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Surrounded by Science: Learning paths towards science proficiency

Project description

Learning science in out-of-school environments

Science-related activities outside the classroom can spur interest in science. But is this also enough to boost young people’s overall science proficiency? The EU-funded SURROUNDEDbySCIENCE project will bring together experts in science education research, science centres and museum educators, providers of outreach and informal learning activities, strong user communities and policymakers to design and develop a systematic assessment methodology to analyse the impact of out-of-school science activities. The project will draw from a digital toolbox of innovative research instruments to collect data from citizens participating in science-related activities. By conducting field studies and other data collection methods, SURROUNDEDbySCIENCE will assess the impact of specific out-of-school activities.

Objective

Every day, people of all ages are engaged in powerful science-related activities outside the classroom that spark interest and foster their understanding of science. However, it is not fully understood how outcomes of such activities relate to the outcomes of traditional formal science education. Surrounded by Science brings together experts in science education research, science centers and museum pedagogues, providers of outreach and informal learning activities, strong users communities, and policy makers to design and develop a systematic assessment methodology that will analyze the impact of out-of-school science activities.
The project team will conduct a series of field studies and use innovative research instruments (Digital Toolbox) to support the data collection from citizens actively participating in science related activities to assess the impact of specific out-of-school activities. The project will integrate the collected information in matrices to advise science organizations in the design of their activities. Furthermore, the project will propose an accreditation scheme for science education providers and offer guidance on their effective integration to (formal) science education policies. In total, more than 10.000 participants will become part of the assessment, either by interacting with one of the selected activities or by participation in an in-depth assessment of their science proficiency.
Surrounded by Science aims to have a long-lasting impact on the ability of science educators to design more effective, targeted, and meaningful learning activities at all levels. The Digital Toolbox is available to partners within and beyond the project, allowing them to evaluate and set up more effective activities to achieve meaningful impacts on learners? science proficiency. It seeks to enable formal science education to benefit by providing schools with recommendations on how to integrate successful activities to formal learning settings.

Keywords

Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)

Programme(s)

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Topic(s)

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Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

RIA - Research and Innovation action

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Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

(opens in new window) H2020-SwafS-2018-2020

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Coordinator

UNIVERSITEIT TWENTE
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 699 475,00
Address
DRIENERLOLAAN 5
7522 NB Enschede
Netherlands

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Region
Oost-Nederland Overijssel Twente
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 699 475,00

Participants (7)

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