STEM to help students in problematic subject areas

Students who wish to spend this summer vacation working on difficult academic areas have an avenue to do so, through a programme dubbed STEM.{{more}}

The Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) programme is an international programme that has been brought to St Vincent and the Grenadines by information technology teacher at the St Martin’s Secondary School Petrus Gumbs.

Gumbs, who is also the director of the STEM programme here, said the programme will bring practicality to what students have already learnt, as well as helping them to work with difficult concepts in some of the most difficult subject areas. He added that STEM will open careers that are very lucrative and students will come to like the subject areas offered in the programme.

Gumbs noted that they will be using a lot of software in this programme and students will not only be working with their laptops, but will be making their laptops work for them. He pointed out that students will be able to use subject areas like mathematics to create video games and make websites.

Meanwhile, principal of the St Martins Secondary School Nereus Auguste lauded Gumbs for implementing STEM programme here. He said STEM will seek to remove the cloud over ideas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Auguste noted that students today are digital natives but there are limitations, such as facilities, that prevent them from excelling. He, therefore, believes that teachers must give these students the platform so that they can excel and show their creativity. Auguste pointed out that STEM enables the students to have the availability to have that platform.

Josette Johnson, who will be teaching biology at the STEM programme, said it is important for students that teaching moves from a stage where information is being regurgitated from a textbook. She noted that when this is done, students do not learn the concepts, neither do they understand the practicality of what is being taught. She said STEM will be a way to show students that what they have learnt can be put into something that they can use and feel.

Johnson noted that students complain that biology is a difficult subject, but if they have a fun way to assist in the notes, like in the form of animation, they will learn it faster, easier and better.

Students will be offered courses in eb designing, game development, Pascal programming (CSEC Reading), data base development, physics, math (upper and lower), English (upper and lower school) and biology. Boys and girls ages 11-14, as well as students of the SVG Community College who need assistance in these areas and want to be enrolled in the program, can navigate to www.petrusgumbs.com for more information.