Report on Attending the Conference on Science and Mathematics Education (CoSMEd) SEAMEO RECSAM, Penang, Malaysia November 16 – 19, 2015 Fadjar Shadiq, M.App.Sc [email protected] & www.fadjarp3g.wordpress.com Today educators are confronted with the difficult task of educating young minds to meet the demands of an increasingly globalised world. Many countries face the challenge of preparing citizens who will be able to address and solve local, national and global problems in order to function equally well in these environments. The issues on today’s environmental problem are not local but on global scale which affect everyone no matter which race, age, gender or religion we are in. Therefore, not only the environmentalists are responsible for sustaining the environment, but to protect the environment for sustainable living is also everyone’s duty. In this regard, knowledge of science and mathematics is essential as it empowers people to systematically use the knowledge more effectively to solve problems. In addition, there is however a need to educate the young to acquire as well as to apply the knowledge and skills embodied in science and mathematics, at the same time take the advantages of the knowledge of technologies and engineering that would enable them to create innovative and creative ideas. This conference will bring educators and researchers together to discuss and address issues from their research that could be used inform the pedagogy and policy in education for the purpose to enhance 1 | Page
Transcript
Report on Attending the Conference on Science and Mathematics Education
Today educators are confronted with the difficult task of educating young minds to meet the demands of an increasingly globalised world. Many countries face the challenge of preparing citizens who will be able to address and solve local, national and global problems in order to function equally well in these environments. The issues on today’s environmental problem are not local but on global scale which affect everyone no matter which race, age, gender or religion we are in. Therefore, not only the environmentalists are responsible for sustaining the environment, but to protect the environment for sustainable living is also everyone’s duty. In this regard, knowledge of science and mathematics is essential as it empowers people to systematically use the knowledge more effectively to solve problems. In addition, there is however a need to educate the young to acquire as well as to apply the knowledge and skills embodied in science and mathematics, at the same time take the advantages of the knowledge of technologies and engineering that would enable them to create innovative and creative ideas. This conference will bring educators and researchers together to discuss and address issues from their research that could be used inform the pedagogy and policy in education for the purpose to enhance Science and Mathematics Education. Therefore SEAMEO RECSAM (Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organisation - Regional Centre for Education in Science and Mathematics) conduct CoSMEd as forum for exchange and share ideas for researchers and practitioner mathematics teachers.
SEAMEO QITEP in Mathematics assign Fadjar Shadiq, M.App.Sc (The Deputy Director for Administration of SEAMEO QITEP – Quality Improvement of Teachers and Education Personnel in Mathematics, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, on behalf of Prof. Subanar, Ph.D (The Director
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of SEAMEO QITEP in Mathematics) attending and participating the conference.
The Programme & Schedule during the conference was as follow.
16 November 2015 (Monday) Time Session
1200-1700 Registration I 1315-1415 Registration for Pre-Conference Workshop 1430-1630 Pre-conference Workshop
Based on the Programme & Schedule above than it can be concluded that the Programmes can be categorised as follow.
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1. Keynote Address (1 to 3)The presenters of Keynote Address were:
a. Dzulkifli Abdul Razak, Malaysia (Realigning Science and Technology with Education for 21st Century).
Dzulkifli Abdul Razak (or for short, Dzul) is the currently the 14th President of the International Association of Universities (IAU), a UNESCO-affiliated organization, based in Paris. Prior to this, he was the President of Association of Southeast Asia Institutions of Higher Learning (ASAIHL) from 2007-2008.Currently, he is the holder of the Chair of Islamic Leadership at the Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM), and an Honorary Professor at the University of Nottingham. He served as the 5th Vice-Chancellor of Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) and held the office from 2000-2011. More recently he is elected as the Chair, Steering Committee of the Right Livelihood College based in University of Bonn, Germany. His other involvements internationally include being a member of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) – Advisory Education Hub Committee since 2007, and Executive Council of the Association of Commonwealth Universities (2006-2011). He has also served as a member of the World Health Organization (WHO) Expert Advisory Panel on Drug Policy and Management since 1995.At the national level, he was the Chair of Independent Review Panel on Education for Malaysia, beginning 2011 until 2013. He co-editored the People's Sustainability Treaty on Higher Education launched in conjunction with the Rio+20 Conference at Rio de Janeiro, June 20-22, 2012. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Sciences Malaysia (FASc), the World Academy of Art and Sciences (FWAAS) and the Malaysian Institute of Malaysia (FMIM). He is also an Honorary Lifetime member of Asian Academy of Management. He is also a member of the Anti-Corruption Advisory Board (SPRM). In 2014, he was recognised by the Asia-Pacific Brand Foundation as a recipient of The Most Eminent Brand Icon Leadership Award. He has been a weekly columnist for Malaysia’s leading daily, the New Straits Times since 1995 writing mainly on issues about education, science, and current events, and more recently The Sun. He is married to Masrah Abidin and his children are: Ridzal, Johan, Suriani and Farhana.
