts and Multimedia subjects. In the afternoon, with the collaboration of Valongo City Council, it was possible to visit the Environmental and Roman Mining Interpretation Center (CIAMR) and the Casa da Trilobite, in the company of two guides. Also worth mentioning is the short walk along the “Cucamacuca staircase” and the essential visit to one of the most famous biscuit houses in the city.

The delegations met again, on Thursday morning, to carry out the activities organized by the teams from Slovakia and Portugal. 11th B students organized a little surprise - some sweets and a fantastic regueifa (bread) from Valongo (there was no shortage of butter) that everyone enjoyed. At the end of the afternoon, all groups met for a convivial dinner in Ermesinde. This moment was also cultural in nature, with four fados very well performed by a guest fado singer.

With activities over and as a farewell, Friday morning was dedicated to handing out diplomas. During the afternoon, some of the participants visited cultural spaces in Porto.

Despite the richness of the program, time passed by quickly and the foreign teams returned to their countries with several reinforced “STEAM” learnings, new experiences and friendships and, we all think, with a desire to return.

The Erasmus + team invites the entire school community to follow this STEAM adventure in our website.

Erasmus + Team AEE

AEE welcomes participants from three countries to Erasmus+

Today, February 3, 2025, AEE welcomes four groups of students and teachers from three countries (Slovakia, Finland and Turkey) in the context of the Qualified Generations with STEAM Education project. There are eighteen students accompanied by seven teachers who, together with the Portuguese team, made up of seven 11th grade students and five teachers, will participate in a wide range of activities focused on the fields of Science and Arts. In addition to these AEE students, classes 11th B and 10th C, several teachers and other members of the educational community will also participate in some of the activities planned for this week. The program includes presentations of the work carried out by all schools involved in this project; participation in Biology and Geology, Physics and Chemistry A, Arts and Multimedia classes, as well as visits to various spaces of scientific and cultural value.

It is a great opportunity for the entire Group to celebrate European cultural diversity, the taste for Science and Art.

Team Erasmus+

Noticia elaborada pelos alunos que fizeram uma mobilidade a Mersin, na Turquia, entre 7 e 11 de outubro de 2024

Erasmus are always fascinating experiences, and Erasmus in Mersin was no exception.

On the first day, we were very well received by the students and teachers at Su Koleji, who made us feel at home and were available to help with anything we needed. There were several activities so that the students could get to know each other better, since we were with students from different countries. At lunch, we were able to try some traditional Turkish food, very different from ours. That same day, we carried out the activity proposed by Slovakia, related to

mathematics and the Fibonacci sequence, which allowed us to develop our knowledge in this area. Then, we carried out a coding activity using Scratch, which allowed us to expand our programming knowledge. We also had the opportunity to explore part of the city of Mersin, where we were staying and had classes. Mersin is a port city that everyone enjoyed.

On Tuesday, we started the day with our activity, which consisted of several stations related to the areas of physics and chemistry. We built a spectroscope, based on the diffraction that occurs on a CD, where the students could observe, learn and build their own, understanding the importance of the device. We demonstrated and they made position-time graphs using the graphing calculator and motion sensors, mastering concepts such as position and velocity. We alsomade a non-Newtonian fluid from cornstarch and water, an exothermic chemical reaction caused by the sucrose in the gums and the oxygen resulting from the combustion reaction of potassium chlorate, and a chameleon reaction, which changed color over time due to the different oxidation states of manganese in the

reaction. All the students were able to understand the activities and showed great interest, thus achieving our goal of transmitting part of our knowledge to them. All students participated and were able to understand the activities, demonstrating great interest and achieving the proposed objectives. The students' involvement demonstrated not only their mastery of the content, but also their collaboration with each other, providing an enriching learning environment.

Throughout the morning, we solved several puzzles and a STEAM-related puzzle, and in the afternoon we went to the science center, where we were able to observe everything from how renewable energy works to the formation of extreme weather phenomena. We also attended a presentation on the difficulties faced by astronauts in space due to extreme temperature and radiation conditions, among others.Wednesday began with na activity organized by students from Finland, who challenged us to build a model of a bridge using spaghetti. The task required some concentration, but above all teamwork and creativity. Next, we moved on to building a LEGO robot. The activity was quite fun, as the goal was to build the robot and make it dance to the sound of music, using programming software. In the last

activity of the morning, we tried physics in practice by projecting a bottle of water into the air, using only pressure. After lunch, we visited the caves in the region, which was na excellent way to end the day.

Thursday was marked by a different experience. We spent the day on a boat sailing through the Mediterranean Sea. It was na incredible opportunity to relax and enjoy the natural beauty of the region. We also had the chance to experience the waters of the Mediterranean, with some of us diving and enjoying the sea. The day was a

truly refreshing break and another opportunity to bond with the other students on this project.

Then came Friday. On the last day of activities, we started by evaluating this mobility that we had participated in. Soon after, each country shared a little of its culture. There was music, dancing, and typical food from each country.

