Thursday 24 November 2022. 12:30pm - 1:00pm


Francis Stonier, Dingxiang Xie, Michael Agyemang Adarkwah

Taking STEAM training online to Guizhou

Contact Author: Francis Stonier (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Southwest University, Chongqing, China 400715

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Early childhood teachers in a variety of Chinese settings have expressed interest in learning more about Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math (STEAM) curriculum activities.  Since 2020 an American professor who has joined a Chinese faculty of education in Chongqing has been offering STEAM professional development to pre-service and in-service teachers, and administrators. Up until recently this has always been done face-to-face and held either at a university or school setting. The decision to offer synchronous online training was made rather than cancel the professional development for the 2nd year in a row for kindergarten teachers in Guizhou.

The curriculum choices were made keeping in mind a variety of factors such as cost, ease of acquiring, and practicality for classroom use. Participants were given a materials list in advance. Tencent Meeting and WeChat were the platforms in use for the sessions. The training sessions were essentially identical servicing two groups of approximately 50 teachers each. A translator assisted throughout the entire session, and a technological assistant was also on hand to offer audio, video, and connectivity support. Over a three-hour period, five (5) individual STEAM activities were conducted. Images from the participants' work were constantly shared to ensure understanding and participation. Following the sessions, a link for an online survey was provided where participants had the option of providing a response.