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STL
for all: a training manual
Educationists
frequently point to the gap between science education as it
is practised today and the know-how citizens need to lead
productive lives and find gainful employment. A new teaching
manual promotes scientific and technological literacy for
all.
The
goal of science teaching is scientific and technological literacy
for all (STL). The STL way of doing science gives primacy
to skills, scientific processes and science concepts that
relate to the learner’s everyday problems.
The
Training of Trainers Manual for Promoting Scientific and Technological
Literacy for All, produced by UNESCO Bangkok, is intended
to build teachers’ capacity using the STL approach. The Manual,
directed to teacher trainers and teachers, provides guidelines
for developing programmes and assessment strategies and for
creating teaching-learning materials relevant to the lives
of the learners. It also shows trainers how to take responsibility
for planning, organizing, implementing, monitoring and evaluating
training activities.
"Science
teachers have the capability to develop their own teaching-learning
materials provided they understand the underlying philosophy,"
says Lucille Gregorio of UNESCO Bangkok.
This
philosophy is amply explained in the Manual. It also sets
goals for teachers and students to attain, such as having
a positive attitude towards science, using knowledge to solve
problems, developing creativity and communicating science
effectively.
These
goals also suggest a shift in teachers’ own attitudes to their
profession. “Creating the right classroom climate is also
essential,” says Gregorio.
Developed
by UNESCO Bangkok, the International Council of Associations
for Science Education (ICASE) and the Southeast Asian Ministers
of Education Organization (SEAMEO), the Manual is being translated
into several languages of the region. A Spanish adaptation
has been launched in Argentina 
Contact:
L. Gregorio, UNESCO Bangkok.
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STL
in India
In
the framework of Scientific and Technological Literacy for
All, UNESCO and UNICEF working with the Centre for Science
Education and Communication at the University of New Delhi,
is developing supplementary teaching materials. Relevance
is the order of the day. Abstract principles are giving way
to practical matters such as power failures, overgrazing,
falling water tables, etc.
UNESCO
New Delhi has conducted a series of workshops where women
teachers have developed science education materials for girls.
During the workshops, participants were invited to say what
makes science unattractive for girls and then design "girl-friendly"teaching
materials, which were subsequently field tested.
The
project is running in four states – Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh,
Jammu and Kashmir – and in Delhi. "What is notable is
that the entire work has been driven by school-teachers and
not by resource persons,"says Maria Malevri of UNESCO
New Delhi
Contact:
M. Malevri, UNESCO New Delhi.
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