RISE in the Philippines and in Guyana

In May, we had our yearly trip to the Philippines where Dr. Mayrose Salvador, Prof. Tihana Mirkovic, Prof. Scott Browning, Quincy Poon, Grace Jacobs and Soo Min Lee joined local volunteers (Luce Vida Sayson, Riza Magbitang, Marty Mateo, Rhenish Simon, Jade Nazareno, Mark Steven Santiago, Kenee Custodio, Vera Sastine and Victor Teope) to deliver 4 teacher training programs in the Philippines. These programs were organized in collaboration with the local government unit of Vintar in Ilocos Norte, Ateneo de Davao in Davao, and the Department of Science and Technology and Holy Trinity University in Palawan. We reached over 400 teachers. Considering that those teachers will teach on average 60 kids every year for more than 10 years, this represents upwards of 240,000 kids who will benefit from hands-on activities in their classrooms. By encouraging the kids’ learning, we hope this eventually leads to successful and rewarding careers.

In June, we went to deliver 2 teacher training programs in Guyana in collaboration with the Science Unit of the National Center for Educational Resource Development (NCERD), and supported by the St. Stanislaus College Board of Governors. The 4th Pueblo Science workshop was held at the New Amsterdam Secondary School (Region 6) and at the Watooka Complex (Region 10) from June 17–24, 2019. The Pueblo team worked alongside the local coordinating team in Guyana to prepare the 2019 version of the Pueblo Science manual which included activities linked to the Caribbean Secondary Education curricula for the sciences. In addition to the curriculum linkages, the materials required for each experiment, an explanation of the theory of the experiment with discussion and diagrams that guide the setting up of the experiments, are also included in the manual. These activities are fun-filled, hands-on science activities utilizing low cost readily available materials to initiate interest in STEM. The manual also models the inquiry-based science education approach through this 5 E (Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate) instructional design model.