Critical minds in maths and science
SCIENCE, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education plays a major part of discussions when talking about education opportunities in Malaysia.
“Science is an essential component to understanding the world we live in, which is constantly changing as incremental innovation transforms technologies at a fast pace.
“Unless we develop a next generation that can understand these changes and make effective decisions in regulations and policies, the country will be subjected to lobbying by selected groups targeting financial gains with a short-term agenda,” says Dr Syamala Ariyanchira, co-founder and chief executive officer of AcuBiz Consulting Sdn Bhd, a science-based consulting firm.
This goes hand in hand with the necessity of developing a critical mass of talent in scientific research areas, as this would lead to more Malaysians in cutting-edge research in areas such as healthcare, energy, engineering and information technology.
“Without the critical mass, industry development in Malaysia will not happen as lack of skilled manpower will impact industry investments. Lack of career growth will further lead to brain drain, which is a serious matter for a country such as Malaysia with a population of around 30 million,” she adds.
However, many students find it difficult to excel in the sciences at the tertiary level even though they achieved stellar results in their secondary school assessments. This has raised concerns on the method and approach of STEM education in schools.
Recently, it has become a concern that Malaysia may face a shortage of human capital in science fields as the target for students enrolling in the stream is not being met annually at the secondary and tertiary levels.
According to the Science and Technology Human Capital Report and Science Outlook 2015 by Akademi Sains Malaysia, the country needs at least 270,000 science students to sit for the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination annually, but there are only about 90,000 science students as of now. To put things in perspective, about 500,000 students enter Form Four every year.
To compound matters, 12% of science stream students migrate to non-STEM programmes at the tertiary level.
STEM education teaches students to draw knowledge from science and mathematics and apply it in various technology and engineering aspects.
“STEM learning activities give students the knowledge and skills to not only consume technology but participate in its design and creation. STEM gives our students a higher level of scientific, mathematical and technological literacy,” says Bill Ironside, principal of Sunway International School (SIS).
According to James Wellings, director of innovative learning at Garden International School, STEM combines things that already exist in school – science, mathematics, technology and engineering – into one form where students can look at these things together to solve real-world problems.
He adds, “When students do something within the real world such as manufacturing, building and prototyping, they are much more likely to be highly engaged.
“We know that engagement improves learning and will lead to a deeper learning experience for students than a book or passing a test would – with these, they will often forget the skills and knowledge learnt.”
In essence
In terms of curriculum, STEM education is incorporated in basic science subjects in Malaysian primary and lower secondary schools but diversify into specific science fields in upper secondary.
However, the development of students’ skills through STEM education is most prevalent in elective subjects or co-curricular activities such as robotics competitions as well as Science and Mathematics Olympiads.
There have been multiple shifts in the STEM curriculum structure in public schools.
In the past, most STEM subjects consisted of equal parts theory and practical approaches, especially in schools that could afford to create suitable infrastructure. These encompassed private and international schools as well as well-developed urban public schools.
In rural schools, however, many students were not exposed to practical forms of STEM education. Most of the time, teachers focused on theories and textbook content.
As the years went by, STEM education in schools has undergone continuous development as the Education Ministry poured in funds to develop school infrastructure.
The increase in the number of private and international schools also driving public schools to keep their STEM infrastructure and syllabus up to date.
The development of STEM education in schools has been a integral part of the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013-2025 – three-wave plan to further devel education in local schools, especially public ones.
This is to address the factors contributing to the declining enrolment and quality of student outcomes in STEM, including limited awareness, perceived difficulty, content-heavy curriculum, inconsistent teaching and learning as well as limited and outdated infrastructure.
“Government initiatives and efforts of National STEM Movement to integrate STEM into the national curriculum from primary level are commendable.
“However, it is worth examining how STEM education is implemented across schools and higher education institutes to ensure its efficacy,” says Dr Syamala.
She stresses that an important parameter will be to assess the number of SPM graduates pursuing science fields in their undergraduate studies and beyond.
Private and international schools have alternative policies governing STEM education, mostly following the STEM education structure within the curriculum adopted by the respective schools.
The standards of STEM education vary depending on the country of origin of the curricula, but most of the time, they are internationally recognised. One example would be that of SIS.
“SIS follows the Ontario (Canadian curriculum) and STEM is embedded in our curriculum as teachers can design student-centred lessons where students learn by doing and learning in an interdisciplinary and applied approach.
“In planning lessons, our teachers plan with the end in mind, asking ‘What is it that we want our students to know and be able to do at the end of the lesson?’,” says Ironside.
“Through this way and integrating the four disciplines of STEM, a clear success criterion is set for our students. Before we start, all the participants in the learning have a solid notion of what success looks like. How they map it and arrive at that success depends on their creativity and critical thinking.”
The methods of teaching STEM subjects have also bee in the spotlight of curriculum development.
Quit recently, a video showing a group of Japanese high school students learning about the development of a chick in an egg through a laboratory experiment went viral on social media.
STEM education teaches students to draw knowledge from science and mathematics and apply it in various technology and engineering aspects.
The students developed an artificial casing to see a chick’s development outside of the eggshell and produced a healthy baby chick.
This video was not only entertaining to watch but showed innovative teaching methods. The Japanese high school science teacher referred to a research paper on experiment protocols and replicated the methods with his students.
Not only were the students able to bring knowledge to life, they were able to hone research and development skills at a much earlier stage in their STEM education.
International schools in Malaysia are more adventurous in using different teaching methods in STEM education, including the use of a visual learning environment (VLE).
Ironside says, “Interactive whiteboards, 3D printers as well as teaching and learning platforms such as Google Suite and its wide range of educational apps motivate teachers and students to design, share and see their ideas take form so much faster as well as with greater success and impact.
“VLE gives our students greater access to resources and materials so that they can efficiently develop the skills, attitudes, thinking and knowledge required for scientific inquiry and technological problemsolving.”
Policymakers, schools and educators are now working to create more sustainable, versatile and relevant teaching methods for STEM education.
The knowledge and skills acquired through STEM education transcend a career in the sciences and have proved beneficial in
The knowledge and skills acquired through STEM education transcend a career in the sciences and have proved beneficial in any field a child would eventually pursue as an adult.
any field a child would eventually pursue as an adult.
Today, we see men and women who are the backbone of the education system continually come up with unique, creative, interactive and effective teaching methods in STEM education.
As we move forward both nationally and globally, STEM education will continue to be of great importance. Inculcating scientific literacy and skills must begin from the basics to create a generation of amazing minds and talents.
Hence, it is important to continue to inspire and engage young children in embracing STEM education.
“It is a great way to get students to appreciate STEM fields from a young age. Catch them and groom them. They will not leave STEM fields once they enjoy it,” says Dr Syamala.