Olbia. The acronym STEM – Science Technology, Engineering and Mathematics – is now used to indicate, in the pedagogical-didactic field, not only the technical-scientific disciplines in question, but also a truly interdisciplinary approach to learning, based on development of skills in creating connections between the notions rigorously learned from the study of these subjects and concrete reality, to be used in life.
ASTEC – AeroSpace Education Center – the association founded in 2020 by aerospace engineer Marilisa Pischedda with the mission of bringing citizens closer to aerospace and helping students develop their aptitudes, stimulating ambition to achieve adequate training in the disciplines involved in the aerospace sector with the ASTEC-lab training courses, aimed precisely at strengthening STEM, is also engaged in pedagogical dissemination aimed at families and teachers to provide useful educational advice in this direction with the monthly EDU-STEM column edited by Daniela Giannoccaro. The topics, addressed in depth but lightly, are disparate and in line with ASTEC’s mission, especially in terms of overcoming the gender gap. The column is present on the ASTEC blog (see here) and then for each episode a shortened version is also created for publication on social media.
Graduated in Educational Sciences, expert in Family Pedagogy and professional/corporate trainer, always curious about everything that can improve the life of every individual, Daniela is passionate about STEM skills as she believes them to be transversal for children’s learning and teenagers. The decision to collaborate with ASTEC came about because she believes in the project of disseminating STEM skills and she feels she can spread education for these skills, in order to offer new job opportunities to the new generations.
Dr. Giannoccaro explains: “Having been involved in education for over 20 years, I felt deeply that it was necessary to inform all our readers that stem skills, like many other lesser-known skills, need to be known. In order to know them we must inform and doing so through a dedicated column can certainly be a valid dissemination tool. I felt the need to make people understand, above all, that starting the education of stem skills from an early age can promote learning through play and bring out those talents which, if anything in old age, following false limiting beliefs, can on the contrary convince our boys and girls to believe that the world of stems is only for a few. Today we are abandoning the idea that there are games for girls and boys, this is the first step towards letting our children experience the whole world and then choose through their propensities and talents. In fact stem skills is a rapidly expanding sector and therefore it is worth, even through a column, to raise awareness of areas where also future work may be more attainable if anything pursuing their dreams”.
