Manila, Philippines – Department of Science and Technology Science Education Institute conducted its 1st Project STAR International Conference with the theme “Perspectives in Science and Mathematics Education: Building Connections, Sustaining Innovations and Sharing Pedagogies”. Included in the 3-day conference are various workshops on different pedagogies where Associate Professor Auijit Pattanajak of the Khon Kaen University Thailand and the dean of the College of Education, Mindanao State University – Iligan Institute of Technology, Dr. Amelia T. Buan, jointly conducted a workshop on Open-Approach in teaching Mathematics held at the Philippine International Convention Center. It was attended by DepEd teachers, administrators and TEI representatives from all over the Philippines.
The workshop was composed of two parts, namely, experiencing the open-approach and sharing of the KKU-Thailand’s experience of the open-approach in their locality. On the first part, Assoc. Prof. Auijit delivered a Grade 4 activity on triangles where the participants acting also as students “openly” constructed triangles and observed patterns among them. Participants then shared their experience of the activity and their understanding of the concepts while Auijit processed their understanding by allowing the participants to differentiate and compare student ideas. The key part of open-approach is that “there is no right or wrong answers, …but students [build] from their experience about mathematical structures” Auijit said.
Auijit then shared the Thai’s experience of changing the conventional way of teaching Mathematics in Thailand through the context of Lesson Study and Open-Approach among their local teachers. Auijit stressed that there is a change in teacher’s role from being a teacher/lecturer to that of a researcher. As a researcher, the teacher observed in depth the process of student learning and reasoning. This way, students are able to think for themselves and solve their own problem.
The process of the Lesson study exemplifies the need for a team of teachers to support one another and to think and design for an open activity to implement in the classroom. This lesson designing, Auijit said, is the “[true] work of the professional teacher” not the lecturing. She proposes that Lesson Study and Open-Approach be used as research frameworks to research on local teaching practices for the improvement of Mathematics teaching.
The workshop ended with a dynamic forum led by Dr. Amelia T. Buan, where the participants clarified the distinction of the Open-approach from existing approaches. A few of the participants even stayed longer expressing their excitement with the visiting professor to adapt the said approach in their teaching practice. Commenting on the importance and success of the workshop, Dr. Amelia Buan mentioned that this is a way of making MSU-IIT known through its linkages not only in its region but also in the whole Philippines.
This activity is part of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) month celebration.
August 7, 2019, Wednesday — Miriam College with its partner HEIs conducted a 3-day interactive workshop program with the theme: Equipping Business Administration Faculty with 21st Century Pedagogical Skills and Competencies in Teaching Creativity and Innovation at HRM Lab Mindanao State University – Iligan Institute of Technology.
The workshop focuses on 21st century skills of creativity and innovation, which are encouraged to be applied in the classroom to help learners thrive in today’s world. As the learners in our schools nowadays are more exposed to information and equipped with so much technological changes.
Ms. Shiela Dingcong, one of the facilitators, expresses the importance of creativity specifically in Business Education with regards to innovative teaching. As she said “we need to come up with better ideas and learn the art of generating in order for our learners to be entertained…”. Challenging traditional teaching and engage innovation and creativity for it is an individual activity. It is about having ideas in new and different ways to come up with innovative solutions.
Four hats of creativity: Explorer, Artists, Judge, and Warrior
You have to put your knowledge into something creative. Dr. Dingcong emphasizes that educators should connect with minds, other greats, rebels and environment. To encourage creativity, at times we have to disconnect with laws, existing forms, same ideas and self. As the saying goes, “Creativity is connecting and rearranging of knowledge in the minds of persons who allow themselves to think flexibly to generate new, often surprising ideas that other persons consider useful.”
Guiding your business educational ecosystem
Moreover, 21st century teaching includes understanding the context of business environment where institution live. It is important in structuring the business ecosystem to know who are the “actors” and players. Dr. Elaine Boquiren, emphasizes “coopetition” or cooperation and competition, which means evolving together as an ecosystem of education.
Different perspective, coming together of different ideas is the intersection of innovation
On Modern Pedagogy topic, Dr. Boquiren tackles its different methods; the crossover learning, learning through argumentation, context based learning, learning by doing, computational thinking; that aims to develop the skills and knowledge students need in real world.
It is the role of the facilitator to help the students to develop, to clarify their goals, to be innovate so they can face challenges and not dominate them, not just infuse learning but also educating the heart.
Furthermore, Sir Allan Paul Tang discusses the concept of design thinking – an idea of disconnecting oneself to understand others. He gave different challenges and activities to the participants such as making the perfect table from the perspective of the user and the inspiration behind it.
