<< Background >>A global call for interdisciplinary teaching strategies emphasizing the connection between Science, Technology Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) disciplines and their use in real life is gaining momentum (Kelley & Knowles, 2016). It is stated that “(...) these subjects cannot and should not be taught in isolation, just as they do not exist in isolation in the real world or the workplace” (STEM Task Force Report, 2014, p. 7).However, there is a wide spectrum of conceptualizations that compromise its educational value, and the enactment of the STEAM approach is low in European secondary school stages (Martín-Páez et al., 2019). This was further affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the process of adapting to e-learning, the STEAM approach has been further neglected in favor of teacher-centered pedagogies. The education system must prepare to ensure high-quality science education in the post-COVID-19 era, characterized by numerous measures to prevent contagion (ie. individual work; minimal use of shared materials). In these circumstances, adopting integrated STEAM through conventional educational resources (ie. lab equipment) will be particularly difficult, and there is a risk of perpetuating it.In this circumstance, the use of Augmented Reality (AR) applications for the didactic transposition of the integrated STEAM approach responds to the need for viable alternatives for the current and post-COVID-19 educational context. Access to integrated pedagogies is now seen as a critical component of students' literacy. It is therefore important to consider the role of AR environments in achieving these goals, especially in light of the increasing number of technological means available to schools.This proposal tackles disadvantages in terms of learning. Integrative STEAM approaches improve the academic performance and motivation of 12-16 y/o students, particularly students who are typically less motivated and less interested in science and technology subjects (Martín-Páez et al. 2019). In particular, STEAM experiences could foster girls interested in these disciplines. On the other hand, it contributes to the digital transformation of teaching due to the fact that technology has been introduced in the classroom, generally coupled with a traditional approach. In this proposal, AR provides a dynamic approach to digital contents favoring the incorporation of active methodologies in the classroom. It focuses on students aged 12-16 y/o based on international investigations revealing a decrease in students science-related interest and vocation at the start of secondary school (Tytler-Russel, 2020). Indeed, previous investigations conducted by this research team confirmed this results in the Spanish context (Toma et al., 2019), and the international ROSE project reached similar conclusions for the European countries participating in this project (Schreiner & Sjoberg, 2014).Therefore, it is essential to establish pedagogical models and educational resources that allow students to understand the synergistic interrelationship between STEAM disciplines, while allowing them to appreciate the European cultural heritage. It should also be noted that this proposal is in line with the challenges for the Spanish education system set out in the draft LOMLOE Law (MEFP, 2021) and European Union educational systems (Oliveira-Martins, 2017; MB, 2020; MEB, 2016; Taguma & Barrera, 2019). In this sense, one of the main challenges relates to increasing students' STEAM vocations, especially in the case of girls.<< Objectives >>AR-STEAMapp addresses the challenges of improving the teaching of STEAM disciplines in the 12-16 age group, designing an innovative way to establish connections between these disciplines in a meaningful and viable way with the educational context.One possible mean to address this challenge is the development of an augmented reality (AR) educational app (hereafter AR-STEAMapp) that can be used to explicitly reflect on the connections between STEAM disciplines through the analysis of relevant European cultural heritage (i.e. sculpture and buildings). As an example of the intended app, students would scan the façade of a Cathedral using tablets or smartphones; next, through a virtual tour, students will learn aspects related to science (type of rock used), technology (tools used for its construction), engineering (successes and failures in its design), mathematics (structure) and art (historical context in which the cathedral is designed and built; social and cultural importance of the cathedral), while making explicit connections between the STEAM disciplines content.Therefore, this project aims to develop a pedagogical framework to guide secondary school teachers’ enactment of the STEAM approach through an AR educational app and a comprehensive guideline. The specific aims are twofold:(1) To Enable the adoption of the integrated STEM approach through the explicit connection between emblematic buildings of European cultural heritage and the contribution of STEAM disciplines to their design and construction through the development and application of AR based on STEAM.(2) To facilitate teacher’s enactment of the integrated STEAM approach through AR resources thanks to the development of a constructivist-based pedagogical model. Thus, the pedagogical design of the tools created, app and guide, will be carried out based on the educational curricula of the different countries of the participating partners (Turkey, Romania, Portugal and Spain).<< Implementation >>To achieve the previously mentioned main objectives and goals of the AR-STEAMapp, partners propose to divide the project activity plan into 5 general activities, which further contain sub activities:Activity 1: Project management 1.Manage the project and ensuring the project goals and objectives are completed in time and in budget.2.Arrange the project meetings scheduled during the project life.3.Develop and deliver a project handbook.4.Provide reports for the partners and for the agency.5.Provide a virtual interactive platform for sharing, collaborating and storing all the documents (internal repository); and to have fluid communications between partners.Activity 2: Project quality assurance 1.Define and deliver the quality plan for the project with a quality guide.2.Collecting and analysing feedback from partners.3.Providing quality reports.Activity 3: Establishment of the assessment standards 1.Analysis of the different activities and resources from all the partners.2.Share the general ideas about the assessment processes.3.Definition, design and proposal of the assessment guidelines.4.Establishment of the assessment standards.Three sub-activities comprise the A3:1.Process evaluation 2.Technical evaluation.3.Social impact evaluation.Activity 4: Development of Results Results reflects the contribution of the project to the whole society and, specifically, the most critical stakeholders identified. AR-STEAMapp will produce 2 Results: 1.R1 - AR-STEAM Application2.R2 - AR-STEAM pedagogical guidelines Activity 5: – Promotion, sharing of results and Communication. 