MONEY! MONEY! MONEY!

A serious obstacle to the advancement of STEM in schools is the lack of funding. STEM needs materials/gadgets and tools for experiments, engineering, research projects and making. These materials are relatively cheap to buy but schools need a lot of it to give all learners a chance to experiment hands-on. Also , once you have stimulated the curiosity of the learners, they want more! And more! They want (and need) to make their own things and this is VERY important because this is where the REAL learning and innovation comes from. 

The core concepts of STEM dictate that learners do their OWN research, engineering and innovation and thus a "cookie cutter" approach with 40 learners doing the exact same thing defies the objectives of STEM

A way for schools to address this funding issue is to create a STEM club which can be funded by parents as an extracurricular activity. If parents contribute a K150 per ANNUM , the funds will be enough to pay for tools/equipment and components for a whole year. This includes all the tools to set up a MAKERLAB in the school. 

STEMTronics can supply a tools and component list to get you started. Tools can be bought locally and STEMTronics can supply electronic components, science experimental aids, schematics, lesson plans and other supporting materials

A small amount of money, well spent, can make a huge difference to get the STEM wheel rolling!



Comments

  1. mukamalaJune 3, 2021 at 1:13 AM

    STEM you are off to a great start. identifying the problem is the first step that leads to redemption.

    ReplyDelete

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