b. Doug M. Clarke, Australia (One-to-one Task-based, Assessment Interviews: A Powerful Support for Mathematics Teacher Professional Learning).
Professor Doug Clarke the Mathematics Teaching and Learning Centre at Australian Catholic University (Melbourne). He Doug
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Prof. Dr. Doug Clarke, second keynote speaker for CoSMEd 2015
directed the Early Numeracy Research Project, exploring effective approaches to mathematics learning in the early years in 70 Victorian primary schools from 1999 to 2002. From 2011 to 2014, Doug was part of the research team for Encouraging Persistence Maintaining Challenge, a project which studied teacher actions which seemed to encourage students to persist on challenging tasks. In 2014 and 2015, he has co-directed the Learning from Lessons pilot study, which is studying the process by which teachers learning from the experience of teaching one lesson informs subsequent lesson planning.
Doug’s research and professional interests include teacher professional learning, the use of task-based, one-on-one assessment interviews with students, strategies for developing student persistence on cognitively demanding tasks, teacher planning, problem solving and investigations, and manageable and meaningful assessment.
c. Mushtak Al-Atabi, Malaysia (Educating the 21st Century Engineer: A Case for Using MOOCs).
Professor Dr. Mushtak Al-Atabi is a Mechanical Engineer. He earned his first degree and masters from the University of Baghdad (Iraq) and PhD from the University of Sheffield (UK). He
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is currently Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Dean at Taylor’s University as well as Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE). His research interests include thermofluids, renewable energy, biomechanical engineering, engineering education and academic leadership. He has numerous research publications, awards and honours, as well as holds memberships in several professional bodies, such as the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) UK, American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). He also developed and delivered the first MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) in Malaysia in March 2013 and pioneered the use of MOOCs for corporate training and human resource development.
The allocated time for each Keynote Address was 60 minutes.
2. Plenary Address (1 to 3)The presenters of Plenary Address were:
a. Mark Windale, United Kingdom (STEM Education in Practice).
Dr. Mark Windale is a Principal Lecturer in Science Education and Director of International Programme at the Centre for Science Education, Sheffield Hallam University, United Kingdom. Before occupying his present post at the University 18 years ago, he rose from the ranks as biology and science teacher in secondary schools in UK. Dr. Mark Windale was involved in various projects undertaken by the UK Department of Education most notably is the development of standards for science teachers. He was later involved as an Advisor to the Teacher Training Agency in the development of the generic Newly Qualified Teacher Standards and to the Association for Science Education on the early development of the Chartered Science Teacher Standards. Currently, Dr. Mark is heavily involved in running the Inspiring Science Project in partnership with the British Council, and the Office of the Basic Education Commission, Ministry of Education, Thailand; Inquiry-Based Science Education project in partnership with the Ministry of Education Brunei Darussalam; and the HEBAT Sains Malaysia project in partnership with the British Council, Malaysia and the BPK, Ministry of Education, Malaysia.
b. Esther Sui-Chu Ho & Terence Y.P. Lam, Hong Kong (Insights of PISA for the Assessment of Scientific Literacy: The Case of Hong Kong).
