Welcome to Automata for STEM in early ages Erasmus+ project!Automata are mechanical toys, small kinetic art sculptures. Each automaton is constituted by a set of mechanical elements and a figure or figures with a narrative, totally “off the top of the soul” product, a creative work. Automata can thus be a good introduction to engineering, mechanics and science, through syncretism between game and technical principles. Furthermore, Automata’s history is very ancient and going into the latter means to deepen into cultural awareness. The steps occurring to realize an Automata enact several pedagogical implications for learning at all ages.In AutoSTEM project, partners (Portugal, Italy, UK, Norway, Bulgaria) used Automata as a vehicle for curiosity and motivation towards STEM at a very early stage of education (children aged 4 - 7 years old). These children are the final beneficiaries, but the project also directly addressed teachers of pre-school and primary school, in order to equip them with tools to render STEM subject appealing and, at the same time, promoting cooperative learning and inclusion of all learners. AutoSTEM main results focused then on capacity building of teachers and educators to use automata to promote motivation for STEM and transversal competences. In this scope 3 tangible outputs were also developed:•IO1 Automata School Piloting Toolbox – Activities and Materials•IO2 Guidance and Case Studies book•IO3 Online CourseIO1 Automata School Piloting Toolbox includes a complete set of didactic materials: Teacher step by step guide presents the pedagogical framework to use automata to implement an interdisciplinary approach, considering that when planning and constructing an automaton, children can explore STEM areas, discover relationships and connections between the different disciplines and develop different competencies, including problem-solving, group work or creativity. The pedagogical framework developed for the project also considered the crucial role of play for children development, that it can be an opportunity to create new meanings and understandings. The Toolbox includes Pedagogical guidelines and construction instructions for 17 automata implemented during the project as well as Reporting and Evaluation templates and examples of scenarios and narratives.IO2 Guidbook and Case Studies include a guide for teachers and educators, organized with QR codes directed to all the important documents, videos or pages and a case studies booklet that report on some of the findings from workshops and teacher training by the project partners in their countries. The AutoSTEM Online Teachers’ Course (IO3) is designed as a modular course that teachers and educators can use to understand the project better and learn how to use the project’s resources autonomously.During project life, approx. 400 teachers were trained and guided through the piloting process and 800 children participated in activities of the project.Results from evaluation pointed that the project made a very positive impact on teachers, they were curious and enthusiastic about the pedagogical proposals and wanted to learn more about how to implement automata in their classes. They also expressed willingness to continue implement the project and recommended it to other teachers.Benefits for the children are a core result of AutoSTEM, which include the development of interest towards Science and STEM, in general, but also the development of transversal competences as communication, creativity, problem solving, cooperation, positive emotions, wellbeing. The piloting brought evidences that making and playing with automata can help children to understand mathematics and science concepts in a better and deeper way and of the value of the project to promote intrinsic motivation, engagement and transversal competences referred above.From the dissemination point of view, the project reached also important results in terms of networking and promotion, with 11 campaigns, the videos available on 5 channels with 76,860 views, five webinars and four online workshops, 20 presentations in national and international conferences, 6 papers published in international journals, 2 book chapters and several abstracts and papers in proceedings.Interest about AutoSTEM project and resources are also evident taking in account its implementation foreseen in a near future. Together with the resources and benefits, this guarantees that the project will continue contributing to the development and wellbeing of children and teachers!AutoSTEM website https://www.autostem.info/

Moving and Learning Outside (MLO) was an international action-research project that aimed at promoting the practice of outdoor education through a play-based and physical activity approach in preschools.The knowledge and scientific background about cultural differences regarding the approach to preschool learning processes between Northern and Southern European countries were the starting points to devise this project. In Northern countries, the preschool curriculum and practice are predominantly based in play and child led strategies, in which autonomy and the contact with natural environments are privileged. While in the South, the pedagogical practices are strongly defined by the pursuit of academic success and standardized adult led processes, which privilege indoor sitting activities to foster the learning of writing, reading and counting skills.Therefore, the underlying motivation behind the MLO project was to devise a set of practical tools that could be useful to change this paradigm, in order for children in preschools to use the outdoor as a place where they can learn and develop through outdoor play, autonomy, independent movement, contact with nature and their communities.The