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News
  • 28.07.2022

#TeachersTransform learning: Focus on experiential learning transforms girls’ interest in STEM subjects

How do you encourage more learners to choose STEM subjects at school? You develop project-based teaching and experiential learning, and you turn learning into an experience that delivers life skills instead of exam results.

This is the vision of Kavita Sanghvi, the principal of Chatrabhuj Narsee Memorial School in Mumbai, India. Throughout her 21-year teaching journey, Kavita has always loved the challenge of ‘discovery’, and now she’s passing this skill on to her learners through an innovative new experiential approach to teaching.

As an educator, one of Kavita’s main goals is to encourage more girls to take on STEM subjects and pursue careers in this field.

She identifies with some of the barriers that girls face when pursuing STEM subjects. “My parents were always very supportive. But traditionally, science subjects are only seen as useful if you’re going to be a doctor or an engineer. And there’s still a societal expectation that women will marry and raise a family, so spending money on further studies is seen as a ‘waste’.”

This is echoed in UNESCO’s Cracking the code: Girls’ and women’s education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics report released in 2017.

According to the report, factors that influence girls’ participation in STEM subjects include social, cultural and gender norms. “Girls are often brought up to believe that STEM are ‘masculine’ topics and that female ability in this field is innately inferior to that of males. This can undermine girls’ confidence, interest and willingness to engage in STEM subjects.”

And yet, Kavita pursued her passion for science and obtained her master’s degree in nuclear physics as well as a master’s degree in education. She is proof that STEM is not only for boys, and she's encouraging more girls to follow her lead.

Pioneering a new way of teaching to encourage girls to pursue STEM subjects

When Kavita became the principal of Chatrabhuj Narsee Memorial, one of the first things she noticed was that many learners, especially girls, were dropping STEM subjects. She also found that some of the top graduates from the school were struggling to cope at university.

“I realised that instead of exam results, the skills of collaboration, critical thinking, networking, and creativity were given more prominence in higher education. The trend is the same in business and industry. But these weren’t being taught through the traditional national curriculum.

“I knew we needed to transform the way we were doing things. And I proposed to the team that we rework and redesign the way we were teaching in grades 1-8.”

Turning STEM learning into an experience

Together with her team, Kavita transformed the way classes are taught in their school, calling it a “Global Outlook” approach. The focus is on experiential learning, and links every topic to one of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals.

“The transformative approach incorporates real-life scenarios like laundry day, washing dishes, and making soap. It’s all about experiential learning while instilling STEM skills,” says Kavita.

Experiential learning is a new model of education that is making its way into classrooms around the world. Studies show that it helps learners connect the material that they are studying to practical applications in the world around them.

And just four years down the line, the results are starting to show.

“Our students are entering interschools events and they’re winning prizes,” says Kavita proudly. “And we have made it onto the top 10 shortlist for World's Best School Prize for Innovation.”

Creating awareness of career opportunities

Kavita is passionate about promoting STEM subjects in her school, and encouraging girls to pursue careers in this field. “Every year, we invite universities to participate in our career fair. And we host an event called Hi-STEAM which combines history and STEM subjects into one.”

“Last year, the theme was Space and Beyond, and we hosted some female astronauts from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO),” says Kavita who uses the events as an opportunity to break down stereotypes. “This year, the theme is Gamification in STEM.” 

Kavita has found that her girl learners are motivated to take up STEM subjects thanks to the female role models who are invited to attend school career days and science fairs.

This is in line with UNESCO’s Cracking the code report, which found that mentors and role models can help encourage girls to pursue STEM subjects. According to the report, “The presence of female role models in STEM subjects can mitigate negative stereotypes about sex-based ability and offer girls an authentic understanding of STEM careers. Role models can also enhance girls’ and women’s self-perceptions and attitudes toward STEM, as well as their motivation to pursue STEM careers.”

