Level and Counter Level [51]~ STEM, Owen Morrison and The Belize Technical School

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Posted: Friday, February 24, 2023. 8:42 am CST.

Тhе vіеwѕ ехрrеѕѕеd іn this аrtісlе аrе these оf the author аnd nоt nесеѕѕаrіlу these оf Вrеаkіng Веlіzе Nеwѕ or the Establishment he serves.

By Dorian A. Barrow, Ph.D., Florida State College: The Ministry of Training (MOE) has determined to focus extra on Science, Expertise, Engineering and Arithmetic [STEM/STEAM] schooling for Belizeans as a part of the Prime Minister, the Hon. John Briceno’s effort to ascertain considered one of his legacies because the Training Prime Minister.  On this regard the MOE has embraced an initiative of Patrick Faber, the previous Minister of Training, Dr Carol Babb and Mrs. Deborah Domingo, to ascertain the primary ever STEM/STEAM college in Belize, in Belize Metropolis.  This primary STEM college, known as the Itza STEAM Academy, is situated  on the outdated Belize technical School Campus on Freetown Highway, the working-home of an extended line of distinguished and visionary pool of educators in Science, Expertise, Engineering and Arithmetic together with individuals like Owen Morrison, Dr. Cecil Reneau,  Georgia Belisle,  Ronald Lewis, Vernon Card, Luis ‘Buck’ Belisle, Cecil Ford, Lewin Moguel, and Sydney Satchwell.  Our Prime Minister, and by extension Belize, will probably be very, very pleased with this initiative the place the main focus of the schooling goes to be on how pc science know-how, synthetic intelligence algorithm, engineering downside fixing abilities, scientific strategies and mathematical pondering and logic will help to kind a brand new era of inventive, entrepreneurial and modern Belizean citizenry.  However what can we imply by a STEM Training?

STEM (Science, know-how, engineering and arithmetic) is an umbrella time period used to group collectively the distinct however associated technical disciplines of science, know-how, engineering and arithmetic.  The time period is usually used within the context of schooling coverage or curriculum decisions in colleges.  The STEM strategy to schooling fosters creativity and divergent pondering alongside elementary disciplines.  It motivates and conjures up younger individuals to generate new applied sciences and concepts.  With a give attention to follow and innovation college students  get to study from inquiry-based assignments.  STEM lessons present alternatives for staff work, it teaches essential pondering and innovation abilities, assist scholar develops mission administration abilities, however most significantly, STEM Jobs are the way forward for our financial system.  Dr Osmond Martinez, CEO of the Ministry of Financial Improvement, has not too long ago concluded a research through which he discovered that of all of the individuals within the work in pressure in Belize at the moment who’ve associates, bachelors and masters levels have these levels in enterprise administration, though there was a big push lately to fill STEM jobs in Belize.  In a nutshell, STEM is an strategy to studying and improvement that integrates the areas of science, know-how, engineering and arithmetic.  Via STEM college students develop key abilities together with downside fixing, creativity, essential evaluation and so are significantly better ready to transition to the world of labor and/or to greater schooling.