project involved 7 partners, from 5 countries, working as an organism where each part contributed to the whole, having a specific role. (1) The educational community- children as main actors, parents as informants, educators and caretakers as participating observers - kindergartens Naba from Estonia, Matije Gupca from Croatia, and Conquinha, Agrupamento de Escolas Madeira Torres, from Portugal, and the ONG Payzontas, from Greece. (2) The investigators who analyzed all results and transformed them in new practices and guidelines - Faculdade de Motricidade Humana, University of Lisbon, from Portugal and Queen Maud University College of Early Childhood Education, from Norway. (3) Local policy maker and disseminator actor – Torres Vedras Municipality, who allowed the results to reach schools, teachers, local community, parents, children and other stakeholders. The participants were selected based on the objectives of the project: preschool education, physical activity, play.The objectives were: -Drawing changes on the perceptions of policy makers, teachers, caretakers and parents on the possibilities of the outdoor as a rich and valuable environment for preschool children’s learning, development and well-being.-Improving pedagogical competences of preschool teachers and caretakers working with children in the outdoor environment, adopting physical activity and play based strategies.They were achieved through the implementation of different activities and tasks involving children, preschool staff members, parents and municipality staff:-Initial assessment: to enable the partners to make an initial diagnosis of the opportunities and perceptions regarding outdoor play in each preschool;-Create a Teacher’s Training Resources Pack (Output 1): that would empower teachers and caretakers with the knowledge and skills to implement a set of practices to enhance children’s physical activity and play in the outdoors.-Devise a set of 12 activities (Didactic-pedagogical Resources Pack for Teachers and Caretakers) based on the initial assessments to promote children’s physical, motor, social, emotional and cognitive development in the outdoors (Output 2).-Finally, define Outdoor Activities Guidelines and Recommendations for Preschool Education are presented (Output 3) to be made accessible online to researchers, teachers, practitioners, play advocates, organizations, municipalities, policy-makers and other relevant stakeholders who have an interest in promoting children’s outdoor play in educational settings.The creation of these 3 Outputs met the common purpose of changing adult perception regarding the benefits of outdoor play, making it possible to execute by anyone who wants to provide training for teacher and caretakers, foster a change of mentality in parents and in preschool staff and promote play-based and physical activity in preschools.It is possible to say that the participation level and quality of work carried out exceeded the initial level of expectations. The awareness of teachers/staff, parents and local community for the importance of outdoor play became an important discussion which will certainly continue in the futureMLO contributed to empower teachers, caretakers and educators to transform their daily practice with children, providing the preschool and staff with the necessary tools, skills and competences to improve and promote playing outdoor, allowing a change of mentality and paradigm in this matter and promoting a better and healthier lifestyle for the children, thus contributing to: 1) help preventing early school leaving, (2) improving children’s future academic results and (3) changing behaviors and adopting healthier life styles.

"Mathematics education has received a lot of attention in the member states in recent years. Curricula have been updated and goals have been sharpened. The 2011 Eurodyce report ""Mathematics in Europe: Common Challenges and National Policies"" acknowledges the efforts of the central authorities but also states that a variety of teaching methods are needed and that learners’ motivation is often an issue and that only few countries in Europe work on extracurricular project-based ideas.Vidumath would like to contribute to this discussion with an innovative teaching method with ideas of a technology-rich ecosystem built around video production. Video nowadays is a common form of communication that most young people enjoy. Video can be a very motivating tool and bring in many different facets compared to a conventional textbook. The moving image can help to illustrate more complex structures and can aptly connect with the real world.European video education experts and mathematics innovators will develop a framework of ideas of what could be done within the mathematics classroom with and for the age of 9 to 12 years. The core idea is that the learners themselves are the active part of the production process. In this process, using systematic but creative thinking, mathematical content will be re-worked and visualised. Mathematics is a science that occupies itself with such things as rules, patterns, abstractions or proofs that can be applied in a large number of settings, applied or philosophical or playful. In this approach: * Children will playfully discover learning within mathematics * Children will document this process themselves on video * Other children, as an immediate repercussion, will be learners and consumers of these productions * Children will be given opportunity for self-reflection from this learning-by-teaching approach * Teachers will facilitate appropriately and provide ideas and examples * The ideas will be further developed together with other EU teachers Teachers will be the interface to reach the learners and the project will take great care to