INTEC brings STEM education to schools
The university reaches more than 800 students and almost 100 teachers through the program to promote education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, which are in greatest demand in the local market.
SANTO DOMINGO. - The Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo (INTEC) has reached 882 students and 91 teachers from 11 educational centers nationwide with the STEM- INTEC program, through which the university promotes training in science, technology, engineering and mathematics through innovative teaching experiences.
Stephanie Christopher, program coordinator, explained that a participant-centered, inquiry-based approach is used for students to learn principles of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, employing and enhancing 21st century skills.
The interventions originate from INTEC and go directly to the classrooms of the second cycle of secondary education. Concepts such as “cells and Artificial Intelligence”; “Spatial exploration and Newton's Laws” and “The Atom in Augmented Reality” have been some of the topics addressed with fourth, fifth and sixth year high school students, in which students of Engineering and Basic and Environmental Sciences of the University participate as facilitators. INTEC.
In the case of secondary level teachers, INTEC teaches a five-hour workshop in which they learn about planning techniques for teaching units using the STEM methodology so that they can replicate them in the classrooms.
Some of the educational centers in which INTEC has deployed the STEM promotion program are: Colegio Jaime Molina Mota, Colegio del Apostolado, Colegio San Judas Tadeo, Follow Me School, Colegio Loyola, Colegio Arroyo Hondo, O&M Hostos School (Puerto Plata), Calasanz School, Claret School, José María Vélaz Polytechnic (Fe y Alegría) and Cardenal Sancha Professional Technical High School (Fe y Alegría).
Good grades
Before the development of each STEM experience, a diagnostic test was administered to measure the students' knowledge of the content they would receive and another evaluation was applied at the end of the workshop.
The results show that the participants improved their performance by 28%, since the average score in the previous measurement was 49%, while the average results after the experiences rose to 77%. After finishing the experience, the students expressed their impressions: “I think what they do is wonderful, it allows us to delve into science in a fun and dynamic way”; “I really liked the experience, I feel that it was very innovative on their part and I learned much more than in a physics class”; “I loved it because we learned many topics that we thought were super difficult at some point, also the practice of the rover, everything was excellent,” were some of the statements shared by the beneficiary students.