The fifth in the series of Caribbean Science Foundation (CSF) and Caribbean Academy of Sciences (CAS) STEM training workshops for primary school teachers was hosted in Barbados, November 23-25, 2015. The sessions were held at the 3W’s Pavilion on the UWI-Cave Hill Campus. This workshop was made possible by grant funding from the Embassy of the United States of America to Barbados, the Eastern Caribbean and the OECS, as well as with sponsorship from the Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation of Barbados.
During the official opening ceremony, remarks were delivered by Prof. Winston Mellowes – Secretary of CAS and Professor Emeritus, UWI St. Augustine, Prof. Cardinal Warde – Interim Executive Director of the CSF and Professor of Electrical Engineering at MIT, Prof. Eudine Barriteau – Prinicpal of the UWI, Cave Hill, Ms. Amanda Martinez – Information Resource Center Coordinator at the US Embassy to Barbados, the Eastern Caribbean and the OECS, and Senator Harcourt Husbands – Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Science Technology and Innovation, Barbados. All the speakers noted the importance of STEM education, its relevance in today’s changing society, the importance of a collaborative approach to its delivery and applauded the efforts of the CSF and CAS.
The 43 teachers who participated were drawn from Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, Grenada, Dominica, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. They were selected by their respective ministries of education. Over the three days of the workshop they interacted with their peers and the facilitators, were exposed to techniques to aid them in the delivery of science education, learned how to teach hands-on science using low-cost and readily available materials and were introduced to the UNESCO-approved micro-science kits. These kits consists of essentially miniaturized laboratory apparatus and materials. At the end of the workshop, each teacher received one kit as a gift to their school.
The training was delivered by facilitators: Professor Winston Mellowes – Professor Emeritus, UWI St. Augustine, Ms. Petal Jetoo – National Science Coordinator Ministry of Education Guyana, Dr. Bhuall Nand Kumar – Professor, Columbia University and chief facilitator Dr. Rowena Kalloo – UWI St. Augustine.
For more information please visit the Stem Teacher Training Workshops