CREATIONS: Developing an Engaging Science Classroom
In CREATIONS, a project funded by the European Union, 16 partners from 10 countries develop creative approaches based on art for an engaging science classroom.
How can young people’s interest in science be increased? 16 partners from 10 European countries want to break new ground. In CREATIONS, a project funded by the European Union, they develop creative approaches based on art for an engaging science classroom. The partners are planning a variety of events with theatre, photography and exhibitions in which young people can experience an active and playful role within science and research. CREATIONS establishes a pan-European network of scientists, teachers, artists and students.
CREATIONS was launched in October 2015 and runs for three years. CREATIONS aims at improving the skills of young people in STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) and at attracting talent to scientific careers by:
- Giving students and teachers opportunities to experiment with many different places, activities, personal identities and people.
- Simulating the work of the scientist and researcher in the classroom.
- Promoting a better understanding of how science works.
- Enhancing students’ science-related career aspirations.
- Encouraging and empowering science teachers to effect change.
- Implementing and promoting inquiry-based science teaching and learning.
- Learning and (self-)creating in emotionally rich learning environments.
- Disseminating and exploiting the results.
Basic information
- Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences, Germany
- European Organization for Nuclear Research CERN, Switzerland
- National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece
- Ellinogermaniki Agogi, Greece
- Institute of Accelerating Systems and Applications, Greece
- University of Exeter, UK
- Science & Technology Facilities Council, UK
- University of Birmingham, UK
- Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Norway
- University of Helsinki, Finland
- University of Malta, Malta
- The Big Van Theory, Spain
- Center for the Promotion of Science, Serbia
- Stockholm House of Science, Sweden
- European Physical Society, France
The main resource for CREATIONS is its Portal on the Open Discovery Space ( http://portal.opendiscoveryspace.eu/creations). The portal aims at enriching the existing educational approaches by blending artistic creativity with an inquiry-based science education model, so as to extend the implementation to larger and more diverse settings. The CREATIONS Community portal is organised around three steps: “to Search”, “to Share” and “to Create” by using or adapting the creative practices and tools that the project has to offer, according to the teachers’ needs.
You can find more resources and links to other projects on www.creations-project.eu.
Further reading:
- Biesta, G. (2004) “Mind the Gap!”: Communication and the Educational Relation.
- Biesta, G. (2016) The Rediscovery of Teaching: On robot vacuum cleaners, non-egological education and the limits of the hermeneutical world view.
- Craft, A. (2012) Childhood in a digital age: creative challenges for educational futures.
- Craft, A. (2012) Possibility thinking.
- Craft, A. (2013) Childhood, possibility thinking and wise, humanising educational futures.
- Cremin, T., Glauert, E., Craft, A., Compton, A. and Styliandou, F. (2015) Creative little scientists: exploring pedagogical synergies between inquiry-based and creative approaches in Early Years science.
- McWilliam, E. (2012) Unlearning how to teach
- NRC (2000) Inquiry and the National Science Education Standards: A Guide for Teaching and Learning
- Rocard, M. (2007) Science Education Now: A Renewed Pedagogy for the Future of Europe.
- Salna, L. (2012) Creativity as a 21st Century Skill: Training Teachers to take it beyond the Arts.
The CREATIONS resources toolkit section provides useful tools and links for anyone who facilitates creative science education. You can use it to find resources to help you define and plan creative science teaching and learning, including good practice examples, planning, workshop activities and teaching resources, including approaches to Inquiry-Based Science Education (IBSE).
The main resource in CREATIONS is the portal on Open Discovery Space http://portal.opendiscoveryspace.eu/creations. The portal aims at enriching the existing educational approaches by blending artistic creativity with the inquiry-based science education model, so as to extend the implementation to larger and more diverse settings. The CREATIONS Community portal is organised around three steps: “to Search”, “to Share” and “to Create” by using or adapting the creative practices and tools that the project has to offer according to the teachers’ needs.