Globe, Mano Amiga bring STEM to underprivileged students

SCIENCE, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) occupations are among the best paid these days. However, this opportunity is not readily available to students from low-income families due to lack of educational resources; thus, hampering a child’s exposure to and early proficiency in technology.

Given the circumstances, Globe Telecom and Mano Amiga, a school that provides affordable, highquality K-12 education to disadvantaged learners, have joined hands in developing the Globe Maker Lab and Innovation Hub, a program designed to enhance the delivery of world-class STEM education to underprivileged K-to-12 students.

For formal education, the program adopts a project-based learning (PBL) approach, where students from as early as kindergarten, undertake projects based on real-world context and problems and implement their solutions beyond the classroom. Thus, they learn that what they do in the classroom can make a positive impact in the world at large.

Apart from learning the fundamentals, there will be challenges and exercises that will allow students to practice grit and perseverance through constant trial and error in order to eventually master the subjects. While there is still a pandemic, learning modules will be delivered via scheduled Zoom sessions, and participants will be provided with tasks and worksheets that they are to accomplish in between Zoom calls.

Globe and Mano Amiga also prepared after-school programs to provide students an opportunity to continue learning skills in an informal environment without being restricted by the pressure of grades.