The Challenge Addressed
Traditional education systems often struggle to integrate key competences—including STEM, digital, civic and entrepreneurial competences—into school curricula in a coherent and systematic way. Educators may also lack the methodological resources, professional support and practical guidance needed to implement STEM education and competence-based learning effectively.
The practice responds to these challenges by providing educators with a holistic STEM Educator Support Ecosystem that makes integrated learning more accessible, practical and easier to implement. It follows a “take and do” principle, offering educators ready-to-use methodological approaches, learning resources and support mechanisms that can be adapted to their educational contexts.
The Ecosystem is particularly relevant to the implementation of STEM education in emergency and hybrid learning conditions in Ukraine, where flexibility, continuity and accessible support are essential.
Why the Practice is Innovative
The innovation lies in the development of a comprehensive, three-level STEM Educator Support Ecosystem designed to support the successful and scalable implementation of integrated learning and STEM education.
The Ecosystem consists of three interconnected components:
Regulatory Framework
The model curricula “STEM. Grades 5–6 and 7–9” (Buturlina O. et al., 2021/2024, as indicated in the source) provide the methodological foundation for STEM implementation in secondary education. The curricula are recommended by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine and support a structured and consistent approach to integrated learning.
Resources and Learning: Innovative Content
The practice includes the development of STEM learning content for students and teachers, supported by professional development programmes created by professors from the Dnipro Academy of Continuing Education.
These programmes translate the theory of interdisciplinary integration into practical and actionable steps, helping educators implement STEM approaches in their everyday teaching.
The STEM content is available through the following resource:
https://www.calameo.com/read/00566723387d9ec969c77
Digital Mentoring
The “STEM on the Dnipro” website functions as a dynamic Resource Hub supporting hybrid learning, access to materials and the exchange of professional experience.
The associated social media presence, @STEM on the river Dnipro, facilitates ongoing communication and peer exchange. Through these digital mentoring mechanisms, individual professional knowledge is transformed into collective learning and shared expertise.
Type of Integration and Key Competences
The practice applies transdisciplinary integration, moving beyond the boundaries of individual subjects to address complex, authentic and socially relevant problems.
It integrates the following key competence areas:
- STEM competence: Developing the STEM knowledge and skills of students and teachers through interdisciplinary projects, research and problem-solving activities.
- Digital competence: Using digital tools to conduct STEM research and support adaptation to hybrid learning conditions, including programming, data science, machine learning and artificial intelligence.
- Citizenship competence: Applying a Community-STEM-PBL approach to investigate socially significant local challenges and develop action plans aimed at influencing the community. Examples include researching community resources and local economic drivers.
- Entrepreneurial competence: Assessing the economic efficiency of proposed solutions and developing strategies for their promotion and communication within the community.
This integrated approach enables learners to combine scientific inquiry, digital technologies, civic engagement and entrepreneurial thinking in response to real-world challenges.
Role of the Teacher/Trainer
The practice transforms the role of the teacher from a transmitter of knowledge into a designer of learning experiences and mentor.
Teachers create authentic problem situations and guide students through open-ended processes of research, experimentation and prototyping. Rather than providing predefined answers, they support learners in investigating problems, developing solutions and reflecting on the outcomes of their work.
The trainers involved in the Ecosystem act as agents of educational change, supporting the professional development of colleagues and promoting the wider adoption of STEM and competence-based approaches.
This mentoring and peer-support dimension is central to the Ecosystem’s capacity to achieve systemic impact and scale innovative practices across educational institutions.
Type of Learning Activities
The primary learning approach is Project-Based Learning (PBL), implemented through interdisciplinary and open-ended research projects.
Examples of projects include:
- “Millions Underfoot”
- “Thirst for Space”
- “Heroes of Positive Change”
- “Green Transition of the Blue Planet”
The learning activities draw on several complementary methodologies:
- Inquiry- and Investigation-Based Learning (IIBL), through which learners investigate questions and real-world problems;
- Engineering Design, supporting the development, testing and improvement of solutions;
- Collaborative Learning, encouraging teamwork, shared responsibility and peer exchange;
- Community-based STEM Project-Based Learning (C-STEM-PBL), connecting educational activities with local challenges and citizens’ needs.
Students engage in research, problem analysis, solution development and prototyping, allowing them to apply knowledge across different subject areas and connect learning with their immediate environment.
Impact of the Practice
The practice has an impact on students, teachers, communities and the wider education system.
Students
Students demonstrate increased motivation, critical thinking, STEM competence, teamwork and responsibility for their local environment. By engaging in authentic projects, they gain experience in identifying problems, investigating possible solutions and taking ownership of their learning.
Communities
Student-led STEM projects, developed in response to local contexts and citizens’ needs, can support public monitoring and dialogue with local authorities.
Through the C-STEM-PBL approach, educational institutions become spaces where learners investigate community challenges and contribute to discussions about possible responses and improvements.
Teachers
Teachers strengthen their professional qualifications and readiness to apply innovative, future-oriented approaches. The support provided by the Ecosystem helps educators move from theoretical understanding to practical implementation of interdisciplinary and STEM-based learning.
At a systemic level, the practice supports greater consistency in STEM content, professional collaboration and the integration of key competences into education.
Potential for Replication
The practice has already achieved substantial geographical and institutional reach. The developed programmes are used in 24 regions of Ukraine and cover more than 400 educational institutions.
The STEM curriculum supports the unity and consistency of learning content and is developed according to the principle of “low threshold, high ceiling, wide walls”. This principle enables learners with different levels of prior knowledge and ability to participate in the same learning experience while allowing opportunities for more advanced development.
The Ecosystem offers strong potential for replication because it combines:
- A structured methodological and curricular framework;
- Accessible and ready-to-use STEM resources;
- Professional development and mentoring;
- Digital platforms for knowledge sharing;
- Flexible approaches suitable for hybrid and emergency learning conditions;
- Community-based and interdisciplinary project methodologies.
By integrating these elements, the practice can help reduce educational gaps, strengthen educator capacity and support the scalable implementation of STEM and competence-based education in different institutional and regional contexts.
Innovator: Oksana Buturlina - Dnipro Acaremy of Continuing Education
