This research project aims to develop, validate and evaluate a training proposal with a Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) approach that promotes creative thinking and teaching skills for the initial training of Primary School pre-service teachers (PST). It aims to contribute to the design of a course elaborated based on the formative proposal and their results, and also elaborate a set of guiding principles for similar formative strategies.

Educating people to achieve future and current needs, demands that we accomplish not only several learning competencies for the 21st century (P21, 2015) but also their impact on society. Science Education (SE) aims to educate citizens to be prepared to their right and duty to make decisions in a conscious and responsible way with the current society and future generations (Galvão et al., 2016). 

To consolidate an education that promotes an integrated worldview, it´s crucial to have teachers scientifically prepared and aware of the several kinds of teaching-learning strategies (Rodrigues & Martins, 2018). Therefore, it´s essential that since the beginning of teacher education, teachers are presented to an integrated SE perspective through a Science, Technology and Society (STS) (Vieira et al., 2011) / Science, Technology, Society and Environment (STSE) orientation (Rodrigues, 2011).

STEAM education is an inquiry-based approach to teaching and learning, grounded in active learning methodologies and with an emphasis on real-world problem-solving (Shernoff et al., 2017). This approach not only proposes interdisciplinary learning through STEAM areas, but also prepares learners for the professional context by developing skills such as good communication, collaborative work, and the enhancement of interpersonal skills (Perignat & Katz-Buonincontro, 2019). 

Based on this premise, Challenge Based Learning (CBL) methodology aims to, in a collaborative, multidisciplinary and experiential way, identify, investigate and propose solutions to real problems with an STS orientation (Nichols et al., 2016). From this perspective, the integration of STEAM and CBL has been described as having great potential for the development of 21st-century learning skills (P21, 2015), such as creativity, problem-solving, and others (Sanders, 2019).

The association of these active learning methodologies in SE since the early years, prepares future generations to be real-problem solvers, applying cross-disciplinary concepts coupled with their creative, critical and collaborative skills (Burrows & Slater, 2015). This project highlights the development of creativity throughout learning process. Creativity is a cross-disciplinary skill to produce ideas and strategies, individually or collectively, that are original, critical, plausible and feasible (Beghetto, 2007; Craft, 2009). The educational context should be a driver of human creativity, not a limiting factor (Robinson & Aronica, 2015). 

Based on the theoretical background presented, research questions and respective objectives were settled for this research: 

General Question: How creative thinking and teaching skills can be promoted for science primary school teaching through a STEAM approach?

Specific Questions: 

SQ1. How to develop a proposal for pre-service primary teachers' initial training through a STEAM approach promoting creative thinking?

SQ2. What are the effects of the STEAM formative proposal on developing creative thinking in pre-service primary teachers? 

SQ3. What is the relation between the creative thinking level and developing primary science teaching competencies?

Research Goals:

G1. To develop (design, plan, validate, implement and evaluate) a STEAM & Creativity formative proposal that promotes the creative thinking of pre-service teachers.

G2. To evaluate the effects of the STEAM & Creativity formative proposal on the level of creative thinking and its relation to developing teaching skills.

G3. To develop a set of recommendations from the research results for primary school science teacher training.

This is a qualitative study framed within a sociocritical paradigm due to its interventive, transformative and emancipatory nature (Creswell, 1994). This research is stated in a Design-Based Research (DBR) method (Romero-Ariza, 2014), a participatory and interventionist strategy that seeks to solve practical problems and develop principles and theories by serving as a bridge between practice, research, and policy (McKenney & Reeves, 2012). DBR adopts cycles of analysis, design, implementation, evaluation, and redesign to prototype innovative responses that best suit the investigative and practice needs (Reeves, 2006). Data collection techniques adopted are document compilation, participant and non-participant observation, focus group and questionnaire surveys for subsequent triangulation of the data collected. For data analysis, it´s used qualitative analysis through categorial content analysis (Bardin, 2009). The project consists of five phases: Phase 1 – Theoretical and concept framework: To do a systematic literature review to design a theoretical framework on STEM/STEAM Education; Creativity/Creative Thinking; Initial Primary Teachers; Science Teaching. Followed by Phase 2 - Project design: To design, plan and validate sessions and instruments of the formative proposal, in blended learning modality, based on the theoretical framework built in the previous phase. The next step is Phase 3 - Project Implementation: this phase will be divided into three cycles of proposal implementation and two cycles of redesign & analysis. There will be interleaved stages of implementation and analysis, as with a prior analysis of the data collected in the previous cycle, so it can be done changes in order to improve the next implementation cycle. This phase is carried out with undergraduate and master's degree students in education. With all data collected starts Phase 4 - Evaluation of the project: To carry out a cross-analysis of the data collected in the previous phase, analyze them using the categorical content analysis technique. Also, identify potential impacts and didactic transpositions in internship projects of the students involved. To conclude, Phase 5 - Product Dissemination: to transform the formative proposal into its final version, a course available entirely online to contribute to teacher education (initial or continuing). And also, create and validate, through the results found, a set of potential guiding principles that emerged from this research project.

This research aims to promote interdisciplinary knowledge combined with the development of creativity, as a problem-solving skill, so that future citizens and scientists can overcome challenges from different natures. The study is now concluding the last implementation cycle (Phase 3) so it is only possible to discuss some preliminary results. The results analyzed until now shows that the pre-service teachers involved appreciate the experience during the activities proposed and validate a positive impact on their professional training. As well as they can demonstrate an increase in the perception development of transversal skills (collaborative work; communication; creativity; proactivity; critical thinking; autonomy), science literacy, teaching, and learning methodologies/resources. As the content of current feedback with participants, the integration of CBL and creative thinking, through a STEAM approach it´s been well accepted by the students. Even though it still needs to conclude the analysis of the data gathered, participants highlighted having a positive experience with active learning methodologies and varied teaching and learning strategies, as well as how they intend to use them in the future with their students. As a research product, we expect to design a formative proposal, as a course available entirely online and free, based on the results that emerged from this study. So, it can contribute to education for primary school science teachers. Also, to build a validated set of guiding principles for other courses in the same field. This work is financially supported by National Funds through FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P. under the Project UI/BD/152209/2021 This work is financially supported by National Funds through FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P. under the Project UIDB/00194/2020

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