It is necessary for the nation to embrace Stem education in order to reach new heights.
IT is imperative that schools and educational institutions do their part to emphasise the importance of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (Stem) to meet the country’s educational objectives for future growth and development and to meet the nation’s 2020 vision.
Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman vice president (Internationalisation and Academic Development) Prof Dr Ewe Hong Tat
This is especially after Malaysia was ranked in the bottom third of 74 participating countries, in the Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) below the international and OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) average.
It is with this in mind that Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR ) is taking the initiative to promote and create awareness on the importance of Stem education among students and the community.
In the series of articles from UTAR, Part 1 and Part 2
(STEM Education for life, part 2) introduces Stem and why such education is necessary for the nation’s development and what the University is doing to promote it.
Engineering gains
During the turn of the century, the National Academy of Engineering of USA (http://
www.nae.edu/) did a detailed study and listed the top 20 engineering achievements of the 20th century (
www.greatachievements.org) that changed the world.
Of these the prominent ones were computers, aviation, the Internet,
air-conditioning and refrigeration, highways, health technologies, laser
and fibre optics, water supply and distribution; among many others.
Consumers used them daily without realising that these were the results
of engineering research and innovation that propelled the world forward.
Therefore, for a nation to continue to develop and grow, it is
important to promote and use Stem education as the foundation and
propeller of growth.
After all, it is through Stem education that design, discovery and
inventions that bring forth life-changing growth and development, have
been introduced.
In the 21st century, new innovations have emerged such as renewable
energy and resources, Internet of Things (IoT), advanced materials and
biotechnology which need new talents to continue to drive growth.
Without a strong foundation in Stem education, these talents will not be groomed to excel.
In the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013 – 2025 (Chapter 3),
Malaysia’s performance in the Trends in International Mathematics and
Science Study (Timss) Eighth Grade Mathematics and Science against other
countries over three cycles (1999, 2003, 2007), showed that in 2007,
there was a marked downturn in both Mathematics and Science scores. In
2003, Malaysia obtained 10th position out of 45 countries for
Mathematics and 20th position out of 45 countries for Science.
In 2007, Malaysia obtained 20th position out of 48 countries for
Mathematics and 21st position out of 48 countries for Science, thus
indicating a declining performance in students’ scores for both
subjects.
Malaysia participated in the Pisa assessment for the first time in
the Pisa 2009 + exercise and was ranked in the bottom third for Reading,
Mathematics and Science, well below the International and OECD average
in all the three areas, lower than Thailand.
Therefore, there is a great need to raise the interest and standards
in Stem among students, educationists and policy makers in our country
to ensure that we remain competitive and relevant in the world market in
future.
The National Science Foundation, a leading authority in scientific
research and funding in the United States, defines Stem in a broader
definition which includes subjects in the fields of engineering,
chemistry, computer and information technology science, geosciences,
life sciences, mathematical sciences, physics and astronomy, and social
sciences (which includes anthropology, economics, psychology and
sociology), Stem Education and learning research.
As indicated in the education blueprint, the case for increased
emphasis on Stem education would need several initiatives and steps to
be taken across schools in the country.
It is imperative that we need to develop strong fundamentals in Stem
starting from primary schools and to create and sustain interests in
this discipline.
For a start, it would be a good idea to allow a lot more experiments and hands-on projects in Stem subjects.
Experiential learning
If we want to promote a society with higher order thinking skills,
the exam-oriented paper and format-based school exams need to be
complemented with more practical and experiential learning.
Learning science subjects through a textbook is nothing compared to the trial and discovery methods of science experiments.
Through the process of experimenting, trials and discovery, students
think, analyse and deduce before coming to a solution; all these
thinking processes help to develop higher order thinking.
Students need to learn actively to seek creative solutions and applications and to be inquisitive to foster inventions.
The recent announcement by the Education Ministry to reintroduce
practical exams for the SPM science subjects of Physics, Chemistry,
Biology and Additional Science in 2015, is a move in the right
direction.
In addition, the media radio could play a bigger role in promoting Stem.
There could be more focus on Stem and related topics for
schoolchildren and even the community, if more films and documentaries
on Stem were shown, and how it is important for national growth.