In accordance with the CEO, Ms. Dianne Mehair, this effort by the MOE to offer extra STEM Training decisions to extra of the Belizean college students is not only restricted to the Itza’s STEAM Academy Mission.  One other mission working at the moment with the STEAM Academy mission is the is the CODE CARIBBEAN PROGRAM, an IDB funded mission that’s at the moment being applied in two solely Caribbean Nations – Barbados and Belize. At a current MULTI-Stakeholder Dialogue on Pc-Science for Improvement in Belize, the MOE CEO Mehair and the CEO of the corporate that’s implementing the mission Pat Yongpradit, briefed us concerning the nature of this intervention.  Primarily, this CODE.ORG Projection is about getting college students to display a sound understanding of digital know-how ideas, programs and operations from an earl age in our main colleges.  It’s an effort to get our main college youngsters to display inventive pondering, content material information, and develop  modern merchandise and processes utilizing know-how rising in direction of turning into world digital residents who’re essential thinkers and downside solvers.  At the moment this program is working in 24 of main colleges together with main colleges like St, Joseph Major in Belize Metropolis and the SDA Major Faculty in Succotz Village in Cayo.  The  aim is to have this program working in 100 of our colleges by 2024 when the mission expires.  To maintain the mission the MOE plans to work very carefully with establishments like Galen College and the College of Belize  who by  that point would have constructed the added capability to maintain such an initiative in perpetuity.  Galen College, for instance is that this yr deliver on stream its STEM and AI Innovation Middle on its Central Farm Campus and will probably be utilizing the CODE.ORG Curriculum in a few of its outreach packages.  That is such an necessary dimension to the brand new pondering of the Authorities, as sustainability failures of lots of essential initiatives in schooling like this one has been a ubiquitous expertise with schooling improvement prior to now.

One other necessary side is the location of this necessary initiative with a STEAM Academy – The Belize Technical School (BTC) – as   the Sense of Place performs such an necessary position in sustainable improvement. The BTC was the primary Technical Vocational School to be established within the nation.  In accordance with J. Alexander Bennett, the nation’s most authoritative schooling historian, the BTC was established within the Fifties to fixing the identical form of downside that this STEM initiative is attempting to resolve, that’s higher put together college students to transition to the world of labor and to greater schooling, that’s, to supply the scientists, technologist, engineers and mathematicians that the nation wanted so badly on the time.  In its 50-year historical past as much as its demise in 2000 when it was amalgamated into UB, The Belize technical School had an exquisite and proud document of feat in opposition to these objectives. Most of our senior engineers at the moment went to Belize Techinical School earlier than they went of to additional their research overseas.  The embody engineers like John Mencias, Jeffery Locke, and Lynn Younger.  So have lots of our senior medical officers – Dr Ann Erlington, Dr. Michael Pitts, … – the general public working on the senior degree within the area of development, electrical know-how and wiring, and lots of of our Survey technicians handed by way of the BTC earlier than the moved on to get their greater schooling levels.  The late Owen Morrison was the final Principal of the Belize Technical faculty earlier than it’s demise in 2000, and I do know that even when he wouldn’t be particularly excited concerning the title of the brand new STEAM Academy, he can be notably supportive of its objectives and can be delighted to know that the Hon. John Briceno is following by way of on this difficulty of STEM Training, that started on the Belize Techincal School within the Fifties.

Please be happy to problem any or the entire about points raised on this piece above and let’s get the dialogue on STEM Training in Belize going.    

Dr. Dоrіаn Ваrrоw іѕ сurrеntlу wоrkіng аt Gаlеn Unіvеrѕіtу аѕ thе Dеаn оf thе Dераrtmеnt оf Еduсаtіоn. Не hаѕ а lоng hіѕtоrу оf іnvоlvеmеnt іn еduсаtіоn іn Веlіzе, hаvіng ѕеrvеd аѕ а Lесturеr аt thе Unіvеrѕіtу оf Веlіzе, аnd аѕ Сhіеf Ехесutіvе Оffісеr іn thе Міnіѕtrу оf Еduсаtіоn. Dr. Ваrrоw іѕ аn еmіnеnt рrоfеѕѕіоnаl whо іѕ wеll rеѕресtеd bоth lосаllу аnd аbrоаd. Не іѕ ѕеrvіng аѕ аn еdіtоrіаl mеmbеr аnd rеvіеwеr оf ѕеvеrаl іntеrnаtіоnаl rерutеd јоurnаlѕ аnd hаѕ аuthоrеd mаnу rеѕеаrсh аrtісlеѕ/bооkѕ rеlаtеd tо еduсаtіоn. Араrt frоm еduсаtіоn, hе іѕ аlѕо а ѕроrtѕ еnthuѕіаѕt.

 

 

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