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Inspiring STEM learning around the globe | SLA
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Students in a Science Class

Inspiring Integrated STEM Learning Across the Globe

In 2018, the STEM Leadership Alliance partnered with the Center for STEM Education in the Philippines to not only study how different cultures focus on STEM learning but to also collaborate and help advance STEM education globally. The importance of STEM education has rapidly grown over the last decade due to the changes in technology and the internet. Policy makers and researchers around the globe all agree on the importance of STEM education in order to produce the workforce needed for the future in order to inspire innovation and support economic growth

At The STEM Leadership Alliance 2021 Summit the leader of the Center for STEM Education and professor of Science Education for the University of the Philippines, Professor Sheryl Lyn Monterola joined us.

The Center of STEM Education was created to advance STEM Education for nation-building. To achieve their goals, the Center of STEM Education has focused on three major initiatives:

Teacher Upskilling

  1. Increasing teacher training – via webinars, conferences, and workshops on integration of stem in technical applications

  2. Developing partnerships with both private and public sectors to provide expert knowledge (we will learn more about their partnerships below) and

  3. Collaborate with the University for their innovation workshops. 

  4. Develop a partnership and collaborate with the STEM Leadership Alliance to form the first STEM Alliance Asia

Learning Empowerment

  1. Ex. During pandemic, developed psychosocial support for children by creating COVID19 Comics to distribute to students with the support of the board of education to help with distribution

  2. Produced “Lab in a Box” for families without resources during lockdown – these were stem modules including video tutorials, booklets and storybooks to allow students to work together on experiments while working from home during lockdown.  Each module was supported by the video tutorials and assist learning partners by including booklets and storybooks reaching 12M students

Teaching innovations

  1. Made use of available resources to reach students in more creative way –The Center for STEM Education participated in the production of different TV and Radio Programs that reached 7.1M junior and high school students

During our 2021 conference The Center of STEM Education invited some of their partners to join and further discuss their roles in helping to advancing STEM Education in Asia. Dr. Kessara Amornvuthivorn, Program Director for SEAMEO.  Southeast Asia Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) is the highest policymaking body which advocates and supports evidence based policy and practice to promote and implement integrated STEM education.  They are comprised of 26 regional centers representing the 11 Southeast Asian countries  Each year, SEAMEO holds an annual summit to discusses student achievements and ways to improve science and math performance of students. To hear more about their summit discussions and how they are advancing STEM, please CLICK HERE

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Dr Linartes Viloria, National Project Coordinator for the Women in STEM Workforce Readiness Program of International Labor Organization supported by JP Morgan.  Their focus is on inspiring more women toward STEM training and STEM related careers.  To hear about how they are working towards their efforts, their challenges and successes please CLICK HERE

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Dr. Sumida Professor of Science Education at the Ehime University, Director General of Japan Society for Science Education, and a representative for Asia’s International Council for Science Education provided insight on the culture in Japan.  Dr. Sumida area of expertise includes education for the gifted and the culture studies for science education.  He has done extensive research in STEM education in Japan and included the history and evolution of science from a hunting society to an agriculture society, industrial society, information society, but a big shift was during the “Imagination society” which combined digital transformation with imagination and creativity  inspiring problem solvers to create new ideas.  As of March 2021, the Japanese Business federation announced the 6th society of “Science and Technology Innovations” which promotes the arts in STEAM.   Dr. Sumida provided examples of activities done at schools by young children using real life examples and talked about their Super Science High Schools which focused on science education and how its evolving today.  To hear more about Dr. Sumida’s presentation, please CLICK HERE

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Lastly, Professor Yong Zubairi, Professor of Statistics and Director at the International Relations Office at the University of Malaya, has done her research studies in statistics and has discussed the challenges and what developed initiatives were made through the ministry to move forward STEM education which includes providing training STEM teachers and prioritizing technology proficiency which is one of the life skills needed.  To learn more about Dr. Zubairi’s research please CLICK HERE

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