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Improving STEAM Education in Secondary Schools through the co-creation of new methodologies for teaching GIS products related to climate impact on local communities

The improvement of STEAM education in secondary schools is the core objective of the Erasmus+ funded project “GIS4Schools”, which aims at promoting a new innovative approach to foster the teaching of STEAM subjects in secondary schools across four different European countries: Italy, Portugal, Romania, and Spain. The project intends to introduce the education of GIS and satellite technologies for Earth Observation- rarely adopted in secondary schools- and applying them to the thematic area of Climate Change.

The paper will illustrate the genesis of the project, and more specifically, the process leading to the development of training packages for secondary schools’ teachers and pupils. Furthermore, the paper will explore which methodology and pedagogic approach must be adopted to transfer new knowledge from teachers to pupils. The paper will also describe how the teaching of GIS and satellite technologies for Earth observation in secondary school can impact pupils’ perception of STEAM subjects and how this can impact their future academic careers. Specific attention will also be dedicated to the description of the innovative tools developed and applied for monitoring and evaluation.