STEPS

 STEPS. STEM Perspectives in Primary and Secondary Education is a project funded by the Interreg Deutschland-Danmark program, a European funding initiative that fosters cross-border collaboration between Germany and Denmark. This program brings together diverse cultures, perspectives, and expertise to generate the best ideas and collaborative solutions.
The goal of STEPS is to implement pilot projects that help young people navigate the path to digital and technical professions in the German-Danish border region. The project will run for three years, starting in 2025. It is led by IPN Leibniz Institute for Science and Mathematics Education (Germany), along with key partners: the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Institute at SDU, Institute for Mathematics and its Didactics in Primary Education, Europa-Universität Flensburg (Germany), and the STEM Education Research Centre – FNUG at SDU, in collaboration with many other educational and industry institutions in Denmark and Germany.

Goal of the STEPS Project

The long-term goal of the STEPS project is to address the anticipated shortage of skilled labor in the program region. To achieve this, STEPS aims to enhance career orientation among young people in the region by connecting them to local industries, while simultaneously developing their STEM skills. The project also focuses on reducing linguistic and cultural barriers to improve cross-border professional career opportunities.
To reach its objectives, STEPS will develop and implement innovative pilot projects across all school grades. These projects are designed to integrate easily into the regular school curriculum and will focus on:

• Vocational orientation by providing authentic insights into the digital workforce in industries within the region.
• Practice-oriented STEM education, fostering real-world skills.
• Understanding STEM-specific aspects of Danish and German culture and language to help reduce cross-border barriers.

These pilot projects will give young people the opportunity to link STEM subjects with career prospects, even across the border.
STEPS aims to make a broad impact by creating tailor-made teaching concepts that can be incorporated into regular STEM education, from primary through to secondary school, throughout the Danish-German program region. Once implemented, these concepts can also be expanded through further education initiatives.

Role of FNUG: Pilot Projects in Mathematics & Natural Sciences

In addition to contributing to other sub-goals of the project, FNUG is responsible for a sub-goal – Pilot Projects in Mathematics & Natural Sciences. This sub-goal focuses on the development and implementation of prototype teaching concepts and materials for Mathematics and Natural Science subjects, specifically for students in grades 5 to 9/10 and 1-3g.
It addresses mathematics and science education, with a particular emphasis on developing, implementing, and documenting pilot projects for grades 5-9/10 and the first three years of gymnasium. The target group consists of students nearing the completion of their schooling, making career orientation a key focus.
Content-wise, it is crucial to provide age-appropriate opportunities for students to explore careers in the program region and understand the academic knowledge needed to pursue education and work in regional industries.
The main outcome of this sub-goal will be the development of didactic strategies, teaching concepts, and materials, which will be tested and refined through pilot projects.