maSTEM games
DSCB contact person: Giuliana Abbadessa
General project contact person: Anna Vignati, Dpartment of Physics
Project team:
Dept. of Physics, Dept. of Foreign Languages and Literature and Modern Cultures, Dept. of Culture, Politics and Society, Dept. of Veterinary Sciences, Dept. of Clinical and Biological Sciences, Dept. of Law, Dept. of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, Dept. of Chemistry.
Internal UniTo partners:
- Interdepartmental Center for Educational Research and Upgrading
- University Museum System
- Drafting E-Learning Nature Sciences Hub
- Teaching and Learning Centre
Partners external to UniTo:
- INFN - National Institute of Nuclear Physics - Turin Section
- ANILS - National Association of Teachers of Foreign Languages
- AIF - Association for the Teaching of Physics
- ARPA Piemonte - Regional Agency for Environmental Protection
- MAcA - Museum A as Environment
- MU-CH - Museum of Chemistry
- AIFM (Italian Medical Physics Association) Piedmont and Aosta Valley Region
- Regional Museum of Natural Sciences of Turin
- University of Naples Federico II
- CESEDI - Centro Servizi Didattici
Target: Secondary school students and teachers; citizens.
Desription
MaSTEM game is a game/workshop on the Escape Room (ER) model with problem solving activities that require manipulating objects, playing games, observing the environment, solving riddles and unlocking mechanisms to find clues. Time trial in hand, players are accompanied and actively involved by a researcher/guide in a course related to STEM disciplines, scientific research in STEM fields, and the multidisciplinary nature of scientific knowledge. Some moments of the course are offered in languages other than Italian, included in CLIL instructional design.
Objectives:
- To enhance STEM and multilingual skills (STEM and scientific research communication, integrated with foreign language and disciplinary content).
- Propose a multidisciplinary learning model that counteracts the reproduction of inequalities in education and teaching, particularly in STEM fields.
- Promote active and discovery-based learning through immersive, hands-on and engaging experience.
- To stimulate a positive approach toward STEM and convey STEM concepts through a play-based teaching mode.
- Disclose and bring students closer to scientific research, its goals and methods, using a hands-on approach and fostering cooperative learning.
- To make students aware of the relevance of STEM for understanding the world in which they live and for their use in real everyday contexts.
- Promote the development of soft skills, along with notional learning and higher order cognitive processes (Higher Order Thinking Skills), critical thinking and problem solving skills.
Role of DSCB: collaboration in the implementation and launch of ERs.
Project program: The launch of the first ER having the theme “Women and Science” is scheduled for February 11, 2025 at the MU-CH (Museum of Chemistry), on the occasion of the “International Day of Women and Girls in Science.” The ER of “Medical Physics” is scheduled to be launched in February 2025, and the ER having the theme “Environment and Wellness”. In June 2025, but the exact dates are still being determined.