Summary

After finishing high school, students often lack sufficient mathematical, science and digital skills, and students’, teachers’ and parents’ perceptions of mathematics, the importance of mathematics and its role in everyday life are often wrong. On the other hand, there is research showing that employers expect much more mathematical knowledge from their employees than traditional computational skills that were once sufficient in routine jobs. Many jobs, as well as everyday situations, require knowledge, analysis, and interpretation of many mathematical concepts, an interdisciplinary approach, but also the use of information-communication technology.
An interdisciplinary approach to teaching is best suited to real-life situations as it connects different areas, it also enables a better understanding and applying of those areas and it develops critical and analytical thinking. An interdisciplinary approach to teaching is still rarely applied in educational systems, although it is an indispensable part of educational strategies in all partner countries and at all levels. Similarly, the application of digital technology in the educational process is also part of educational policies and strategies but it is still under-represented at all levels of education.
All of the above indicates a need for a greater representation of the interdisciplinary approach in mathematics teaching with the significant use of ICT tools.
This project brings together a consortium of partners from four countries and includes institutions that are participants in the education system with different roles. The consortium includes primary schools, higher education institutions that educate future teachers, future teachers of mathematics and other subjects, and an association with extensive experience in the field of extra-curricular youth education, with a focus on ICT. Project associates are experts in various fields, such as mathematics and applied mathematics, mathematics teaching, popularization of science, informatics, chemistry, geography, and all these areas will be represented in the design and implementation of project activities.
In the first phase of the project, an examination of the attitudes of students, teachers, and parents on mathematics and teaching of mathematics will be designed and conducted. This will be the basis for topics of activities that will be designed in the project, as well as innovative methods of implementation of the activities.
The activities planned to develop within the project introduce innovative methods of teaching mathematics to lower elementary school students, which, in addition to teaching mathematics, develop critical and analytical thinking, creativity and autonomy of students, digital literacy.
In collaboration with several experts in different fields of science, scientists with experience in science popularization and experts in education, activities based on an interdisciplinary approach to mathematics teaching will be designed. The developed methods, activities, and materials will be for use in the school teaching process and in extracurricular activities. Although our primary goal is to contribute to the quality of mathematics education, the activities will also contribute to the improvement of students ‘reading literacy, students’ science literacy and will increase interest in STEM. Some activities will contribute to the development of a democratic society by educating young people for active participation in the community and for reflecting critically on their environment.
Within the project, at least 10 interdisciplinary activities for each of the first four grades of primary school will be designed and each activity will be performed with school students. For each activity, we will write a scenario. The scenarios are primarily intended for schoolteachers and provide detailed instructions for the preparation and implementation of activities. The scenarios will be published in an open and online accessible course within the moodle-based learning management system.
Except for the need to design innovative ways of working with students as a response to the challenges posed by modern technology and lifestyles, there is also a need to educate teachers and to develop new curricula for future teacher education programs. The project also envisages activities aimed at educating teachers and future teachers in order to prepare them for the challenges posed by modern society. The designed online course will also serve as self-training for teachers and future teachers on how to design and implement interdisciplinary activities in the classroom and will include interactive materials for working with ICT tools that can be used in designing and implementing activities with students.