USF Fund to purchase Tablets for STEM Teachers to engage Auditory, Visual and Kinesthetic Learners

“The truth is there needs to be a shift in the way our young people perceive the STEM fields. We must begin to see it as a viable career path or a way of providing solutions to our many socio-economic problems,”

Former Science and Technology Minister, Dr. the Hon. Andrew Wheatley during the opening ceremony of the EXSEED workshop at the Excelsior Community College

Science Teacher may soon be getting their own Tablet to aid with Teaching STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).

In total they plan to spend some $5,234,800 (US$40,000) of USF (Universal Service Fund) to provide them to teachers as reported in the article “Gov’t to Spend Over $5.2 Million to Equip Teachers with Tablets”, published July 18, 2018 By Chad Bryan, The Jamaica Information Service.

So said former Science and Technology Minister, Dr. the Hon. Andrew Wheatley while addressing the opening ceremony of the EXSEED (Excellence in STEM Experimental Education) workshop at the Excelsior Community College in Kingston on Tuesday July 17 2018. It is being hosted by the JTA (Jamaica Teachers’ Association) in collaboration with the Loma Linda University based in California in the United States.

The five-day EXSEED workshop is being held under the theme ‘Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics: A New Pedagogical Approach’. During the workshop, over 100 tablets were provided to the participants.

The EXSEED workshop had hoped to achieve the following for teachers:

1.      Give them more tech gadgets to teach in the classroom

2.      Assist teachers with new skills to foster a love for STEM subjects among their students

The Ministry of Education, Youth and Information has established a STEM steering committee to provide oversight of the work of the STEM team. There is also a STEM technical committee that is driving the research and training component of the programme.

So how will Tablets assist teacher in teaching STEM to students??

Teacher and Tablets in the Classroom - Learning Environment for Auditory, Visual and Kinesthetic Learners

Clearly, a lot of work needs to be done to help teacher use tablets and properly integrate them into the teaching curriculum.

Getting Grade 1 to 9 to love STEM is a high priority for the Government. It will help them to develope their ability to perform project-based tasks in groups and solve problem that require critical thinking skills.

To this end, the STEM workshops aim to engage other types of learners aside from tactile or Read/Write learners as pointed out by newly appointed Chairman of the J-TEC (Jamaica Tertiary Education Commission), Dr. Dameon Black.

This as most classrooms environments are designed mainly for such traditional learners, with auditory, visual and kinesthetic or hands-on learners being left behind. By making the classroom environment more interactive, possibly with the use of tablets in conjunction with smartboards and kinesthetic toys, teacher should be able to introduce more innovate and interactive lessons in their learning environment.

This should get children focused on learning as posited by JTA President-elect, Dr. Garth Anderson, quote: “Your interactions over the few days will influence the way you think about teaching and, ultimately, how you teach, as we seek to be on the cutting edge of technology in education for the future”.

Such a learning environment would also help teachers of TVET (technical and vocational education and training), which is coming on stream in September 2018 as noted in my blog article entitled “Why TVET for Jamaican High Schools by September 2018 as Skilled Workers demand Rising”. 

How Teacher can use Tablets - Practice with a mini-whiteboard while the Government sorts out the Bugs

On a more whimsical note, Teachers will have to practice the use of Tablets and how to integrate them into their lesson plans. But how does one practice using a Tablet?

I think I may have just the ideal way; with a mini whiteboard. I myself had a mini Whiteboard to be used in my classes come September 2018 when I start teaching Grade 12 and 13 at Calabar High School!!

My idea is just to use it to write on information using a whiteboard marker and then pass it around or hold it up to the class to show them quick snippets of information e.g. a diagram, a formula, a definition or a solved calculation.

It doesn't need a battery and albeit it may not be able to do animation or store data, you can still use a paper clip to pin your notes and lesson plan to the top, making it hold more data.

Still, I suspect it will be a lot easier for many teachers to afford and use than the electronic Tablets. Also, there is still the problem of how Teachers can load content on the Tablets and whether or not the Government will be providing Wi-Fi Internet in the Classrooms to enable them to use the Tablets effectively.

White listing will have to be used to lock out student who are not supposed to use the Wi-Fi on their phones.

I'll definately be using my mini whiteboard as practice on how to integrate tablets into my lessons so that when the real tablets arrive and the government sorts out all the bugs, I'll be able to use them effectively for the different Learners We Teach.