The transition period from the last year of compulsory education to the first year of upper secondary education is usually a stressful time for students as the level and intensity of classes in all subjects increase rapidly leading up to the final examinations. As soon as a specialisation of subjects in upper secondary education is possible, STEM (sciences, technology, engineering, mathematics) subjects, i.e. the school subjects biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, information technology, are less popular among students and are rather chosen on a basic than on an advanced level. One crucial among multiple causes is the students’ attitude towards STEM subjects and their self-concepts about their aptitude for these subjects. STEM subjects are often seen as difficult to understand and apply. Furthermore, 21st century students still stick to conservative gender roles, e.g. girls often believe they are bound to underperform in STEM subjects. However, this attitude stands in stark contrast to the needs for STEM specialists in different fields of employment and to 21st century values.

The aim of the project STEM AS ROOT OF THE FUTURE is to lay the foundations for wellperforming students in the field of STEM so they can use their competencies for succeeding in the future. This means to increase the students’ interest in STEM and motivation to choose STEM subjects in a peer-to-peer approach. We want to help students redefine negative self-concepts and improve their attitude towards STEM subjects in general. The students shall become aware of similarities in the countries’ STEM curricula and school systems in order to positively change their perspectives on STEM lessons in their own countries. In a cooperative and self-organised learning environment, they help each other to increase their knowledge and skills in STEM subjects, languages, intercultural communication and cooperation, and in the usage of ICT. The teachers exchange good practices in order to implement the project’s objectives in their schools.

To achieve this aim, the students compare the STEM curricula in the countries and compile a list of topics taught in all schools. This list is then filtered through asking students and teachers about their needs. The filtered list is the curriculum for the project. International teams of students prepare and carry out webinars, i.e. live and interactive online seminars, on these topics.

The project groups at the six participating schools in Spain, Germany, England, Belgium, and Finland are made up of 20 students between the ages of 14 and 17. They start the project in their lasts year of compulsory education and continue in their first year of upper secondary education. They form a heterogenous group, i.e. a mixture of students showing strong and weak performances in STEM subjects. There are slightly more girls in the group than boys.

During two teacher mobilities at the beginning of the first and second year of the project, two teachers from every school meet in order to exchange good practices and methodology, e.g. how to use AdobeConnect to conduct webinars successfully, how to use Moodle as a Learning Management System efficiently, how to evaluate the success of and satisfaction with the project and the webinars, how to support deeper learning in STEM subjects with the help of language (Content and Language Integrated Learning), and how to support cooperative and self-organised learning environments. A portfolio of the meetings is created to distribute the expertise among other teachers.

There are four cycles of student activities, each cycle being made of a preparation phase, a transnational meeting, and a follow up phase. In the preparation phase, the project groups make themselves familiar with the STEM topics of the project’s curriculum. In the transnational meeting, they prepare and carry out the webinars in international teams after training sessions about the necessary methodology (ICT, AdobeConnect, cooperation and self-organised learning, etc.). Teachers function as mediators in this student-centred learning environment. In the follow up phase, the travelling students share their expertise with the rest of their project group.

Next to improving their skills in ICT, STEM-related tasks, cooperative and self-organised learning, CLIL, language and intercultural communication, the students become more open-minded towards foreign countries, cultures and learning opportunities. With this, they can start their upper secondary education in a more self-confident way. The recorded webinars can be used as tutorials by students individually or in STEM classrooms. In the long run, teachers and students can apply international webinars in their classrooms.

The project “STEM AS ROOT OF THE FUTURE” creates a STEM-friendly atmosphere at the schools with an increase in STEM activities. The reputation of STEM grows and the attitudes and self-concepts of students towards STEM subjects changes positively.