Science on Stage Europe, a well-known organisation for the promotion and improvement of STEM education, has opened a branch in Serbia. We’re particularly proud of the fact that one of the people who contributed to this the most is Primary School Savremena’s teacher – Saša Ivakić.

This honour entails the exclusive possibility to organise Science on Stage teacher training for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Maths) subjects in Serbia, and provides our students with an even larger base of knowledge, resources and interesting experiments in these fields.

Savremena’s teacher, Saša Ivakić, together with his colleagues from the Institute for Contemporary Education and the most renowned STEM teachers in Serbia, is part of a team which represents Serbia in the prestigious education network internationally.

Through joint effort, they will share the innovative teaching practices with students and teachers all around Serbia, and implement STEM activities on a national level. This includes not only the education of our students or workshops with children, but also the organization of a national biennial Science on Stage festival and the selection of our representatives for the international festival.

NUMEROUS RESOURCES AVAILABLE TO STUDENTS AND TEACHERS THROUGH SCIENCE ON STAGE SERBIA

SoS mainly focuses on the exchange of the best teaching practices and the development of STEM teachers, but also on the students’ development through quality teaching practices. This platform now enables teachers in Serbia to share teaching concepts and experiences with their European colleagues. In addition, it keeps them up to date with research, accomplishments and trends in their respective and related fields, and provides them with ideas and inspiration to enhance their teaching process and make it more interesting for students.

Science on Stage organises different events and teacher meetings at the national and international level, including: festivals, workshops, scholarships for professional development abroad, training and courses, as well as regular meetings with representatives from all countries. All this is now available to teachers and students in Serbia.

FESTIVALS – AN OPPORTUNITY TO COMPETE WITH PEERS FROM AROUND EUROPE

The Institute will organize the first Science on Stage festival in Serbia, where teachers and students from all over Serbia will present their STEM experiments and projects. Savremena’s students will be able to follow the experiments and the events at the festival, which will allow them to obtain much useful and interesting information in different scientific fields.

In addition, a Science on Stage Serbia committee comprising Saša and his colleagues will select the best festival projects and a team which will represent Serbia at the next European Science on Stage festival to be held 24 through 27 March 2022 in Prague.

The festivals present today’s best and most interesting experiments in different STEM areas, and allow teachers to share contacts, experiences, information and good practices. Upon returning to their respective countries, team representatives can share numerous skills with their colleagues.

WHY IS STEM EDUCATION IMPORTANT FOR STUDENTS?

STEM education is based on the idea that students gain interdisciplinary skills in four areas: science, technology, engineering and mathematics. So, the point is not to teach these areas separately, but to integrate them through STEM into a unique program whereby students gain knowledge in different subjects through multiple linked projects.

This approach to learning and knowledge transfer not only contributes significantly to the acquisition and application of long-term knowledge, but it also develops the students’ critical thinking skills, their creativity, innovation, problem solving and other skills. The application of STEM principles enables teachers at all education levels to design interesting, interactive and practical classes which improve the students’ attentiveness and performance, a result all teachers strive for.

Thanks to Science on Stage Serbia, teachers in Serbia now have at their disposal the materials, research results, contacts and the opportunity to meet colleagues from the country and the rest of Europe and share with them STEM education experiences. On the other hand, the students have the opportunity to learn in accordance with advanced STEM principles and explore four important scientific fields through an interdisciplinary approach.