Atlas of Best Practices in STEM Education (Finland, Ireland, Sweden, Turkey, Russia, Kazakhstan). Monograph

STEM Education in the Russian Federation

STEM for inclusive and special education

The fundamental demand of the labour market relies on a special design of the educational environment for students with special needs. It also concerns STEM education.

A regional network of innovative technological environment TechnoProfi has been created in the Kaliningrad region. The initiative has been implemented due to the Federal project Modern school (within the National project Education).

A fundamental demand of the labour market is an educational environment designed for students with special needs, and STEM education is no exception here. The TechnoProfi regional network of innovative technological environments has been created in the Kaliningrad region as part of the Modern School federal project within the Education national project.

TechnoProfi allows students with special needs to study, develop and acquire skills and abilities, regardless of their condition and place of residence or study. It is a network of educational laboratories and workrooms (AgroLab, MediaLab, Mechatronics and Food

Industry, Home Interior Design, ProfiLab, etc.) located in special education schools aimed at early career guiding in STEM and offering adapted curricula.

MediaLab provides facilities for photographing and producing video materials, featuring a printing shop equipped for blind and visually impaired students to publish newspapers in relief and dot print. The radio centre has state-of-the-art studio equipment and workstations designed for visually impaired students. Engineering modelling takes place at the robotics workshop.

AgroLab is a developing educational environment, which comprises a showroom with a “living” green wall, a 3D modelling laboratory, a laboratory for landscape design projects, an agrolaboratory with modular furniture and mobile equipment for hydroponics, aeroponics, city farming, vertical gardening and phytodesign, and a modular greenhouse complex for a year-round use [127].

These two laboratories have become basic platforms for expert and participant training for Abilympics, a national championship on professional skills for students with special needs.

81

Atlas of Best Practices in STEM Education

STEM-related collaborative projects (Government-Business-University) and best practices of non-formal / informal STEM education

NTI or National Technology Initiative (2014—2035) [128].

The National Technology Initiative is a long-term comprehensive programme creating conditions for the leadership of Russian companies in the new high-tech markets (EnergyNet, NeuroNet, SafeNet, AeroNet, MariNet, AutoNet etc.) that will determine the structure of the global economy in the next 15—20 years.The NTI comprises projects and programmes seeking to make it possible for Russia to participate in defining standards for future global markets and for Russian companies to secure a significant share in these markets.

Russia’s Scientific and Technological Development Strategy of the Russian Federation and the National Technology Initiative will transform fundamental knowledge, exploratory research and applied research into products and services that can render Russian companies leaders in promising markets.

Federal Innovative Platform [129].

Based on a competitive selection, the Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University (IKBFU) has been chosen as a federal innovative platform for the 2021–2023 implementation of the STEAMTeach project Managing the Professional Development of Pre-Service

Teachers launched by the team of IKBFU’s Institute of Education. The Kaliningrad socio-educational cluster has integrated the

STEAM approach into pre-service teacher training as a powerful tool to blend strategies and methods for designing a modern educational environment. Based on interdisciplinarity and incorporation into teaching and training, the STEAM approach can serve as a conceptual framework for an innovative model of the new type of teacher training. A practice-oriented model for pre-service teacher training based on the STEAM approach combines an updated curriculum design with a focus on STEAM, the modernization of the educational environment and the development of a new type of school-university partnership expediting the emergence of advanced educational practices through the implementation of international, federal, regional, network and internal integrative projects in education.

Curriculum modelling consists in designing educational modules for undergraduate programmes in pedagogy by wedding required

82

STEM Education in the Russian Federation

competencies with STEAM technologies in teaching, students’ research and projects and the design of modern educational environments for better learning outcomes. Introducing adaptive, prac- tice-oriented educational events, such as professional competition systems, into the curriculum is an effective tool for preparing undergraduates to solve professional problems.

The new School — University networking model functioning within the STEAM Community socio-educational cluster is multifunctional. On the one hand, it significantly strengthens the prac- tice-oriented component in pre-service teacher training by adopting innovative forms of interaction between educational process stakeholders and embracing modern supporting technologies for students with and without special needs when teaching engineering and technical creativity. On the other hand, it contributes to the professional development of in-service teachers, who acquire new STEAM competencies and build interdisciplinary and integrative ties by participating in regional network projects. Technologies for accompanying students familiarising themselves with engineering and technical creativity underpin technical initiatives within the project.

The model contributes to improving the quality of education and disseminating international experience in designing a STEAMbased educational process in engineering.

The NTI Kruzhok Movement [130].

