All-Ukrainian STEM Day at Berdyansk State Pedagogical University

On April 24, students of Berdyansk State Pedagogical University joined the All-Ukrainian STEM Day, a large-scale educational initiative aimed at promoting science and technology as the foundation for sustainable societal development. Within the framework of this year’s theme, “STEM Lives Here,” future primary school teachers had the opportunity not only to actualize the importance of STEM education but also to engage in interactive project-based and research activities, experiencing themselves as creators of innovation and builders of the future.

Thus, second-level (Master’s) students of group m11PE, during a lecture in the course “Integration of STEM into the Educational Space of the Modern School,” discussed trends in the development of smart homes and explored relevant professions in this field. Such experience will contribute to shaping future teachers’ readiness to guide primary school students toward перспективні knowledge-intensive careers.

Meanwhile, part-time Master’s students (groups m101PE-z, m102PE-z, m103PE-z) focused more on practical “construction-oriented” activities. Using a specialized online service, they created 3D models of their envisioned classrooms and STEM laboratories.

Second- and third-year students participated in a series of STEM activities through simple yet engaging construction tasks: they built stable, tall, and aesthetically designed paper towers under limited resource conditions (10 sheets of office paper, scissors, and 4 pieces of tape).

Students of group s23PE demonstrated themselves as true engineers by using LEGO WeDo 2.0 educational robotics kits to create models simulating earthquakes and experimentally test the stability of different types of structures.

The faculty of Berdyansk State Pedagogical University approached the implementation of STEM Day activities creatively, relying on their own scientific and methodological developments in the field of STEM education. In particular, the university team (Assoc. Prof. Maryna Nesterenko (project leader), Assoc. Prof. Kristina Petryk, Senior Lecturer Tetiana Mukhina, Assistant Karina Koval, Researcher Serhii Kovachov) is working on a young scientists’ project funded by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine No. 0123U105357, “An Integrated Approach to the Professional Training of STEM-Oriented Teachers: Synergy of Science-Intensive and Digital Technologies.” In total, nearly 150 students of specialty A3/013 Primary Education from the Faculty of Psychological and Pedagogical Education and Arts were involved in STEM activities.

This STEM Day became an important platform for developing innovative thinking among future teachers and their readiness to integrate modern technologies into the primary school educational process. The experience they gained will undoubtedly serve as a foundation for further implementation of STEM approaches in their professional practice.

We thank the organizers for the initiative and the provided methodological materials.

Based on materials from the Department of Primary Education