Prof. Ho is the Director of the Hong Kong Centre for International Student Assessment and attached in the Department of Education Administration and Policy at The Chinese University of Hong Kong [BSc, DipEd, MA(Ed) (CUHK), PhD (UBC)]. Prof. Ho is
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the Project Manager of HKPISA-2000, 2003, 2006, 2009, 2012, 2015. Consultant of Macau-PISA-2003; China-PISA 2006 Trial Study and Shanghai-PISA 2009 Main Study. Fulbright Scholar at Pennsylvania State University (2004) and Johns Hopkins University (2010); Research Associate of the project Education and Development in South China. Teaching consultant of the World Bank in the District Primary Educational Program, India. Principal Investigator of Home School Collaboration Project. Courses taught include School Effectiveness and School Restructuring; Structure and Process of Schooling; Educational Policy and Practice in Hong Kong; Family, Community and School: Policy & Practices; Education and Society in Hong Kong; Quantitative Analysis in Classroom & School Settings. Research interests include: Parental Involvement in Children’s Education, Home School Community Collaboration, School Effectiveness and School Reform, Decentralization and School-based Management, Research Methodology in Education, Multilevel Analysis in Educational Research.
c. Wan Fatimah Wan Ahmad, Malaysia (Next Generation of Teaching and Learning Mathematics).
Dr. Wan Fatimah Wan Ahmad is an associate professor with 20 years of experience as an academia. She obtained her PhD from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. She is currently attached at Department of Computer & Information Sciences, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Malaysia. Her research interests include topics on Multimedia, Human-computer Interaction, Mathematics Education, e-learning and Mobile Learning. She is currently leading several research grants from Ministry of Science Technology & Innovation and Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia. She won several awards in National and International levels of exhibition and commercialised few products.
The allocated time for each Plenary Address was 60 minutes.3. Parallel Session (1 to 5)
The presenters of Parallel Session, for example were:a. Fadjar Shadiq (How can SEAMEO QITEP in Mathematics Helps
Indonesian Mathematics Teachers to Help Their Students to be Independent Learners in the Case of Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR)?)
b. Dominador D. Mangao (SEAMEO Basic Education Standards (SEA-BES): Responding to Equity and Equality in Education in the Southeast Asian Region).
c. Herawati Susilo (The Problems of Implementing Remedial Teaching and Learning in Science and Biology Classrooms in East Java, Indonesia).
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There 128 papers altogether were presented during the conference. The allocated time for each presenter during the Parallel Session was only 20 minutes, 15 minutes for presentation and 5 minutes for discussion. The presenters were come from universities, schools or SEAMEO Centre.
4. Symposium (1 to 3)
There 15 papers altogether were presented during the conference. The allocated time for each presenter during the Symposium was 60 minutes, 45 minutes for presentation and 15 minutes for discussion. The presenters were come from universities, schools or SEAMEO Centre.
5. Workshops (1 to 2)
There 15 papers altogether were presented during the conference. The allocated time for each presenter during the Symposium was 120 minutes, 100 minutes for presentation and 20 minutes for discussion. The presenters were come from universities, schools or SEAMEO Centre, such as:
a. Mohan Chinnappan (The Use of ICT to Foster Students’ Knowledge Integration)
b. Doug Clarke & Barbara Clarke (Exploring Affordances and Constraints with Different Types of Mathematical Tasks: Some Insights from Australia)
c. Brenda Sarva (Fun with Math)
6. Non-digital Poster Presentation.
There 19 posters altogether were presented during the conference in Day 1 and 2 at 13.15 to 14.15 during the lunch time. The papers were come from universities, schools or SEAMEO Centre, such as:
a. Rumiati (How do Students at a Special School Solve Number Problems?)
b. Sri Rahayu (Teacher Performance in Public Junior High Schools of Surakarta)
c. Titin Sumarni (Efforts Improving Learning Mathematics Student’s Creativity by Using Open Ended Approach)
d. Oldric Licaros & Jeaneth Licaros (Concrete-Representational-Abstraction Technique on the Learning Outcomes of Grade Seven Students in Mathematics).
e. Mohd Sazali Khalid, Suhaidah Tahir & Thien Lei Mee (Curriculum Mapping for Year 7 – 8 Among Six South East Asian countries).