The NTI Kruzhok Movement is an all-Russian community of technology enthusiasts who believe in horizontal ties among people, ideas and resources. It is also a system of kruzhoks (all-age communities of makers acquainting themselves with current challenges and trying to solve technological problems with the help of professionals in the field) and extracurricular engineering activities encouraging schoolchildren to participate in technical creativity projects and initiatives (design school contests and festivals), gain expert knowledge and work with the equipment at resource centres (FabLabs, children’s technology parks, etc.).

The movement has much in common with the maker movement, being underpinned by the same principles: freedom, do-it-yourself, open-mindedness, learning by doing, etc. Yet, it is an exceptional educational phenomenon meant to build an ecosystem bringing together technology enthusiasts and makers, big companies, state

83

Atlas of Best Practices in STEM Education

corporations and educational institutions, connecting education, science and tech business and creating feasible formats of cooperation among all NTI Kruzhok Movement participants.

The main educational initiatives of the NTI Kruzhok Movement are as follows: the first team engineering competitions for schoolchildren and students (NTI Contest, NTI lesson, RUKAMI project — ideas and technology festivals), Project Mentors Academy, Practices of the Future project schools, etc.

The NTI Contest (Olympiad) [131].

The Olympiad is a unique engineering competition for schoolchildren of eighth–eleventh-year schoolchildren, fifth–seventh-year pupils (NTI Contest Junior) and university students, aimed at supporting talented children who can solve complex interdisciplinary problems. The competitions help schoolchildren interested in engineering enter universities excelling in the field.

The contest consists of an online qualifying round where participants solve individual tasks, a teamwork online round, and on-site finals where teams work with engineering equipment to come up with solutions in promising areas.

The contest covers 30 areas associated with the markets of the future, such as autonomous transport systems, big data and machine learning, intelligent energy systems, communication systems and remote sensing of the Earth, unmanned aircraft systems, intellectual robotic systems, biological systems engineering, etc.

The NTI Lesson event [132].

The NTI Lesson exemplifies the transition from non-formal to formal education. It is a STEM practice where teachers give special vocational guidance lessons for seventh–eleventh-year schoolchildren in the areas covered by the National Technology Initiative, using materials prepared by the NTI Kruzhok Movement. These materials include interactive lectures, problem-based and game-based assignments, online practice, and feedback forms for STEM subjects such as mathematics, computer science, physics, technology, geography, biology and chemistry. Their focus is on neurotechnology, AR, big data and machine learning, financial technology, robotics, energy, unmanned vehicles, composite materials, smart city, aerospace systems and satellites, IoT, geographical applications of space photography, urban studies, genomic editing, cognitive tech-

84

STEM Education in the Russian Federation

nologies, agrobiotechnology and nanotechnology. TLMs can also be part of extracurricular STEM activities. The events strive to show the importance of dealing with emerging technologies based on indepth STEM knowledge to every schoolchild and encourage them to solve real-life technology problems by participating in the NTI Contest. Kids are motivated to acquire and develop the skills needed to go through all the stages of the Contest and win.

Schools Practices of the Future project [133].

One-and multi-day hackathons and off-site schools where teenagers get fully immersed in working on real-life tasks are among the most effective project activities pursued by The NTI Kruzhok Movement. The project school is to establish a systematic transfer of new technologies to education and support the values of the NTI Kruzhok Movement in the community. At hackathons and design schools, schoolchildren and university students design new practices for solving urgent issues and responding to fresh challenges.

The key focuses of the project are as follows: an all-age environment; comprehensive development of regional education systems (training local tutors, involving regional universities, interacting with regional industries and businesses); thinking techniques and soft skills (situation analysis skills, working with a problem, task decomposition, goal setting and teamwork); working with industry experts (representatives of NTI markets, start-ups and large corporations). The methodology draws on research and methodological materials and studies conducted in collaboration with the High School of Economics, Moscow State University of Psychology and Education, Shiffers Institute etc.

The Practices of the Future (2019—2020) featured several fascinating events. Firstly, this was the Faculty Practices of the Future within the Island 10—22 Educational Intensive programme: 120 students, NTI Contest participants and Practices of the Future hackathon winners, set up projects in neurotechnology, energy and satellite imagery analysis). Secondly, the Local Hack Day hackathon brought together 600 schoolchildren and students from across Russia, who formed 15 teams to develop solutions to COVID-19­ related problems. Thirdly, the Skolkovo Junior Challenge was held for 8th—11th-year pupils striving for excellence in Energotech, Biomed and Promtech. The contest was organized jointly with the

85

Atlas of Best Practices in STEM Education

Skolkovo International Gymnasium to develop students’ research and entrepreneurial competencies, leadership skills, productive communication and the skills needed to create and promote interdisciplinary projects.

RUKAMI project [134].