Overall, the best way to educate 21st century learners is to encapsulate them in a safe environment where thinking, creativity, and being innovative is embraced. Learners should used different areas of their mind and their creativity to innovate. As the world evolves, technology is also evolving. Robots can do and memorize millions of words and numbers, but the only thing it can’t do is to think creatively. We all have significant role in shaping the future. It depends on how creative and innovate you are. Whatever happens will have an impact to the society.
TO CONTINUE bridging the gap between creativity and technology, Fabrication Laboratory (FabLab) Mindanao will be conducting the EmbroiderMe, a training workshop on digital embroidery on July 24-26, 2019 for their beneficiaries from Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and the Department of Education.
The three-day training-workshop will be held at the FabLab Mindanao in the College of Engineering and Technology.
It is free for all businesses and entrepreneurs as Brother Embroidery Machines will be showcased during the event.
Digital embroidery allows the participants to convert their ideas or artwork to a stitch file which will be embroidered by a machine. It is a way of enhancing digital skills for the makers to explore the potential of their designs while learning how to operate a computerized sewing machine.
EmbroiderMe is one of the many initiatives of FabLab Mindanao in its pursuit to provide a stimulus for local entrepreneurship and to aid the makers in creating physical prototypes of their designs.
FabLab Mindanao strengthens its goal to #MakeAlmostAnything through its collaboration with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Region 10, DTI-Lanao del Norte, GIST Net Global Innovation through Science and Technology, Brother International Corporation through Kimura Chaves Enterprise, Inc., and ArrowHead Review Center who share the same vision in integrating digital awareness in the community.
EFFECTIVE pedagogy is seen in the outcome. With that as background, the Institute opens today (Wednesday, July 17) a seminar-workshop for its teachers that aims to upgrade their level of instructional competence.
The three-day Seminar-Workshop on Teaching Pedagogy for Higher Education Teachers that is held at the College of Education (CED) Amphitheater also targets newly-hired faculty members.
The activity, which is organized by the Office of the Director for Undergraduate Programs of the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, in partnership with the CED, is conducted to help the Institute sustain the implementation of the Outcome-Based Education or OBE.
The OBE is that paradigm shift in the education system that seeks to address the changing manner or method that students of today learn.
The seminar-workshop opens with a lecture on communication skills and personality development by Fulbright scholar and 2010 Metrobank Outstanding Teacher awardee, Dr. Mercelita Jandayan-Labial.
It also features lectures by CED faculty members that include topics on the 21st-century pedagogy for teaching and learning with technology; and principles of OBE curriculum mapping and the global teacher.
The activity will also revisit differentiated instruction and classroom management strategies for effective instruction, as well as assess the 21st-century classroom.
To assist the teachers in finding the right approach to effectively teach their social media and tech-savvy students, a lecture entitled, Understanding Generation Z Learners, by Prof. Imelu G. Mordeno is scheduled for the third day.
The seminar-workshop seeks to craft an OBE Syllabus by its conclusion on July 19.
Some faculty members in the MSU-IIT College of Education spearheaded the conduct of Technology for Teaching and Learning 1 (TTL1) on June 19-21, 2019 at the CEd Amphitheater and the ICT Laboratory rooms.
Dr. Lowell G. Lucero, the team leader, along with the other trained facilitators, Professors Osuardo A. Pabatang, Jr., Rovie Gretchel P. Bucad, and Juliet C. Tero, served as Resource Speakers. Dr. Amelia T. Buan and Ms. Kaycee Michelle A. Dapanas also delivered their talks on technology resources for implementation in the classrooms. Select faculty members in the college also served as facilitators and committee workers.
Nine (9) participants came from the MSU-IIT CED-IDS-IRDA; 1 from MSU-General Santos; 2 from MSU-LNAC; 2 from MSU-Maguindanao; 1 from MSU-Naawan; 5 from MSU-Marawi; 1 from St.Peter’s College, Iligan; 1 from Iligan Capitol College; and 1 from Sta. Monica Institute of Technology, Iligan, or a total of 23 persons.
Dr. Josefina M. Tabudlong, the College Dean, welcomed the participants to the 3-day activity during the opening program on Day 1. After this TTL1 Seminar-Workshop, a follow-up training on TTL2 will follow, which would be scheduled in later days, after the necessary preparations would have been made.
Said training is the required echo-seminar conducted by the faculty who attended the TTL1 training in the Bukidnon State University, Bukidnon last July 24-28, 2018.
