I've been a guest of Shizuoka University and I have rearely been treated with such wonderful hospitality and care. From the moment I landed until just now waiting to board my plane, I have been in the company of faculty and students from the University. Pram, a PhD students from indonesia who is researching the role of technology in STEM education was my escort from Shizuoka to Tokyo Henada Airpot today.
Pram took me to Hamarikyu Japanese garden in the heart of Tokyo and we spent this morning and afternoon discussing STEM education and how technology and teacher professional development can take multiple forms. He was amazed at how I used low technology to engage students in STEM and then brought them back to use high tech like we did using our cellphones as microscopes. He talked about how the students and teachers in Indonesia are mostly focused on learning through rote memorization. He is excited to bring these new ideas of STEM to teachers in Indonesia and help the teachers there learn how to make their students excited to be in school. He asked me if I would come to Indonesia if he could get permission from his advisor and department chair at Padjadjaran University. Since Kumano sensei is building a STEM education bridge with Indonesia I'll see what we can do here in Minnesota. I think Owatonna students would love to learn about tropical rain forests if they get the chance to visit them, maybe we can have another sister school system there?
I think the most important things I've learned this past week was how committed the people are to bringing facsination and joy back to our students through the engaging and exciting lessons created through STEM teaching and learning. Pram and I spent an hour talking to a young engineer on his way from Shizuoka to Tokyo and I asked him when we decided to become an engineer and he said it was when he was in 5th grade and his teacher showed hime how to build towers using paper and measuring the length of things using only his own fingers. The young man name Kumira san said he loved, calling his measurement "one-Kumira, two-Kumira three-Kumira" I explained to Pram this is the moment we understand the power of STEM teaching and learning, where a single lesson using paper and imagination set this young man onto his life's career and 22 years after that lesson his still smiles when he remembers that day. Teaching is always about how our students feel when they learn, our job is to figure what it takes to bring curiosity and joy to each and every student, each and every day.
Pram took me to Hamarikyu Japanese garden in the heart of Tokyo and we spent this morning and afternoon discussing STEM education and how technology and teacher professional development can take multiple forms. He was amazed at how I used low technology to engage students in STEM and then brought them back to use high tech like we did using our cellphones as microscopes. He talked about how the students and teachers in Indonesia are mostly focused on learning through rote memorization. He is excited to bring these new ideas of STEM to teachers in Indonesia and help the teachers there learn how to make their students excited to be in school. He asked me if I would come to Indonesia if he could get permission from his advisor and department chair at Padjadjaran University. Since Kumano sensei is building a STEM education bridge with Indonesia I'll see what we can do here in Minnesota. I think Owatonna students would love to learn about tropical rain forests if they get the chance to visit them, maybe we can have another sister school system there?
I think the most important things I've learned this past week was how committed the people are to bringing facsination and joy back to our students through the engaging and exciting lessons created through STEM teaching and learning. Pram and I spent an hour talking to a young engineer on his way from Shizuoka to Tokyo and I asked him when we decided to become an engineer and he said it was when he was in 5th grade and his teacher showed hime how to build towers using paper and measuring the length of things using only his own fingers. The young man name Kumira san said he loved, calling his measurement "one-Kumira, two-Kumira three-Kumira" I explained to Pram this is the moment we understand the power of STEM teaching and learning, where a single lesson using paper and imagination set this young man onto his life's career and 22 years after that lesson his still smiles when he remembers that day. Teaching is always about how our students feel when they learn, our job is to figure what it takes to bring curiosity and joy to each and every student, each and every day.