The project consists of a series of educational events held by the NTI Kruzhok Movement to promote technical creativity among youth. Its goal is to create an effective environment for developing new ideas and supporting young talent in Russia. The project comprises two tracks for children and teenagers: the RUKAMI all-Rus- sian project contest and a series of RUKAMI Festivals.

The Contest discovers best practices and outstanding technological projects set up by children and teenagers. The competition is open to everyone, regardless of age, individually or as part of a group. Projects must use modern technologies, present MVP prototypes and fit one of the following tracks: Bio, Tech, Art, Fun or

Make the World a Better Place.

Regional RUKAMI festivals popularize modern technologies, engineering, extracurricular STEM activities and maker practices in regions. In 2019, regional festivals were held in ten cities across

Russia; in 2020, fifteen. The international RUKAMI festival (Moscow) is the central event uniting international inventors, makers, technology enthusiasts and artists. Participants present their projects in engineering and technical creativity. In real-time, festival guests take part in interactive master classes, art performances and laboratory work.

Sirius STEM-related education practices.

SiriusEducationalcentrefortalentedchildreninSochi[135]was establishedin2014bytheTalentandSuccesseducationalfoundation on the initiative of the President of the Russian Federation V. Putin.

The centre strives to discover and support children talented in arts, sports, science and engineering.

About 30 educational programmes for schoolchildren of years 6—11 take place at the Sirius Educational Centre. Some of the focus on science: mathematics, physics, computer science, chemistry, biology, agrobiology and plant genetics, biomedicine, Start in Science, Introduction to the Experiment, and others. Others are multidisciplinary or partner projects developed in collaboration with

86

STEM Education in the Russian Federation

Mail.ru Group, Rostelecom, Rosneft, Roskosmos, Skolkovo, Yandex, etc. STEM-related project programmes give schoolchildren an opportunity to use their knowledge, skills and creativity to deal with real-life challenges and carry out hands-on experiments and projects on a range of topics, such as space, AI, IT, healthcare, nanotechnology, electronics, etc., in cooperation with major universities and companies [136].

ProjectScienceandBigChallengestechnologyprogramme[137].

The Big Challenges programme is the largest annual project programme for schoolchildren in Russia, offering a full-cycle innovative activity in priority scientific and technological areas. For three weeks, project teams of schoolchildren of 8th—10th years solve engineering and technology tasks from Russian tech companies, research institutes and leading universities. The students also attend lectures and workshops by top scientists and experts, participate in masterclasses and operate high-tech equipment. The main project/ research areas of the Big Challenges program are as follows: big data, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, autonomous transport, modern energy, smart city, space exploration and technology, agriculture industry and biotechnology, cognitive research, genetics, personalized medicine, nanotechnology, new materials.

Big ChallengesAll-Russian competition of scientific and technological projects [138].

The competition selects schoolchildren for the annual Big Challenges programme. The competition has the same focal points as the programme: big data, artificial intelligence, autonomous transport, space exploration and technology, agriculture industry nanotechnology, etc. The regional stage is held in over 45 Russian territories.

Schoolchildren can also apply online if the competition in their area of interest does not take place in their home region.

At the regional stage, experts evaluate the projects, get acquainted with the work of participants from other regions and form an expert community. The main idea of the competition is to involve regional experts and companies in working with children, facilitate further work on projects by schoolchildren and project managers residing in the same region and expand the pool of partners, mentors and teachers in the competition and educational programmes [136].

87

Atlas of Best Practices in STEM Education

Another example of non-formal STEM-related practices by the Sirius Centre for talented children is The Lessons of the Present volunteer project for school research and technology studios [125].

The project fosters collaboration between schoolchildren and national scientific leaders and popularizes the country’s Strategy for

Scientific and Technological Development. The thematic range of the project is defined by the big challenges in new materials, big data, space exploration and technology, agriculture, biotechnology, modern energy, autonomous transport, etc.

Creating research and technology studios is another focus of the project. At the studios, 8th—10th-year schoolchildren participate in offline and online meetings and discussions with scientists, technology leaders and entrepreneurs to set up projects and conduct research. The studio managers are usually Sirius Centre alumni.

Studio activities are divided into cycles. A cycle lasts four weeks. Every month, studio members/participants get acquainted with one of the leading areas of science and technology and solve a problem set by a researcher or company working in the field. All the solutions are evaluated by an expert group giving feedback to the project participants. Opening in September, the studios close in May.This way, the project goes through nine educational cycles in one academic year.

The studios embrace PBL and flipped classroom blended learning models, using the Sirius Online Courses service [139] and the Vkontakte social network [140] as a space for participants’interactions.

