Capacity building for fostering SDL in STEM
The project aims to foster self-directed learning (SDL) in STEM among students through the building of leadership capacity that are necessary for successful and sustainable innovation within a school. This model of capacity building has been well proven and reported in the teacher learning leadership literature (Campbell, Lieberman & Yashkina, 2015). Three types of leadership capacity are in focus:
- Teachers’ professional capacity for the design of learning, assessment and feedback innovations that foster students’ lifelong learning and 21st century competence through self-directed learning;
- Teachers’ professional capacity for designing learning for STEM. The learning design (including curriculum resources and tools) can provide students with opportunities to undertake inquiry of authentic real-life problems that require the knowledge and skills across two or more of the four STEM disciplinary areas; and
- School level change leadership capacity involving senior and middle management staff in the school to motivate, steer and scale STEM innovations for transformative learning in the school.
To nurture the leadership capacities for STEM learning, the project provide school practitioners with opportunities to engaging in peer collaborative research and reflection on school- and network- based strategies and activities associated with the innovation practices at classroom and school levels.
Starting from the second year, mentor schools with strong innovation capacity will network with the new project schools and offer their expertise as well as prior successful implementation experience for fostering the capacity for STEM education development in the Network.