On 9-11 August this
year, I joined a STELR STEM workshop which was held at SEAMEO RECSAM, Penang.
Since STEM education is actively progressing in Malaysia and has become more
important day by day, so I took the opportunity to join the workshop to improve
my teaching practice, especially in Science subject.
The workshop was
joined by (plus minus) 50 participants from all over Malaysia, including
teachers, lecturers, a headmaster, MRSM teachers and Petrosains staffs.
The workshop
activities were conducted by experienced and skillfully facilitators. They were:
Mr. Yuji Otsuka
(Japan)
Mr. Edi Syahputra
(Indonesia)
Ms. Nur Fitriana
(Indonesia)
Ms. Nurazien Hj. Yahya
(Brunei)
Ms. Suzanah Hj. Kurus
(Brunei)
The opening ceremony
of the workshop was launched by Dr. Nur Jayhan Ahmad, the Deputy Director of
R&D in SEAMEO RECSAM.
After that, Cikgu
Hailmi talked about STEM, its characteristics and also teaching and learning
strategies for STEM. Next, we had a simple and quick ice breaking session
handled by Cikgu Hailmi. Then we were divided into two groups for the rest of
the workshop activities.
Here are some of the
hands-on activities that we have done during the 3-days workshop:
1. Strongest Bridge
Competition
This was one of the
most interesting and enjoyable activity. We were given a bucket of newspapers,
scissor and cellophane tape only. We need to use our own creativity to create a
bridge model. Luckily, I’ve done this before with my students, so at least we
got the basic idea.
After the bridges have
been built, their strength was tested by using bricks.
final round: only the base of the bridge left..haha....
Surprisingly, my group
has won the competition even though our bridge lack of creativity and art.
Haha…..
2. Water Treatment
Process
I am sure teachers are
very familiar with this activity. It is usually done during the topic of ‘water
treatment process’ (Science KBSM form 2, chapter 5). Well, usually we will
discuss the basic concept with the students, discuss the layer, which should be
the first layer, which is the last, what type of substance should be used etc
etc……right?
Here, we are given
more variety of substances, including pebbles, stones, marbles, sand, tissue
and cotton wool. We need to decide for ourselves for how many layers do we want
and which substances to be used. We build 2 models, where one layer has become
the manipulative variable. Then, we compare which model can produce clearer
water.
From this activity,
the students will be more independent and creative, but can still focus on the
main purpose and concept. Teachers can make it as a project-based learning for students.
3. Climate Change
This activity is
related to global issues like global warming, ice melting and increasing rate
of carbon dioxide in air.
How is ice melting
affect South Pole and North Pole?
Since North Pole is
located on the ocean (Arctic Ocean), the icebergs are floating on the sea
surface. When they melt, the sea level does not much affect. (Concept of
matter: occupy space).
However, South Pole is
located on a continent (Antarctic). The ice sheet sits on the land surface with
approximately 9,000 ft (2,700 m) thick. So, when the ice melts, it will
increase the sea level.
After the
introduction, we did some activity to test the effect of increasing rate of
carbon dioxide to the surrounding temperature.
4. Natural Acid-Base
Indicator
Chemistry lover will
surely love this! We use purple cabbage to test acidity and basicity of a
substance, and then arrange all the substances according to their acidity
range.
How to prepare the
indicator?
Just submerge the
purple cabbage in the water overnight, and then use the water straight away. Or
you can also blend the cabbage with water.
5. Conductive &
Insulating Dough
Some students don’t
like electricity topic (including teachers, I am one of them..hehe…).
So, how can we make
the activity more interesting and encourage our students to build electrical
circuits in a more creative way? Use conductive dough and insulating dough.
Conductive dough is a
dough (commonly known as plasticine) which can conduct electricity, while the
insulating dough cannot. It is because of the ingredients, where the conductive dough uses acidic substance (lime / lemon) as one of the ingredients.
Preparation of
conductive dough was shown by our facilitators, while we prepared the insulating
dough which was much easier. After that, we create an electrical circuit by
shaping the dough into whatever shapes we like and connect it with colourful
LEDs.
the colourful ones are the conductive dough, while the plain coloured is the insulating dough
my group's product
Products from other groups:
We can also do this activity at home with our children. Making the dough ourselves make it less harm, less chemical and less cost.
6. Renewable Energy:
Solar & Wind
This slot was conducted
by Mr. Yuji Otsuka from Japan, a well-known country for their sustainable
development using renewable energy. The activities were experimental-based. We
did two experiments, one for solar energy and another one for wind energy. The
objectives of the experiments were to find out at what angle and position of
the solar panel and windmill that can produce highest energy.
if only my physics lecturer explained to me like this during my years in univ.
building a windmill
solar energy converted to sound energy
7. Project-based
Learning (PBL)
We did a project using
recycled car toys to form electrical energy from kinetic energy of water.
You
can see the details in the video HERE
To be honest, only
after I attend this workshop I can fully understand the differences between
problem-based learning and project-based learning. Both are called PBL, quite
similar but differ in some ways.
In problem-based
learning, students are more independent; they think of the problem / issue by
themselves and come up with suggestions / solutions for the issue.
In project-based
learning, they must create a product and the teacher can guide students along
the way. Refer to the diagram below:
source: http://www.cikguhailmi.com/
Closure
I am so grateful for
taking the opportunity to attend this workshop. It was really worth taking 3
days off from school and to travel all the way from Sibu-KL-Penang. The
experience was really great and I learnt a lot about STEM approach. It’s not
enough just by attending common 3-hours course where we just sit and listen.
Teachers need more hands-on workshop like this.
All the activities
during the workshop were carefully prepared by our dearest facilitators based
on the module from ATSE (Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering).
Some of the activities were altered to make it simpler and easy to handle with
minimal cost.
I share the activities
here so that the other teachers who didn’t get to attend the workshop can also
get the benefit from it. But all the credits go to ATSE, SEAMEO, RECSAM, all
the facilitators and the participants. And of course, getting the idea through
reading cannot be the same with first-hand experience. So, if you are
interested to attend a workshop like this, like and follow SEAMEO RECSAM (Malaysia)
on their official FB page.
Lastly, I would like
to express my gratitude once again to RECSAM Penang for organizing this
wonderful workshop, to Dr. Nur Jayhan, the kind-hearted secretariat Ms. Tiana
and all the great facilitators. Just like what I said during the reflection
slot, from scale 1-10, I give 11 for my overall experience.
Last but not least, to
all my group members specifically and all the participants generally. It was
great knowing all of you guys.
my awesome group members: anita, shima, kak faridah & kak siti baizura
Thank you. Until we
meet again………..
*Notes*
* STELR: Science and
Technology Education Leveraging Relevance
* STEM: Science,
Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
* SEAMEO: Southeast
Asian Ministers of Education Organization
* RECSAM: Regional
Centre for Education in Science and Mathematics
External links &
references:
Project: The GreenWall