In 2019, there were 80 studios in 33 regions across the country. The participants solved a problem from Yandex and developed new skills for the Alice voice assistant. At the Roskosmos studio, a programme was written that automatically binds photographs taken from the ISS to a specific geographical area; the method for assessing the solubility of granular fertiliser was improved for the Phos­

Agro company. KAMAZ proposed a programme for the assembly of a modern car.

Likewise, regional education centres for talented children imple- mentingtheSiriusmodel,suchasStepstoSuccess(Rostov-on-Don) [141], Golden Ratio (Ekaterinburg) [142], Talent Academy [143] (Saint Petersburg), Kazan Open University of Talents 2.0 (Kazan) [144] etc., develop and deliver project & inquiry-based education-

88

STEM Education in the Russian Federation

al programmes and non-formal STEM-activities (summer camps, hackathons, project sessions, etc.) in cooperation with universities and regional industries/businesses.

Digital Lesson All-Russian on-line educational project [145]. The Digital Lesson all-Russian online educational project exemplifies the transition from non-formal to formal STEM education projects within the Digital Economy of the Russian Federation national programme [146] and the Staff for Digital Economy federal

project [147].

An online course for schoolchildren of all years, initiated by the

Ministry of Education, Ministry of Communications and theANCO Digital Economy, Digital Lesson is a collaboration with top tech companies (Mail.ru Group, Sberbank, 1C, Kaspersky Lab, Yandex) and the Codvards and Algorithmika online educational platforms.

The project was launched in 2016 as a Russian counterpart of the global Hour of Code movement [148].

Since 2019, the project designed to inspire STEM leaders of the future involves acquainting schoolchildren with the trends in the digital economy (video lectures, webinars for teachers, teaching and learning materials) and their involvement in practical activities (gamification, online simulator activities for three groups of schoolchildren: years 1—4, 5—7 and 8—11) in the context of actual tasks in programming, big data, networking and cloud technology, AI, personal assistants, digital security, etc. Usually, from 1,500,000 to 3,500,000 schoolchildren take part in each lesson.

STEM Centres of the All-Russian Festival of Science 0 + [149]. In 2015, Intel andAll-Russian Festival of Science 0 + announced the regional expansion of their joint project, which included industrial partners, to create children’s centres for science and technology.

At the time, about 155 STEM centres functioned in Moscow, the Moscow region and the Volga federal district. The project strived to draw students’ interest to engineering and technology, offering early career guidance and educating a new generation of inventors, innovators and entrepreneurs for high-tech projects.

STEM Centres of the All-Russian Festival of Science 0 + comprise a network of research and engineering laboratories supporting scientific, technical and engineering extracurricular components

[150].ThelaboratoriesoffereducationalprogrammesrootedinPBL

89

Atlas of Best Practices in STEM Education

and networking with industrial partners. The collaborations include network research projects, contests and competitions, project camps and summer schools, such as Junior Skills Challenges, FIRST (FLL-Junior, FLL, FTC), Scientists of the Future, Baltic SEF, NRJ camp, NANO camp, Smartcamp, Rosatomcamp, etc.

The project participants are universities, scientific laboratories, children’s extracurricular education centres and schools offering programmes on natural sciences, technology, programming or robotics for pupils of years 7—11. As a rule, such schools employ specialists with scientific or technical expertise ready to manage children’s projects, have the necessary equipment and run motivational programmes to maintain interest in research, engineering, etc.

At the end of 2019, there were 226 STEM centres [151] in 40 re- gionsinRussia.Theybroughttogether17,0007th—11th-year students who participated in over 200 programmes; 750 projects were carried out, with 287 presented at various conferences or competitions.

Skolkovo MAKERspace STEM Education centre for schoolchildren.

This space opened in 2017 as a joint project of LEGO Education, SkolkovoThis space opened in 2017 as a joint project between LEGO Education, Skolkovo Technopark, LINTEH, TETRIX and Standart-21. It offers comprehensive lifelong learning programmes for future engineers and researchers (kindergarten — school — university — industry/business). At the centre, primary and secondary school students get acquainted with engineering and information technologies: blockchain, internet of things, mobile robotics etc. Its task is to spark children’s interest in research and technical creativity, robotics and IT. The centre utilizes robotic solutions from Lego

Education, TETRIX and SKART IOT, which are used to train IoT systems engineers. The educational and methodological training modulestake72hours.Theproject’shighlightsaretheSmartHouse

JS universal mock-up stand, Bitronics LAB workstation for studying neuro-biosignals and a Lego EV3 trainer with SmartBRICKS sensors.

Robooky: STEM engineering creativity programmes for children

[152].

A vivid example of non-formal STEM education is the international network of Robooky robotics and engineering schools with

90