Siġġiewi Primary School has been participating in educational projects financed by the EU since 1999. The last project we had participated in was called Bookworms (see section for more details about this project. In September 2020, our school was granted funds to coordinate a project with four other European schools from Italy, Spain, Slovenia and Ireland. This project is called InDemand and focuses on training teachers on the delivery of STEAM projects through the sharing of ideas and through on site training in the participating schools.
During the period September – December 2020, students in the different schools were introduced to the project and they were tasked with introducing their own school, town/village and country to the other partners. This was done through the preparation and sharing of powerpoints. This is one of the presentations prepared by our school.
Unfortunately, during this time the covid-19 pandemic heavily effected the work schools could do, because of lockdowns and other restrictions. However, projects related to Robotics were held in all participating schools and ideas were shared amongst the partners through the creation of an etwinning platform. The restrictions on air travel meant that teachers could not travel to other schools for hands-on training.
The first international training took place in October 2021 in Slovenia.
A number of educators from four different European countries – Malta, Ireland, Spain and Slovenia – took part in a 3-day teacher training course organised by OŠ Vižmarje Brod Primary School in Ljubljana.
During this training, educators had the opportunity to take part in hands on workshops, alongside Slovenian students. These workshops focused on Mechanics. After the hands on experiences, the participants had the opportunity to discuss and share their views during a lesson study session. They also attended presentations and demonstrations by the school about other areas including Robotics and Structures projects.
In the meantime, students from the different schools were working on classroom projects based on mechanisms. These again were shared between the partner schools through the etwinning platform. During the rest of the scholastic year, students worked also on projects related to electricity and structures. Finally all these lesson ideas were collated in a publication which will be easier to disseminate. These ideas can be viewed here:
The next international meeting was held in Ireland in April 2022. Educators from Malta, Italy, Spain, and Slovenia were invited for a 3-day training course focusing on structures organised by St. John’s Senior School in Kilkenny Ireland.
The educators participated in workshops that provided opportunities to build and make models of Kilkenny Castle and other local structures. The hands-on activities gave the educators material for discussion. They were given the possibility for sharing different methods of teaching during a lesson study. The views shared made it possible for the participants to come up with different strategies that would improve the learning experience for students when carrying out STEM activities. The hosting school invited the participants to visit classes, to interact with the students and to view models and structures they had worked on.
In October 2022 four educators from St Ignatius College Siggiewi Primary, travelled to Ceipso Maestro Rodrigo school in Aranjuez, Spain. Together with other educators from Spain, Italy, Ireland and Slovenia, they took part in Robotics workshops for the fourth and sixth grade classes.
Pupils from the fourth grade used the ‘Lego WeDo 2.0 Milo, the Science Rover’ kit to build their own robot. The use of role cards enabled the children in their groups to take on four different roles to ensure maximum participation, these being the helper, the timer/speaker, the constructor and the computer operator.
The sixth-grade pupils were responsible for the ‘Bitbloq’ software enabling them to assemble the robotic components in whatever way they liked. In addition, the pupils had to create their own cardboard frames for their robots. Their detailed level of coding and creative constructions proved how capable and innovative they were.
In November 2022, it was Malta’s turn to host an international meeting. Participants from Italy, Spain, Ireland and Slovenia visited our school and took part in a walk-through starting from the Kindergarten classes and on through the Primary years up to year 6. They had the opportunity to observe and take part in STEAM activities with pupils of different ages. They also could see different aspects of school life in Malta, including Dyslexia friendly school practices, inclusion and the emergent curriculum. Participants had the opportunity to visit the Esplora Science Centre and take part in workshops and hands on activities with our year 4 pupils.
On the 24th February 2023, the publication celebrating this project was officially launched during a special event held in our school hall. Copies of the book were distributed to all Government and Church Primary schools as well as to various guests that attended the launch.
The last international meeting took place in Italy between the 8th and the 12th March 2023. During this international meeting, participants had the opportunity to observe students (from kindergarten up to secondary school) working on projects related to Electricity. Participants were involved in hands on activities and had the opportunity to interact with the students who were keen to show off what they had learned. Staff at four different schools which form part of the Comprehensive Institute warmly welcomed the participants and created a wonderful learning experience from which everyone benefitted.
St Ignatius College, Patri Ġużè Delia, Siġġiewi Primary 