MOE moves on STEM

[Don1]

...But what's in the curriculum???? Is it appropriate??? Are instructors trained???? Are schools properly resourced???? Is there any industry certification to readily enable employment???? Any competition to drive student interest?????
STEM curriculum to roll out in schools next year
Friday, November 20, 2015

THE incorporation of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) methodologies in the curriculum of schools will be rolled out in the 2016 academic year.

The subjects will be taught to students at the grades one to nine levels in primary and secondary institutions. Some 50 schools are expected to adopt this new curriculum.

"We are changing the curriculum with a greater emphasis on STEM methodologies with more activity-based, problem-solving and real world issues," said STEM Coordinator in the Ministry of Education, Senator Wentworth Skeffrey.

[Gamma]

They will begin by using the existing structures at the Grace and Staff centre

[Don1]

So they have a model...

...Fuss mi ah hear dat. This is good since the Grace program has deep roots and a solid track record. We made contact with them a few years ago re collaboration on robotics...They had no conception at the time re what it was about nor its huge upside. They took our advice seriously

To get the full hundred on STEM for national development we need 3 things:

* Connection to a foreign STEM ecosystem for guidance in best practices & evolving trends
* A big and attractive school vs school competitive element to drive student & community interest
* A path to internationally recognized industry certification i.e. Microsoft Tech Associate etc

But the Grace model is acceptable...for starters. Let's see if the vision goes beyond that

Grace, USAID Establish New Centre For Learning

Published:Monday | December 1, 2014


Malik Pusey (seated), a Kingston College student and Grace and Staff beneficiary, shows off the new equipment at the GraceKennedy Parade Gardens STEM Centre, while USAID Mission Director Elizabeth Lee Martinez (left) and Denise Herbol, US Embassy chargé d'affaires, look on. - Contributed Photo

In addition to its five homework centres, GraceKennedy, through its Grace and Staff Community Development Foundation, has now established a state-of-the-art science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) centre to serve the young people within its programme.

The centre, located on Water Lane in Parade Gardens, was made possible through a memorandum of understanding signed in October 2011 between the foundation and the United States Agency for International Aid (USAID).

USAID provided Grace and Staff with just over US$440,000 to be used to expand the operations and offerings not only of the Grace and Staff homework centres, but other areas, including skills training and workforce development.

The centre, established at a cost of J$18 million, will prepare students for Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate and Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examinations and STEM careers through the introduction to new technologies (for example, robotics) in an environment conducive for studying and research.

The 2,000-plus-square-foot centre boasts a computer lab for animation, an electronics lab for robotics, a 3D printing and design facility, a study/ homework prep area, a multi-subject lab for physics, chemistry and biology, and a lab prep room.