STEAMing Ahead: how to use the golden ratio as a common thread in STEAM teaching

The Make it Pedagogical Learning Space in Maia (Portugal) hosted last week the first meeting of the partnership of the European STEAMing Ahead project, which is part of the Erasmus+ program and is made up of seven organizations from Portugal, Italy, Turkey and Spain.

The aim of this project is to develop a comprehensive and detailed set of resources, strategies, and pedagogical methodologies for teaching STEAM the golden ratio as a common reference to implement practical activities in the classroom that favor the achievement of key competences, such as critical thinking, problem solving, teamwork, communication and negotiation skills, analytical skills, creativity and intercultural skills.

The project aims to develop outcomes that support the acquisition of the key competencies outlined above, presenting them in a way that reflects their equal importance, while respecting the most direct connections to each of these competencies through the golden ratio: aspects that are essential to one domain will also support competencies in others.

Confidence in the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that connect to the golden ratio in the context of a STEAM learning approach will help stimulate students in line with STEAM goals. The goal is for students to take thoughtful risks, engage in experiential learning, persist in problem solving, embrace collaboration, and work through the creative process, potentially becoming the innovators, educators, leaders, and learners of the 21st century.

In addition, STEAMing Ahead aims to meet the European Reference Framework on Key Competences for Lifelong Learning as a touchstone, a vision in educational thinking in which everyone is entitled to high quality and inclusive education, training, and lifelong learning in order to maintain and acquire competencies that enable them to participate fully in society and successfully manage transitions in the labor market.

By raising the profile of the STEAM approach through innovative and collaborative work, the project partners aim to make teaching careers more engaging and diverse, opening doors to new and exciting pedagogies where teachers can be confident that they are helping to meet the needs of their students today and in the future.