1.Design a detailed promotion strategy for the consortium with the definition of the indicators to monitor the impact of the Sharing and Promotion activities.2.Publication on the project website, briefing papers to stakeholders, conference publications, etc.3.Arranging workshops and conferences as multiplier events of the project.4.Promoting the networking and collaboration with the consortium partners.5.Preparation of posters, leaflets and promotion materials.6.Participation in scientific fairs, congresses, educational topics symposiums.7.Sharing and Promotion through international teacher networks and using social networks.<< Results >>AR-STEAMapp aims to provide compulsory secondary school teachers with digital educational resources and pedagogical frameworks so that they can incorporate the integrative STEAM approach in the classroom. Two results will be produced:1.AR-STEAM Application (which will include 10 scenarios/buildings)2.AR-STEAM pedagogical guidelines (which will include the STEAM pedagogical model and guidelines for its enactment)Both will cover the fields of:•Pedagogy and curricular design; basic principles applied to personalised learning. •Practical and affordable solutions for integrating active and participative methods; basis and previous methodologies developed and validated. •STEAM and cross-curricular implementation.•Tools and digital resources for their incorporation in the classroom.•Cross-curricular treatment of European Cultural Heritage.Thus, AR-STEAMapp will allow teachers to acquire skills and competencies in STEAM education:- Teachers' digital competence: teachers will have an educational App, which they can use with mobiles or tablets to work on STEAM disciplines in the classroom.- Capacity for curricular integration of STEAM content: through the different learning scenarios that the app will incorporate.- Use of AR for educational purposes.- Use of heritage elements for the integrative study of STEAM disciplines.- Develop their own STEAM didactic sequences, using as a model the best practices that will be included in the pedagogical guide.Lastly, one Learning, teaching, training activities and four Multiplier Events will be conducted:C1 will be held in Portugal. The objective of this activity is for teachers to be trained in the use of augmented reality and mobile learning tools, how to incorporate Cultural Heritage in the study of science and mathematics. Attendees will receive training on how to use the AR-STEAMapp (R1).The main aim of the multiplier events 1,2, and 3 will be to disseminate Result 1.E1: Knowing the AR-STEAMapp, held in Portugal.E2: Knowing the AR-STEAMapp, held in Romania. E3: Knowing the AR-STEAMapp, held in Turkey. The main aim of the multiplier event 4 will be to disseminate Result 1 and Result 2.E4: AR-STEAMapp and pedagogical guide of the STEAM approach using augmented reality and European heritage, held in Spain.

COMPASS project is an initiative aimed to contribute to alleviate the lack of achievement in STEM education and the ineffective use of digital technology, by bridging the gap among research and teaching practices. Project partnership is composed of two research universities (Bayreuth, Germany and Maribor, Slovenia) with a sound experience in developing dynamic geometry software (JSXGraph) and on innovative use of ICT in classroom (e-books); four secondary schools from four countries (Bulgaria, Romania, Spain and Turkey), that has ensured the project to be firmly connected with the everyday reality of the school life; and a EdTech company (Spain) that put the consortium in contact with the modern entrepreneurial world. This multifaceted consortium has achieved the following results:1.To research on the development of JSXGraph software new features in order to help create interactive animations which allow secondary students to be able to perform function plotting, charting and visualization aimed to enhance conceptual understanding in Science and Maths. A special focus was on the integration of JSXGraph with Moodle and interaction with the Moodle filters MathJax, FORMULAS and multi-language.2. To develop two STEM-Moodle modules aimed to secondary school students on Maths (quadratic function) and Science (Motion). These modules integrate JSXGraph based interactive animations in Moodle quizzes which allows monitoring of students' progress by taking advantage of their built-in learning analytic system. The didactical approach have used problem-based techniques aimed to develop 21st century skills, such as inquiry, learn to learn and collaboration. Modules have been translated to English and other partners' languages and published as OER (Open Educational Resource).3. Modules have been piloted by partner schools several times during the project life span. As a result of this experience, schools have provided feedback that have contributed to the improvement of materials.In order to introduce COMPASS materials to the teachers community, project results have been disseminated through more than 30 presentation events at conferences and teacher training activities and through social media (project blog, facebook, twiter). In addition, three professional development courses have been performed, at national and European level, involving more than 100 teachers. By creating the COMPASS Online Academy, project has facilitated that around 20 teachers have gone further in experimenting the materials developed in different classroom contexts. Project partners have contributed by mentoring teachers in using project materials while they are teaching their own students. In addition, the project server is offering free access to the materials to facilitate networking between the STEM teacher community. On the other hand, educational researchers could use project results as examples of evidence-based guidance on effective uses of technology for improvement in STEM achievement.Finally, software developers have also benefited of project efforts in order to push further the interplay between interactive animations and Moodle questions. As a result of this interaction, several networks have been created among content developers and Higher Education researchers. A network with the Abacus project from Finland has led to a successful follow up ERASMUS+ application: 2018-1-DE01-KA203-004268 (ITEMS “Improving Tools for E-assessment in Maths and Science”), which will be a three-year project starting in November 2018.