7. Digital Poster Presentation
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There 18 posters altogether were presented during the conference in Day 1 at 14.15 to 15.15. The papers were come from universities, schools or SEAMEO Centre, such as:
a. Saya Mizoguchi & Naoto Nakamura (Development of Interactive Video Materials Using an Electronic Watermark).
b. Tan Khan Aun, Jamaludin Yaacob, Ng Khar Thoe, Dominador D. Mangao & Suhaidah Tahir(Strategizing Green School Initiatives through “PEACE” Approach).
c. Normimi Roslee, Corrienna Abd Talib, Ling Ah Hong, Ng Khar Thoe & Savanee Sararaks (Exploring the Use of Digital Tools to Stimulate Learners' Interest in Science: An Experience with Social Learning Platform).
d. Nabilah Abdullah, Ng Khar Thoe, Baharulnizam Baharum & Chin Chee Keong (Reviving Science Learning Culture Towards Biodiversity/Environmental Conservation and Sustainability Using Blended Learning Tools).
e. Chong Hon Yew, Pedro Lucis Montecillo Jr., Ng Khar Thoe & Suhaidah Tahir (Raising Awareness with Disaster Risk Reduction Education Integrating Digital Tools: The Roles of Astronomy and Earth Science Education).
Recommendations
1. The paper presenters of the conference were from Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia, Australia, Hong Kong, Great Britain and Nigeria. Most of them were from Malaysia, Philippines and Indonesia. In addition, the participants of the conference were mostly from Malaysia, Philippines and Indonesia. The questions can be aroused were:
a. Why others SEAMEO member countries, such as Singapore, Brunei, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Timor Leste and Myanmar did not attend the conference?
b. This was the challenge for SEAMEO QITEP in Mathematics to persuade SEAMEO member countries, such as Singapore, Brunei, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Timor Leste and Myanmar to attend the conference or symposium that was held by SEAMEO QITEP in Mathematics?
c. The point b above can happen only if the quality of symposium that will be held by SEAMEO QITEP in Mathematics is better than the conference that was held by SEAMEO RECSAM. So the real question was how to increase the quality of ISME which was held by SEAMEO QITEP in Mathematics.
2. It is found as DRR research finding that to change and improve the quality of teaching and learning process from a “typical” or “traditional” mathematics classroom to the new one and more innovative is not easy. During the conference, I discussed with mathematics educator how to overcome the problem. They suggested
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to implement ‘mentoring’ or ‘coaching’ approach to change and improve the quality of teaching and learning process in the classes from a “typical” or “traditional” mathematics classroom to the new one and more innovative. Therefore, SEAMEO QITEP in Mathematics personnel should learn those two terms and implementing it during the teaching and learning of mathematics. In addition, it would be better if we reduce the time to focus on mathematical content knowledge to focus on mathematical thinking skills.
3. SEAMEO QITEP in Mathematics personnel should also learn from the paper presented during the conference in order to enhance and enrich their capability in helping and facilitating each mathematics teacher from SEAMEO member countries. Therefore, each SEAMEO QITEP in Mathematics personnel is invited to copy the proceeding of the conference.
4. The CoSMED was held in collaboration with ‘Ministry of Education Malaysia’, ‘Jabatan Pendidikan Negeri Pulau Pinang’, ‘University of Science Malaysia’, ‘Sultan Idris Education University’ dan ‘Institut Pendidikan Guru (IPG) Kampus Pulau Pinang’. Learn from the collaboration between SEAMEO RECSAM and other institutions, it is recommended that the next ISME should be collaborated with other institutions such as: BNI, Pertamina, UGM, UNY, UPY or with other institutions.
5. The next CoSMED which will be held in 2017, SEAMEO QITEP in Mathematics should participate by sending its personnel to this event and actively involved by presenting the research done by SEAMEO QITEP in Mathematics.
6. To ensure research that will be done by SEAMEO QITEP in Mathematics to be high in quality, therefore it should be recommended that research that will be done by SEAMEO QITEP in Mathematics should be planned and acted collaboratively by entire its personnel. In addition, each personnel of SEAMEO QITEP in Mathematics should enrich and enhance its competence and capability regarding the teaching and learning of Mathematics.
Penang and Jogyakarta, November 2015
Fadjar Shadiq, M.App.ScDeputy Director for Administration SEAMEO QITEP in MathematicsYogyakartaIndonesia
