THE coronavirus may have forced
Malaysia's schools to temporarily close, but when they reopen, science and
technology learning will be firmly back on the government's education agenda
with the nation's future set to be defined by STEM learning (Science,
Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).
The National Council for
Scientific and Research Development reported in 2018 that Malaysia would need
500,000 scientists and engineers by this year to cope with the challenges of
the Fourth Industrial Revolution. However, at that point, it had only 70,000
registered engineers.
Exacerbating that problem is a
shortage of students taking up STEM subjects at university. The government is
trying to boost STEM education through its Malaysia Education Blueprint
2013-2025 that seeks an enhanced curriculum, the testing and training of
teachers, and the use of blended learning models.
However, as a young country in
which the average age is around 30, and with Internet penetration now as high
as 82 per cent, Malaysia may have an ace up its sleeve as it seeks to bolster
STEM learning in schools.
Of course, there's no substitute
for face-to-face teaching, but where schools, whether through lack of staff or
resources, struggle to teach a full range of subjects such as Computer Science
or Advanced Mathematics, they can look to online learning platforms to connect
students to teachers around the world offering these subjects in virtual
classrooms.
By leveraging cloud-based
classrooms, supported by staff on the ground in schools, it is possible for
Malaysia to move quickly to widen access to internationally recognised,
high-quality education.
Online tools can also provide the
opportunity for Malaysian schools to introduce blended learning.
These platforms, which provide
teachers with entire subject courses broken down into individual lessons they
can plan out, allow them to set tasks and track pupils' progress online.
Even when a school has fully-
trained teachers across all STEM subjects, using online tools to flip
classrooms greatly reduces the time teachers need to spend on course
preparation, marking and reporting, freeing them up to focus on teaching in the
classroom and guiding the learning experience for students.
For students, this means more
face-to-face time with their teachers in class, and with many learning
activities done online, it means more time in school to collaborate with their
peers, all of which helps increase engagement by bringing complex STEM subjects
to life.
While Internet access is still
not even throughout the country and with schools turning to online learning
during the Covid-19 pandemic, this will only further underscore the need to
close the digital divide.
The capacity of online learning
to boost STEM education from an early age can play a key role in preparing the
next generation of Malaysians for the rapidly-changing job market they will
face.
Students who can access online
learning platforms will not only have a new window into STEM learning, but also
gain practical experience of collaborative, digital technologies that promote
self-direction and independence in learning.
All around the world, artificial
intelligence and automation are transforming the job market and rendering many
of the jobs we know obsolete, while creating new jobs that could not have been
imagined before.
If Malaysia's students are to
gain the skills to not only survive, but thrive in tomorrow's world of work,
they cannot afford to lose another minute.
Every day they are not receiving
STEM education is a day they will never get back.
Online learning can be a powerful
ally for Malaysia's brilliant young minds as they stand ready to face a world
that has just been turned upside down right at the beginning of what could have
been, and still can be, a brave new decade.
Darren Jensen
Regional Director Asia,
Pamoja Education,
an education technology company
based in Oxford, the United Kingdom
NEW STRAITS TIMES ONLINE
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