The College of Education, with its distinction as a Center of Excellence for Teacher Education, aims to establish linkages and strengthen collaboration with international partner schools. Among its partner schools is Kasetsart University, a public research university and one of Thailand’s oldest universities. It is known internationally for academic excellence and the work of world standards. Amidst this Covid-19 pandemic, the College of Education invited a visiting professor, Dr. Sasithep Pitiporntapin, who is currently the head of the Department of Education, Faculty of Education at Kasetsart University. As a visiting professor, he will be sharing his expertise in Science Education, Socio-Scientific Issues, and other related topics through virtual lectures and a series of webinars.
Associate Professor Dr. Sasithep Pitiporntapin has a Ph.D. in Science Education and earned his Postdoctoral Training on Reimagining & Researching STEM Education at ReSTEM Institute, University of Missouri, Columbia, USA. He also had an International Research Internship at the Department of Curriculum and Pedagogy, University of British Columbia, Canada. His dedication as a teacher brought him recognition as a National Outstanding University Teacher Award, National Science Teacher Award, and Excellent Staff in Research and Innovation. In 2016, he received a Best Paper Certificate from the International Journal of Educational Science and Research (IJESR). His research passion made him both a Conference Proposal Reviewer and an Ad-hoc Journal Manuscript Reviewer and a recipient of various university research grants. Dr. Pitiporntapin also published numerous research and review articles and authored several books and E-books in Science and Math. Moreover, he was invited to various radio and TV programs and online workshops to share his expertise.
For a one-month duration as a visiting professor, he will be giving professional lectures to MSciEd and Ph.D. students as well as the faculty members of the College of Education via Zoom on the following topics:
September 11, 2020 Socio-Scientific Issues (SSI) and STEM Education Crash Course on Developing SSI-Based Instruction Lesson Plan (bit.ly/Sep11Session)
September 14, 2020 Design Thinking Crash Course on Developing Design Thinking Lesson Plan (bit.ly/Sep14Session)
September 21, 2020 Computational Thinking Crash Course on Computational Thinking Lesson Plan (bit.ly/Sep21Session)
October 1, 2020 Class Conceptualized of Proposals Research Collaboration Meeting (bit.ly/Oct1Session)
October 5, 2020 Publishing Research Paper in ISI and Scopus Journal Book Development: Thailand Experience (bit.ly/Oct5Session)
As part of this engagement, there will also be research consultations with Dr. Sasithep Pitiporntapin among the CED Graduate students and faculty members to gain future research insights. Hence, it is with great hope that this endeavor will form a big part of the College of Education’s continuing effort towards achieving excellent and world-class education.
The Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Extension (OVCRE) through the Gender and Development Resource Center (GADRC) and the College of Education (CED) organized a webinar session on the topic “Promoting STEM among Girls” last June 4, 2020.
The webinar speaker was Dr. Roberto Ramos, a Filipino physicist and educator who is currently an Associate Professor of Physics and Director of the Center for Undergraduate Research at the University of the Sciences (USciences) in Pennsylvania, USA. He is an advocate of “Women in STEM” himself and founded the “Physics Wonder Girls Camp” for middle school girls at the USciences in 2016.
Dr. Ramos spoke about gender issues in the Philippine educational system and shared possible mechanisms to address the said issues. He also talked about how girls learn and emphasized the vital role of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) teachers and educators in promoting and sustaining the interest of girls in science and mathematics. He pointed out that girls need positive reinforcement from the environment as studies have shown that success of girls in STEM fields is shaped largely by the support and encouragement they get from their parents at home and from their teachers in school.
Furthermore, he urged STEM teachers to maintain the excitement, interest and curiosity that children bring with them as they enter school. He said that teachers must provide a safe and nurturing environment for students, especially the girls in school, and shall practice the use of encouraging words or adjectives, allow girls to interact with scientists, and engage them in inquiry-based and authentic learning experiences. Teachers may also experiment on new techniques in teaching STEM that provide more learning opportunities for girls, he added.
Dr. Ramos concluded his talk by sharing his experiences in organizing the “Physics Wonder Girls Camp,” which aims to enhance middle girls’ interest in Physics through a series of engaging hands-on activities. His passion for promoting an equal representation of girls in STEM resonates through his words and actions and he is such an inspiration to the participants.
The webinar was held via Google Meet and was also streamed live on Facebook though the assistance of the Information and Communications Technology Center and MSU-IIT Center for e-Learning. The two-hour meeting was attended by at least 90 participants comprised of administrators, students, and STEM teachers teaching in the junior and senior high schools.
The webinar was also co-presented by the Department of Education Regional Office-10.
The College of Education will host the 3rd International Annual Meeting on STEM Education (I AM STEM 2020) on August 13-15, 2020. The I AM STEM is an annual convergence of scholars, experts, educators, teachers and students which aims to discuss the most pressing issues and trends in STEM education through research presentations.
As envisioned, this activity will also convene distinguished personalities in STEM Education to discuss about relevant initiatives especially those that involve students and communities of learning. Hence, it is an opportunity for students to connect, learn and create linkages with students from other universities in the Philippines and in Asia.
This conference will be jointly hosted by, the Mindanao State University–Iligan Institute of Technology, Philippines , Science Education Association of Thailand (SEAT), ASEAN Research Network for STEM education (ARN-STEM), Thailand Office of Basic Education Commission (OBEC), Khon Kaen University, Rajabhat Yala University, Thailand; Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Sekolah Tinggi Agama Islam Negeri (STAIN) Sorong, State University of Malang, Galuh University, Indonesia; and Thai Nguyen University of Education, Vietnam.
The College of Education has been given authority to hold a workshop for in-service Department of Education teachers from Region 10 at the college’s amphitheater on October 11-13.
The three-day workshop is for free, and will see CED faculty leading discussions and conduct activities regarding interdisciplinary contextualization for STEM education.
STEM is an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math.
STEM education is a program that centers on the teaching of the four subjects (science, technology, engineering, and math) in an interdisciplinary and practical method.
Its main idea is to teach the four in an integrated manner instead of as individually separate and distinct disciplines.
The resource persons for the workshop are CED faculty members Charity Mulig Cruz, Jun Karren Caparoso, Odyssa Natividad Molo, and Everlita Canalita.