The future of learning

Kavita believes that the experiential approach to teaching could be implemented in the classrooms of the future, as a way to transform education and help encourage more girls to take up STEM subjects.

“We’re moving away from a teacher-centred classroom to one where the learners are far more involved. As teachers, we need to empower them with resources and give them agency to express themselves.”

Kavita’s own vision of a classroom of the future incorporates spatial computing. “I see a curator leading the learners on a tour of the pyramids of Egypt, and we’re joined by another school from Europe. I see a space where we’re all connected, and collaborating virtually, with no boundaries. I believe that this is the future of STEM learning - that no matter where I am, I’m connected to everywhere around the world. This is true experiential learning.” 

Learn more about the #TeachersTransform campaign as part of the Transforming Education Summit.

Photo credit: Kavita Sanghvi

Event
  • 13.05.2022

2nd International KIX LAC Conference

Post-Pandemic Education

How has teaching been affected?

Responses and innovations to ensure comprehensive learning in Latin America and the Caribbean

Register here.

The pandemic and school closures have resulted in an unprecedented loss of learning, which is one of the key challenges that the region is beginning to face in the short term, and which educational communities are already addressing as education systems begin to return students and teachers to schools. 

In this sense, the Knowledge and Innovation Exchange Hub of Latin America and the Caribbean - KIX LAC-, an initiative implemented by SUMMA, the first Laboratory for Research and Innovation in Education for Latin America and the Caribbean in partnership with the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States - OECS -, with the support of the Global Partnership for Education - GPE - and the International Development Research Centre - IDRC, meets with high-level professionals and/or academic experts to discuss strategies, research and innovations to address the challenges of comprehensive learning recovery from a global, regional and national perspective. 

From a global perspective, the conference will provide the perspective of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on the scenarios that are envisioned for future education, as well as concrete experiences to respond to the challenges imposed by the pandemic. This will be complemented by the work that SUMMA and OECS are carrying out in collaboration with the countries and different educational leaders in the region.


Specifically, the conference will present the progress and results of different projects implemented by non-governmental institutions that are part of the KIX ecosystem in Latin America and the Caribbean, addressing the following educational priorities: strategies to promote gender equality and prevent gender-based violence in rural schools (CLADE Network), literacy and reading supports in primary schools (World Vision Canada), distance and blended learning models (Ceibal Foundation), teacher professional development systems (SUMMA - FIT-ED), use of data to improve educational equity and inclusion (UNICEF), common scale assessment of early mathematical learning (PAL Network), peer mentoring of teachers and school leaders for equitable rural education (Education 2020 Foundation), teacher training and scalability of educational innovations (Université d'État d'Haïti).

See the agenda and more information here.

Interpretation in English, Spanish and French will be available.

Blog
  • 09.03.2022

New UNICEF Innocenti blog - Can more women in school leadership improve learning outcomes?

As part of a new research initiative - Women in Learning Leadership (WiLL) -  education researchers from UNICEF Innocenti looked at the available research and data on school leadership and gender. Timed with International Women’s Day, their new blog shares how female head teachers could be an untapped opportunity to address the learning crisis, for both girls and boys. Read it here.

Photo credit: UNICEF Innocenti

Event
  • 19.10.2021

9th AFTRA Teaching and Learning Conference & 11th Rountable

Africa Federation of Teaching Regulatory Authorities (AFTRA) hereby announces its 9th International Conference & 11th Roundtable on Unpacking Teaching and Learning in Africa for Excellence.

AFTRA is the intergovernmental organisation of the Ministries of Education and National Agencies regulating Teaching in the 55 Member States of the African Union. Working with the Education Division of the African Union Commission, UNESCO-International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa (IICBA) Education International Africa Region, UNESCO Regional Offices, Teacher Task Force, Education International, and other international organisations, AFTRA serves as the hub for articulation and implementation of key policies and initiatives driving Teaching and Learning in Africa. The International Conference and Roundtable, therefore, are annual continental landmarks that draw speakers, delegates and participants from Africa and other regions of the world.