address and include them appropriately. To give structure to our productions, vidumath will collect and develop video material within three matrix themes: entry task (screen recording, one-shot video), intermediate task (stop motion / animation) and advanced task (creative explorations – edited video). Basic ideas with a clear pedagogical outline and well produced video tutorials will especially address teachers with no video experience. For these teachers ideas will include: what can be done with a limited amount of classroom time, how tasks can be combined with homework as well as ideas for interdisciplinary project work especially in conjunction with the subject of art.In order to promote the vidumath vision the project will produce attractive and clear pilot examples for each matrix theme. Pedagogical material will include background information and video tutorials will offer a good introduction about what kind of videos can be produced and how. The focus will be on visual material with little amount of words. This will support the exchange of outcomes and help schools to work in tandem across Europe. A project wiki will offer a space for schools to connect with each other and showcase their ideas and outcomes freely.The vidumath ideas will be spread within European teacher workshops and courses as well as online. Our existing promotion expertise with popular online platforms will guarantee that hundreds of thousands of European educators will hear about the project and its results. The project will work on a cross-platform promotion campaign and rely on Facebook pages, YouTube playlists and channels, Twitter, LinkedIn and additional social platforms. The integration of the outcomes on open platforms will make sure that vidumath will have a long-running and sustainable home (The project will of course take appropriate care that privacies are respected. The children’s work and not the children themselves will be represented).We are excited about this project’s potential and are anticipating triggering a wider movement of interest in and for mathematics around Europe."

"Children’s long term success at school is influenced as much by social, emotional and self-regulation skills as by academic skills and knowledge. Social and emotional development is a main contributor to successful school transitions and a significant preventative factor of disruptive behaviour, and mental health difficulties. Not paying attention to social and emotional development is harmful to young children’s capacity to learn and to thrive. The SEED Project (Social and Emotional Education and Development) was designed to draw attention to the importance of social and emotional well-being for children’s learning and development. This was done by a research study about young children's well-being and the factors that influence it in ECEC and primary schools in Croatia, Hungary, Latvia, Norway and the Netherlands. Based on the research findings practitioners working with 3 to 6-year-olds in these countries participated in a continuing professional development pathway based on group reflection to give them the skills to create create educational environments which are supportive of children's social and emotional well-being.The participants were 140 ECEC practitioners and primary school teachers and 44 principals in Croatia, Hungary, Latvia, Netherlands and Norway who participated in the research. A subset of 80 of these professionals participated in the piloting of the WANDA group reflection over one school year, supported by trained mentors. They also took part in study visits to ECEC settings. Other participants were the 545 staff of faculties of teacher education in universities and institutes of teacher education, teachers' and parents' associations, university researchers and local and national policy makers responsible for education and training. These participated in local seminars and conferences where SEED findings and their implications were discussed. Achievements of SEED include an assessment of the socio-emotional well-being of 1195 five-year-old children attending ECEC settings in urban and rural areas in 5-countries; a comparative analysis in understandings of young children’s social and emotional development across countries; sensitization of practitioners, principals, teacher trainers and policy makers to the importance of social and emotional well-being and the multiple setting factors that influence it and the formulation of principles of social and emotional well-being in ECEC.Important results are that practitioners are strengthened in their professional role and where their attention should be oriented in order to support socio-emotional well-being of children. This means they are better able to deal with daily challenges in their classrooms. Practitioners also feel supported in concretely transforming and improving daily practice and in continuously working on the link between theory and practice. The group reflection pathway has also better prepared practitioners to deal positively with diversity in their classrooms by drawing attention the impact ECEC environments. and their behaviours and interactions with children and their parents have on social and emotional wellbeing. SEED has therefore led to quality improvements in ECEC. It has also led to concrete commitments to give more attention to social and emotional wellbeing in training, practice and policy in all participating countries. ""Everyone is accepted as he/she is. This is what we stand for as a school. New children are immediately included. We take care of children when they show emotional needs. We teach children to play together and to talk to each other about difficulties"". (Practitioner, the Netherlands). The results of SEED are available in two