Afterwards, some of the students decided to play volleyball in the garden while others stayed upstairs. We ended the week with the presentation of certificates, a group photo and a warm farewell that we will all remember for the rest of our lives. However, the flight to Portugal was Sunday, so we had Saturday to spend as we wished. We took the opportunity to go to the beach, where the water temperature was perfect and we could see fish swimming around our feet (and sometimes biting us). After lunch we did some shopping, walked around the coast a bit and

had dinner. When we got to the hotel, we packed our bags and went to bed.

On Sunday, we woke up at 4am (2am in Portugal!) to go back. It was a tiring day, in fact a very tiring week, but we all thought it was totally worth it. Being able to get to know another country, even if just for a week, people from other countries and with different life stories is a very valuable and enriching experience that we don’t know if we will have again any time soon.

Ana Moura, Francisco Soares and Vasco Barbosa

Crete, Grece

On April, 2023, a group of teachers joined to start the preparation of a Staff Trainning under this project in

Crete, Greece, that would happen in early September, just before the beginning of the school year.

Our expectations were high because we were counting on a supportive theoretical vision about STEAM and carrying out practical activities, in addition to being able to exchange practices from each country to disseminate what we understood to be adjusted to our country and our school. And we also hoped to get known the daily life, monuments and landscapes of Crete.

In June we received the draft program of the meeting and a document with information about Rethymno and we realized that our expectations were real and we were excited to see the island. About three months later, after an online meeting on August, 25th, there we were taking off, at Porto airport, to head to the fabulous island of Crete.

In Crete, after settling into the hotel and receiving instructions from our excellent host Kostas, and after a

first night of sleep that wasn't very good, we began our adventure with all the other partners.

In the first day of work, after a few visits inside the university, we were able to better understand the inclusion of STEAM in the curriculum. It was very interesting to realize that the difiiculty we have in our school in producing and implementing STEM activities is difiicult for everyone and that there is no single definition of STEAM, but that in any circumstance there is an !dea of integrating difierent disciplinary areas. Since that day, we have had the opportunity to be part of sharing the educational systems of different partner countries, to understand a little about how schools work and also to have an excellent moment of sharing good practices. We learned from other partners and were able to show some interesting practices that we do at our school in Portugal. We did activities in a laboratory at the university and were able to learn more approaches to programming in Scratch. From this learning, we brought some activities that we began to implement in Portugal, with our students, and others that we will later adapt and implement.

And of course we still had time for some visits, some shopping and to have some good meals, and for some extra conviviality with other partners, although it wasn't much. The meeting dinner was the moment when we got to know each other better. And Crete, we really liked what we saw, but we realized that we saw little of this beautiful island, leaving us with a strong desire to return there one day, whether for work or personal leisure.

Bruno Reimâo

Joaquim Sousa

Paulo Monteiro

Raul Gonçalves

Helsinki, Finland.

In May 2024, a mobility of teachers and students was carried out in Helsinki, Finland. Between 05/06 and 05/10, three students from the Scientific and Humanistic Visual Arts Course of the 12ºH and two teachers Raul Gonçalves and Glória Neiva participated in this mobility. The first day at the Martinlaakson Lukio school and after the welcoming, drama games were held between the Finnish students and the visiting students to allow them to get to know each of others. In the afternoon, the large group held a workshop with Arduino at Aalto University in which the challenge was to get a traffic light working.

The second day was spent at school carrying out practical STEAM exercises proposed by Slovakia and Portugal. So, in the morning the challenge was to produce cement. In the afternoon and in the activity presented by professor Raul Gonçalves and portuguese students, the challenge was to create artistic patterns using the Python programming language, in a connection between mathematics and arts.

On the third day, in the morning at school, it was Turkey's turn to present the STEAM exercise with the purpose of allowing a door to open and close using an automation. In the afternoon we went to see Nuuksio and the Haltia Natur Center where students and teachers enjoyed a guided tour in the forest and a study tour about the landscape and nature of Finland. The day ended at the lake where those who wanted enjoyed a sauna and bath in the lake surrounded by a beautiful landscape.

The last day we went to Vantaa to visit the Science Center under the theme Climate, Plants and Animals in Finland. And where everyone had lunch.Afterwards, the portuguese and Turkish students and teachers visited the Ateneum, the national art museum, where they had a guided tour of Finnish artists. Then we head to the Suomenlinna fortress for an outdoor walk.

In conclusion, in general, the program met our expectations and allowed us to share the educational systems of the different partner countries, to understand a little about how schools work and also to have moments to exchange good practices on the production of STEAM tasks for students integrated in the context of a more or less formal learning scenario. And of course we still had time for some visits, some shopping and good meals, and for some extra socializing with other partners, although it wasn't much. The dinner meeting was a special moment when we got to know better each other.

At the end, our feeling is a great satisfaction because we are enriched with the knowledge about a new European place, a special lifestyle, new lernings about culture, nature, arts, science, STEM lessons, different paetners, but above all because we could watch great satisfaction of our students about all of this and they oened a new window I their lifes, now wide open to Europe, to Finland, where on of them intends to pursue architecture studies.

Glória Neiva

Raul Gonçalves

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