Highly Interactive Guidance Helpful For Leadership In Educationally Relevant Skills

The ERASMUS+ HIGH-FLIERS project is an educational project focused on issues of initial education and professional development of teachers in the STEM field. In addition to teachers, the project is also aimed at professional development of staff in higher education institutions and experts involved in extracurricular programs and activities (eg those who work in museums, science centers, clubs). Within the project: (i) A teacher training program was designed, which has 4 modules; (ii) 4 modules contained within the Program were piloted in Estonia, Finland, Portugal and Croatia; (iii) an online Operational Manual for the use of the High Fliers program was prepared; (iv) 3-minute videos were made to present the Program; (v) a series of public events, such as seminars, gatherings, lectures, were held. The Erasmus+ High-Fliers consortium consists of 3 universities (University of Tartu, Estonia; University of Eastern Finland, Finland; University of Lisbon, Portugal) and the Institute (Croatia). The long-term consequences of the implementation of the High-Fliers program will be visible through the implementation at all levels of tertiary teacher education, as well as in the form of lifelong learning and teacher training programs. Then, in the improvement of national systems for the development of professional teacher careers in the STEM field and increasing the visibility of STEM teacher education in Europe, which will also contribute to greater mobility of STEM students between partner universities. Important changes are expected in STEM teaching practices, as a result of the new High fliers training program, which should lead to increased interest in STEM teacher careers, thereby responding to the existing shortage of STEM teaching staff. In the long term, the project at the level of educational policies leads to the improvement of the system of professional development of STEM teachers and the creation of strong research networks between different stakeholders at the international level. Members of Pilar’s project team: Josip Burušić, Marija Šakić Velić, Maja Ribar and Mirela Crljen.