Smart schoolhouse — designing IoT study kits for project-based learning in STEM subjects

Abstract

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) subjects are of critical importance to students but too few students are genuinely interested in them. There is also a common belief that STEM education is complicated and not suitable for girls, which makes it a source of fear. This article introduces STEM education in Estonia, outlines some bottlenecks, and describes the activities we plan to implement in order to raise the awareness of teachers about teaching STEM subjects and to offer students the opportunity to apply their knowledge of different subjects to solve everyday problems through practical activities, integrating IoT opportunities in their learning process. We will present an overview of the project, involving 8 basic schools and 10 upper secondary schools, with nearly 3,100 students involved (from grades 6, 9 and 10-12).