THE Ministry of Education and Youth is set to launch the second phase of its STEM in schools pilot project in the upcoming academic year. Preliminary data from the 1962 STEAM pilot project that was implemented last September indicate that at least 70 per cent of the participating schools have initiated four components of the curriculum with an estimated involvement of some 1,000 students to date.

According to Dr Francine Taylor Campbell, education officer in the Core Curriculum Unit of the ministry, the evaluation tool has yielded a positive response from students and teachers alike.

“I learnt that if you think everything you tried is a failure, there are many other ways to accomplish your goals and aspire to do much more,” one student remarked.

Another said, “I have learned that STEM isn’t just about science, technology, engineering and math but the ability to solve day-to-day problems, these problems being local, personal, or even global. In doing so, we will make the world a better place and make life more efficient and easier.”

A second pilot project, in collaboration with the British Council, began in February 2024 and will also be continued in September 2024. The pilot will be based on three main components — STEM camps (clubs), STEM projects and virtual STEM courses.

Dr Taylor Campbell says the projects are aligned to the National Standards Curriculum at the primary level through subject area resource & technology, while secondary level STEM courses are offered on the 21st Century Education online platform.

The STEM courses offered to students are aimed at helping in the development of 21st century and social and emotional learning skills while enhancing self-directed learning. Examples of targeted skills include design thinking, problem solving, STEM and technology literacy, financial and entrepreneurial literacy, self-management, social and self-awareness, adaptability and responsible decision making.

To date, the STEAM pilot through the British Council has engaged 16 schools and there are plans to expand to 40 secondary and between 40 and 50 primary schools in the new academic year. It provides for eight professional development sessions for teachers aimed at enabling STEM certification and the competencies acquired will be transferable to all areas of teaching.

In a STEM showcase held in November 2023, the 16 pilot schools displayed their progress in the STEM projects at the Scientific Research Council’s (SRC) Science in the Park event.

In the meantime, there is strong support from the private sector for the build-out of STEM in schools. Among the companies participating is Zed Technologies or Zed Jamaica Limited, which launched its inaugural robotics summer camp on June 19. Chairman of Zed Jamaica Carlton Grant said it’s something “that was brought to our attention by our schools and we feel that it’s something important that we needed to move forward with”.

Zed Technologies are the local proprietors of the international FACT SIS school information management system. It is used to digitise records and convert many of their processes to web-based, easily executable tasks. It allows the schools to generate student profile reports including transcripts and maintain accurate student files. Over 100 schools in Jamaica are already benefiting from the FACT SIS (formerly RenWeb school information system).

“We feel that for the education system to move forward in Jamaica we have to have the best. The issue these schools were having is that they don’t have the resources [nor] the trained teachers that’s part of it and they weren’t able to sustain their initial attempts at competing internationally, “ Grant added.

Joint sponsors with Zed Jamaica are Mars Business Solutions and UZAZI Foundation, both Canadian companies, which provided equipment valued at $3 million. Zebra Robotics Canada will be providing the training component of the camp which started July 10 and staggered over the course of the summer.

The three main objectives, according to the Zed Jamaica chairman, are to get the schools the equipment they need for robotics exploration and to achieve this outcome they have brought in equipment that will be donated to the schools that participate; to have at least two STEM certified and trained students and teachers in each participating school, enabling them to compete in local or international competitions; and to provide technological support along with learning material and curriculum guides.

The camp host sites are Jamaica College, St Hilda’s High, Hillel Academy, Irwin High, Munro College, and Bishop Gibson High, all of which accepted invitations and demonstrated the capacity of meeting the host school criteria. Each host site, however, provides the option for students from surrounding schools to participate. So far 100 students from 25 schools have benefited from the summer camp.

Similarly, Peruse Books is a local-based social enterprise helping students to access affordable STEM education resources. Apart from the sale and rental of new and used textbooks, Peruse Books provides study support, as well as STEM and digital literacy skills training.

Managing director of Peruse Books Sheryl Ann Thomas Scott says they provide educational resource materials in this area, particularly to low-income, rural families and children with disabilities to explore STEM subject areas.

“Peruse, with support from Digicel Foundation and Omni Systems, has sponsored seven teens to participate in the Zed Jamaica Robotics Summer Camp and Summer Camp Adventures with Technology and Education (SCATE), respectively, for immersive experiences in STEM education. This builds on their [teens] participation in the Peruse Unboxes workshop series hosted at Portmore HEART Academy in April 2024 where more than 60 students were introduced to website development using WordPress,” she explained.

Thomas-Scott added: “These students’ participation in these camps, including one from Lister Mair/Gilby High School for the Deaf, is an example of Peruse’s commitment to break barriers for all students who have limited access to STEM education in Jamaica so we can truly address our country’s socio-economic challenges with local talent and compete in the global labour market.”