The Elhuyar Foundation today brought together thirty teachers at the Berritzegune in Eibar, within the framework of the European STING project for educational innovation in science and technology. The session was organized by eight European entities coordinated by Elhuyar.

Teachers receiving training together with members of Elhuyar. ED: Elhuyar

The STING (STEM teacher training Innovation for gender balance) project, led by the Elhuyar Foundation, has the participation of four universities and scientific museums experts in the teaching of science and gender. The aim of this teacher training programme is to reflect on how to make teaching more attractive than science, technology and mathematics teachers give to children, as well as to provide training and resources to scientific teachers.

Today's session is the first pilot of the STING project and has been carried out with the participation of educators with students aged 10 to 16. Throughout the day, proposals have been made to improve the teaching practices of science, technology and mathematics, starting from both pedagogical research and the educational experience of teachers.

To do this they have carried out a process divided into three phases: first gender awareness exercises, second research and acquisition of recent experiences in this field, and third how to take them to their classroom. Stereotypes on gender, science and scientists, on the factors that influence the scientific vocations of girls and boys have been put on the table, and the internal and external factors that influence the learning of young people have been explained.

Trying to overcome the jump between girls and boys

In the words of the project coordinator, Danel Solabarrieta, “from Elhuyar we attach great importance to working on gender also in the teaching of scientific and technological issues. Because as we approach science we see a leap between girls and boys, and we want to analyze whether the performance of teachers and the teaching system could transform that leap.”

The improvement of education on scientific, technological and mathematical issues has a double objective: on the one hand, to bring the presence of women in the professional field of science and technology to a situation of equality and to increase the scientific vocations of young people on these issues to help them face our social challenges.

This training program, which is being carried out in eight European countries, will be completed with the comments of the teachers involved in it by the entities that are carrying out the project to prepare a second training for the month of June.

Teachers involved in the first pilot of the STING project. ED: Elhuyar.