Teaching Geo Education Within the STEM Concept. A Case Study from Czechia

Abstract

Geo education, which includes classroom and out-of-classroom learning, aims to provide students with a holistic understanding of the Earth’s natural and human-made components and how they work and interact within local, regional, and global environments. Interactive teaching methods, mainly through hands-on field-based learning linked to guided experience, experiential learning and similar techniques, are becoming popular as an effective approach to non-formal education, increasing efficiency in acquiring complex content and improving human capital. In Czechia, non-formal education based on field-based and experiential learning is perceived as a strong learning strategy. It is an essential part of the curriculum in fields such as Geography, Biology and STEM education. The study is based on geo education. It aims to examine the impact of using the STEM concept (specifically its inter-disciplinary level) on education quality and the development of student competencies and geographical thinking during the geography fieldwork in the Novohradské Mountains (Czechia). geography, informatics, geo education, STEM, inter-disciplinary approach.