This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication (communication) re�ects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.[Project number: 527471-LLP-2012-CY-COMENIUS-CMP]

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Science Fiction in Education

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University of Piteşti (UPIT) www.upit.ro

County Meath VEC (CMVEC) www.meathvec.ie

Public Library in Ursus District of the City of Warsaw (BPURSUS) www.bpursus.waw.pl

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Agenzia per lo Sviluppo Empolese Valdelsa (ASEV) www.asev.it

The SciFiEd project aims to:

Increase pupils’ motivation and achievement in science and other subjects, through the introduction of Science Fiction in education.

Enhance the quality of teaching Science and Technology, as well as an array of other subjects to children aged 9-15 and higher.

Connect science education with real-life issues such as the environment.

Provide girls and other marginalised groups with better access to science education.

• Contribute to the improvement of initial teacher education and in-service professional development of science teachers and to the exchange of innovative teaching practices.

Project Overview Innovation Objectives

Research findings in the area of science education show a number of issues that raise concern: (i) negative attitudes, low self-efficacy, and declining interest about science and relevant subjects; (ii) low achievement in international surveys on science literacy in numerous EU coun-tries; (iii) inadequate and stereotypical conceptions about science and scien-tists; (iv) gender, race, and socio-eco-nomic status differences.

The Science Fiction in Education (SciFiEd) project focuses on improving all of the above-mentioned areas, by providing teachers with tools, training, and guidance that will assist them in enhancing their teaching, making science more attractive to students, connecting it with real-life issues such as the environment, and providing girls and other marginalised groups with access to science. The central project idea is to achieve this by incorporating Science Fiction narratives in science teaching, as research has shown that the introduction of narrative in science education significantly increases students’ memory, interest, and understanding.

Science Fiction has the potential to engage students in subjects from Physics, Math, and Biology, to Computer Science and Engineering. In addition, it has the potential to stimulate students’ thinking about important issues, ideas, and questions that are usually encountered in Literature, Language, Philosophy, History, Civic, Environmental, and Multicultural Education. SciFiEd is the first project of its kind to tap on the full potential of this exciting genre. The project’s innovation lies exactly in the interdisciplinary/ cross-curricular approach it proposes for infusing lessons across the curriculum with the power of a good Science Fiction story, and attracting students’ interest in science, technology, and an entire spectrum of other fields of knowledge.

The general objective of the SciFiEd project is to create and disseminate a “SciFi in Education Toolkit”, which will strive to convince, guide, and support educators in introducing Science Fiction in education, gather and develop experience and knowhow in this field, organise it into solid and accessible bits of information, and make it available to stakeholders