Simple videos could be made on how our everyday resources of food,
water, air and energy require qualified engineers, agriculturists,
scientists and more to ensure quality, production, convenience and
sustainability for the future.
The influence of the internet is pervasive and with Wi-Fi and
broadband services increasingly available in many homes and public
places, more information can be made available and accessed online.
To promote interest in Stem, perhaps students could be guided towards self-directed learning after school.
Several educational websites support such learning. Massive Open
Online Courses (Mooc) are widely available through the web with
unlimited participation and many websites provide course materials such
as videos, readings and problem-solving papers, while others have more
interactive user forums that allow discussions and networking to build a
community for students, teachers, professors, and tutors to seek
support.
Among the more reliable websites for online courses for students are three more prominent ones such as
www.edx.org, www.khanacademy.org and
www.coursera.org.
EdX
offers free online classes and Mooc from the world’s
best universities such as Harvard University, the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, the Australian National University and the
University of California, Berkeley on subject contents including
Computer Science, Mathematics, Sciences, Medicine and more than 200
courses that students could take online and be awarded a certificate.
The support from these reputable universities gives credibility to the courses and is ideal for students at home.
Khan Academy also provides free online materials and resources in
mathematics, biology, chemistry, physics and even finance and history;
mostly of secondary school level that are easily available to students,
teachers and anyone interested in learning about simple educational
topics which makes learning more fun.
Another website worth looking up is
www.coursera.org which
provides free online classes from more than 80 top universities (such
as Stanford University, Yale University and Princeton University) and
organisations around the world on topics covering a wide range of
disciplines including science, engineering, medicine and social
sciences.
A host of varied educational information is available on the web and
most are on Stem subjects and topics that are taught in our schools.
Many of the topics in these websites also talk about scientific
principles which are applied to everyday things like electrical
appliances, transportation, automobiles, food cultivation and processing
which are not only educational but also thought-provoking.
The colours and visuals used, the video and notes are all captivating; making learning so much more fun and engaging.
Even the teaching of simple Mathematics in schools is presented methodically and simply with good visuals and commentary.
The advantage of these online courses is that students canrepeat any part as often as they like until they get it right.
These online courses could perhaps be introduced as supplementary
learning to students who can log on after school to learn more and
cultivate their interests in Stem.
Perhaps parents and teachers alike can also guide students which will be more informative and educational than
Facebook and
Twitter.
Contributed by Prof Dr Ewe Hong Tat The Star/Asia News Network
The writer, an AAET Fellow, is the vice-president of the
Internationalisation and Academic Development, Universiti Tunku Abdul
Rahman (UTAR). This article is the first of a two-part series on Stem
Education.
Universiti Tunku Abdul
Rahman (UTAR)
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|
Dr.
Ewe Hong Tat
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QUALIFICATION
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BEng(Hons)(Mal), S.M. (MIT), PhD(MMU)
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POSITION
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Vice President (Internationalisation and Academic Development)
Professor, Faculty of Engineering and Science (FES)
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RESEARCH
INTERESTS
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Microwave Remote Sensing, Applied Electromagnetics, Satellite
Image Processing, Sensing Network and Intelligent Systems
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CONTACT
ADDRESS
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Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (Petaling Jaya Campus),
No. 9, Jalan Bersatu 13/4,
46200 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, MALAYSIA.
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PHONE
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+(60)-3-7958-2628 ext 7152
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FAX
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+(60)-3-7956-1923
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E-MAIL
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eweht@utar.edu.my
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HT
Ewe received his First Class Honours Bachelor of Engineering degree in
Electrical Engineering from University of
Malaya, Malaysia in 1992, and S.M. (Master of Science) degree in EECS (Electrical Engineering and Computer
Science) from Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, U.S.A. in 1994. He obtained his PhD degree from Faculty of
Engineering, Multimedia University, Malaysia in 1999. From September 1994 to April
1997, he was with the Electrical Engineering Department, University of Malaya
(Malaysia).
In May 1997, he joined Multimedia University (Malaysia) in Melaka Campus and
was transferred to the Cyberjaya Campus in January 2000 and worked there
until Aug 2008. In Sep 2008, he joined Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR)
and is currently a Professor in the Faculty of Engineering and Science (FES).
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