Nghe An promotes STEM education in schools

Speaking at the opening of the workshop, Prof. Dr. Thai Van Thanh - Member of the Provincial Party Executive Committee, Director of the Department of Education and Training affirmed the role of STEM education in schools, especially in the context of the whole industry implementing the 2018 General Education Program.

This is also the premise to prepare high-quality human resources for the country in the future, in which the main task of the education sector is to prepare a digital human resource to meet the requirements of digital transformation, integration, and the 4.0 industrial revolution.

ManagerDepartment of Education and TrainingThai Van Thanh also said: STEM teaching and learning has been implemented in many localities across the country. In Nghe An, the department has set a goal of bringing the STEM Education Program to students at all levels of education. Thereby, students, right from preschool or primary school, will participate in experiential activities to apply the content and knowledge of science, technology, engineering and mathematics to real life. From this important premise, they will be able to cultivate critical thinking, problem-solving skills and become more profound in their approach to solving global problems.

Previously, on December 18, 2020, the People's Committee of Nghe An province issued Decision No. 4635 approving organizations and individuals to preside over the project "Supporting the development of a model for applying STEM education programs in schools in Nghe An province". The goal of the project is to successfully build a model for applying STEM education programs in schools, contributing to the implementation of educational goals in the educational program; developing skills to apply knowledge into practice for students in Nghe An province.

The project is currently being piloted in 12 schools from kindergarten to high school. The project has built a STEM education program framework for all 4 levels with full information: objectives, requirements to achieve capacity and quality, output standards, content and time allocation... suitable to the practical conditions of schools in Nghe An province.

At the workshop, delegates also pointed out some difficulties in implementing the STEM education program in schools, such as the lack of a STEM education program framework for all levels of education to be implemented uniformly throughout the province; lack of STEM education materials and STEM education guidance materials; no unified STEM education model for all levels of education; teachers and education managers at all levels of education have not been trained or transferred STEM education technology, so understanding and awareness of this issue are still limited.

Besides, the implementation of STEM education is still spontaneous, teachers are still confused, there is no consistency in both program content and implementation methods, STEM education in the whole province is not effective, and there is a lack of control from management agencies.

Through the practical implementation process, at this workshop, delegates shared about the application of STEM in schools, implementation experiences and recommendations and proposals to make the implementation of STEM education in schools effective and replicable throughout the industry.

After this workshop, the Department of Education and Training will continue to perfect the program framework, creating a legal corridor for mass implementation throughout the province, contributing to improving the effectiveness of management and quality.STEM education.

In addition, continue to complete STEM education documents and guidelines for organizing STEM education activities for 4 levels of education to become an official source of learning materials for teachers of schools across the province to refer to in the process of developing lectures and implementing STEM education activities at units.