A psycho-social perspective on STEM education in Italian high-schools: the “UMI-Sci-Ed” project

Science education and scientific careers represent two crucial themes of applied Social Psychology. In the European context this concern has promoted researches deepening innovative psycho-social methods for Science, Technologies, Engineering, and Math (STEM) disciplines teaching, as well as the scientific careers attractive for European Community's young people. The present work aims to present the main framework project's lines of the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation Program entitled “Exploiting Ubiquitous Computing, Mobile Computing and the Internet of Things to promote Science Education" (*) (UMI-Sci-Ed) stressing the study perspective on "Ubiquitous Learning, Mobile Learning, Internet of Things” (UMI). Academic organizations (University of Pisa, University of Helsinki, Norwegian University of Science and Technology) and Technological Institutions (CTI, CIT, CUBIT) planned developing extensive capability and efforts in experimental educational practices in which students from higher technical institutes (ITIS) have been involved through active learning in advanced technologies. In a social-constructionism perspective, highlighting the construct of the Community of Practices (Wenger, 1998), the innovative psycho-social and pedagogical approach endorsed through the Umi-Sci-Ed project has been investigated through a "piloting phase" involving students and their teachers ("computers and telecommunications" and "electronics and robotics" curricula). Main results will be presented and discussed sketching-out new perspective on STEM learning processes and education. (***) This presentation is granted by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program, under grant agreement No 710583, H2020-SEAC-2015-1 (RIA) "Exploiting Ubiquitous Computing, Mobile Computing and the Internet of Things to promote Science Education" "UMI-Sci-Ed"