publications, 1) a research report titled: ""Social and Emotional Wellbeing of Young Children in ECEC Settings"", which is also available in summary in Croatian, Dutch, English, Hungarian, Latvian and Norwegian, and 2) guidelines for coaches and mentors, titled ""SEEDs of Change: Supporting social and emotional well-being of children in Early Childhood Education and Care"", and summaries in Croatian, Dutch, English, Hungarian, Latvian. Paying more attention to young children's feelings and social relationships in ECEC and primary school leads to happier learners who have a better and a more equal chance to fulfil their potential. As a result of this project ECEC centres and schools are now better prepared to meet the needs of all children and their families.For more information and to download the SEED publications: https://icdi.nl/projects/social-and-emotional-education-and-development-seed"

Early childhood mathematics is in the international spotlight. The recent release of the PISA study has forced many countries to reconsider their curricula and pedagogical approaches as results have either stagnated or declined. This leads to an international systematisation in education, a global standards movement with a shift in policy focus from educational inputs to learning outcomes, and an increase in educational measurement, which can result in the ‘schoolification’ of preschool education and moves away from play-based pedagogies. Early childhood professionals meet this tendency with scepticism. They prefer a play-based approach rooted in children’s everyday life experiences.ViduKids is contributing to this discussion with innovative pedagogical methods that are taken from the ideas within the rich technology ecosystem that surrounds video production. Video is a very motivating tool and brings in many different facets compared to conventional tools. The moving images can help to illustrate mathematical concepts like space, numbers and shapes and can easily connect them with the real world. However, video production by kindergarten children is a very new approach and was never before tried in the field of mathematics.The core idea of ViduKids is that children themselves become the active part of the video production process. In this process, using creative thinking, mathematical content will be re-worked and visualised. In this approach:•Children will playfully discover mathematical concepts like space, numbers and shapes•Children will document their ideas and discoveries themselves on video•Other children will be engaged as viewers of the videos•Children will be given ample opportunities for self-reflection•Early childhood educators will support the children appropriately; in particular provide ideas and examples, and technical support•The ideas will be developed further with early childhood educators from other EU countriesEarly childhood educators will be the interface to reach the learners and the project will take great care to address and include them appropriately.The project's target groups are•Preschool children age 3-6 years•Early childhood educators•Preschool children’s parents•The general publicThe project ViduKids has four core objectives:1.Foster play-based pedagogy and a dynamic learning concept2.Develop video-based methods for early mathematics education3.Offer clear pedagogical frameworks4.Work across EuropeThe five project partners are experts in early mathematics education and early arts education (Dronning Mauds Minne Høgskolen), media education and video production (Kulturring in Berlin), teacher education (Universidade de Coimbra), project management (Eurek@), and early childhood pedagogy and practice (Vrtec Mavrica Brežice). They will reach at least 250 local early childhood educators, 500 kindergarten teacher students and a multitude of young children. Furthermore, the project will reach several thousand educators online.The method of the project is Action Design Research. A first version of the new pedagogical approach is developed in co-operation between researchers and practitioners and then further developed in co-operation with a broader audience of educators. The process has four stages:Stage 1: Problem FormulationStage 2: Building, Intervention, and Evaluation (BIE)We will undertake at least three consecutive BIE-cycles: The first at Vrtec Mavrica Brežice, the second in local preschools in all partner countries, and the third in preschools from all over Europe that use the pedagogical materials produced in the first two cycles.Stage 3: Reflection and Learning studies, which will highlight and investigate different issues and possibilities of the new approach.Stage 4: Formalisation of Learning into a training course that will help early childhood practitioners to utilise our achievements.The project will produce new knowledge about how video production in the preschool can foster play-based pedagogy and children’s mathematical understanding and motivation. The project will produce written documents like pedagogical guidelines, tutorial videos and a multitude of example videos produced by children, as well as online and face-to-face training courses for early childhood educators.The project will work on a cross-platform promotion campaign and rely on Facebook pages, YouTube playlists and channels, Twitter, LinkedIn and additional social platforms. The integration of the outcomes on open platforms will make sure that ViduKids will have a long-running and sustainable home (The project will, of course, take appropriate care that privacies are respected. The children’s work and not the children themselves will be represented).We are excited about this project’s potential and are anticipating triggering a wider movement of interest in and for early mathematics education around Europe.