Based on the historical development of industry and society, as well as education, we can conclude that in the future we will see continuous progress and development. Accordingly, education should follow, because only in this way will people be able to live a quality life in the future. Given all the progress so far, the question arises what awaits us in the coming years or decades. This article focuses on the question of whether the society is ready for the changes that await, and whether contemporary devices (3D printers, laser cutting machines, etc.) and processing procedures are already included in education, especially in the field of STEM. In order to explore these issues, a short survey was carried out on a sample of 77 STEM teachers in Slovenia. Results show that Slovenian schools are not yet well enough prepared for contemporary technologies, and that these are not included in the lessons for various reasons. Therefore, a strategy (at different levels) should be developed and introduce certain changes, so that education can keep up with the pace of technological progress.
Keywords: contemporary technologies, STEM education, technological development, changes in education.
The study aims to explore whether there are significant differences in self-assessed creativity between pedagogical and non-pedagogical students, the potential connection between creativity and pedagogical or non-pedagogical study orientation, whether the pedagogical or non-pedagogical orientation of studies influences creativity, and additionally whether there are significant differences in self-assessed creativity between the genders, related to the results of creativity self-assessment. The results showed no statistically significant differences in creativity between students according to gender or according to whether they were pedagogical or non-pedagogical students. We can conclude that the expression of creativity is likely to be influenced by many other factors.
In 2017, the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics (FNM) of the University of Maribor entered the partnership of the project Innovative Learning Environments Supported by ICT - Innovative Pedagogy 1:1, led by the Institute Anton Martin Slomšek (ZAMS) and lasting from 2017 to 2022. Innovative Pedagogy 1:1 is a project focusing on the development of competences, which are “one of the fundamental prerequisites for lifelong learning and improved employability. One of the conditions for achieving this is the implementation of flexible forms of learning, which redefine the roles of all stakeholders involved: students, professionals and principals”. The basic focus is on developing digital competencies of students, pedagogical and non-pedagogical staff, and school principals. This research describes the ways in which the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, as an academic institution training pre-service teachers of Engineering and Technology, has supported project activities, how it participated in some of the project’s key working bodies, and what its contribution is.
Keywords: academic collaboration, community, innovative pedagogy, project work
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