LOMA Linda University in California will again be hosting five Jamaican teachers as part of is Excellence in Science Experiential Education (ExSEED) exchange programme this summer.

Neither the Jamaica Diaspora Education Taskforce nor the Jamaica Teachers’ Association was on Friday prepared to say from which schools this year’s participants will be fielded, but said “plans are in high gear” and that all five places at Loma Linda have been confirmed.

“Five more teachers will benefit from the collaboration of the Diaspora Education Task Force and Jamaica Teachers’ Association in 2015 and will travel to Los Angeles to take part in a one-week STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) training to help teachers in the methodology of using tablets to teach science in the classrooms of Jamaica. This is a continuation of outcomes from the 2014 education summit and from recommendations derived from the 2013 Diaspora Conference,” Diaspora Advisory Board Member for the West/Mid-West USA Leo Gilling said.

According to information from the diaspora education taskforce, ExSEED is an innovative and collaborative programme designed to enhance integrated STEM education in Adventist K-12 schools. The goal of ExSEED is to collaboratively support and empower K-12 educators in teaching the STEM disciplines.

The taskforce further explained that the idea is that the participating teachers return to Jamaica and apply a customised version of the programme to their schools’ learning environment, essentially customising the programme for Jamaica.

“Plans are in high gear for the next batch of teachers to head to Loma Linda again in August. In fact, a true exchange will take place during the JTA’s Education Week in May this year when Loma Linda academics, led by our own Dr Hansel Fletcher, will be in Jamaica observing and participating in the activities,” Gilling said.

“More teachers will benefit from their involvement as it sets up a perfect partnership for future growth,” he added.

“…We were seeking out opportunities for our teachers in Jamaica to advance their personal and professional competencies. And Loma Linda has an ExSEED programme which focuses on science education. We have a deficit in science education in Jamaica, and so it was a perfect match,” immediate past president of the JTA, Dr Mark Nicely, said of the partnership, last year.

The teachers who participated last year were from Calabar, William Knibb, Porus, Jonathan Grant and Ardenne high schools.