SPECIAL GUEST OF HONOUR H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo President of the Republic of Ghana

CHIEF HOST Hon. Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, MP. Minister of Education, Ghana

HOSTS Ministry of Education, Ghana; National Teaching Council; National Inspectorate Board; Ghana Education Service; Ghana National Association of Teachers; Coalition of Concerned Teachers; National Association of Graduate Teachers; & others.

The conference will be online and physical.

For more information, please visit: http://www.africateaching-authorities.org/

Registration link

Photo: AFTRA Conference in 2019

Event
  • 08.09.2021

Call for Materials - Resources for gender-responsive pedagogy for TVET

With the appropriate inspiration and guidance, teachers and trainers, leaders, administrators and managers and policymakers in technical and vocational education and training (TVET) can become agents of change for gender equity and equality.

Do you know of any materials that support this key personnel in ensuring gender equity and equality in the TVET space?

Relevant materials (incl. audio-visuals and multimedia) may include, but are not limited to, training materials, standards and guidelines for intervention and policymaking, tools for programming, planning and budgeting, resources for monitoring, evaluation and advocacy, case studies and best practices, technical or policy briefs, ... that have been published since 2000.

We would appreciate your support to this effort by FAWE, VVOB – education for development, and other partners to consolidate such materials into an open “GRP4TVET Resource”. The Resource will provide examples of good practice of gender-responsive pedagogy (GRP) from around the world and demonstrate how TVET can promote gender equity and equality in practical terms.

Until September 30, you can share materials below by providing a link, uploading them or giving us a reference here. The GRP4TVET Resource will be co-branded and all materials included will be properly referenced.

If you would like to receive more information on the development of the GRP4TVET resource, please contact maud.seghers@vvob.org or grace.mwaura@vvob.org.

News
  • 12.05.2021

Female science and mathematics teachers: Better than they think?

This article was first published on April 22, 2021, on the UNESCO website.

On 22 April, on the occasion of International Girls in ICT Day, the importance of engaging girls and young women all around the world to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) has been highlighted.

More urgently than ever before, more girls and women are needed in STEM. In over two-thirds of education systems, less than 25% of students in engineering, manufacturing, construction, or information and communication technologies (ICT) are women. Yet STEM careers are growing in demand, and needed to solve the current challenges facing the world including COVID-19, climate change and food and water security.

Considering this urgency, UNESCO and the International Association of the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) investigated how teacher self-efficacy and gender are related in mathematics and science teaching in a special issue of the IEA Compass: Briefs in Education Series.

Using data from IEA’s Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2015, the brief explores the relationship between teachers’ gender and learners’ mathematics and science achievement and how female teachers’ self-efficacy relates to job satisfaction. The brief also discusses implications for teaching and suggests actions to address gender gaps.

Female teachers have been associated with improved educational experiences and enhanced learning outcomes for girls in some contexts. By acting as positive role models for girls, female teachers are found to effectively dispel myths about innate abilities among boys and improve girls’ perceptions, interest, and self-efficacy in STEM. Yet, the latest brief suggests that lower self-efficacy of female science and mathematics teachers may affect girls’ own self-efficacy in these subjects, and their pursuit of STEM careers.

“At my school, female teachers are well represented in STEM subjects, but I was unaware that they could experience lower self-efficacy than men”, says Tanja Neuschmidt, a mathematics and chemistry teacher at the Heinrich-Hertz-Schule in Hamburg, Germany, on her perceptions of gender in teaching.

“As a teacher, I see girls and boys demonstrating different attitudes in mathematics and chemistry subjects, with girls feeling less confident than boys in these subjects”, she said. “I did not expect that this could be linked to teachers' self-esteem.” Tanja is keen to discuss the findings of this brief with her peers to encourage more girls to build self-confidence and to value their success in STEM fields as they explore their future careers.

Read the brief for the full findings across different countries.

Photo: UNESCO/Maina WaGioko