In-house Seminar-Workshop: Collective reflection using strategies and resources from the La main à la pâte program

Eighteen science education specialists and associates participated in the in-house seminar-workshop on Inquiry-Based Science Education: resources and strategies from La main à la pâte held at the Information Science Lab on 22 November 2018.

Ms. Celia R. Balbin of the Information Science Group facilitated the seminar-workshop that acquainted the staff with the latest information about the La main à la pâte (lamap) program and engaged them in collective reflection about individual and institutional strategic initiatives in inquiry-based science education (IBSE).

The seminar-workshop was designed around the lamap website (www.fondation-lamap.org), its online and print resources, as well as photos and videos that Ms. Balbin took of a lamap pilot center for teachers.

To begin with, Ms. Balbin led the staff in completing an Online Treasure Hunt activity to learn about the program’s history, principles of inquiry-based approach, international projects and partners, wide array of resources, and a sample teacher support system, among others.

Ms. Balbin then introduced the ‘strategic development star’—a diagram depicting six strategic elements of a program, project, or initiative. The strategic elements have been identified as: mobilizing decision makers, teacher training and support, creating learning networks, coordinating a local support network, giving teachers access to resources, and assessment. The participants used the star diagram to plot their competency level on each strategic element.

Lamap’s ‘strategic development star’—a diagram depicting six strategic elements of a program,
project, or initiative, where users plot their competency level on each strategic element.

As a final exercise, Ms. Balbin asked the staff to use another lamap tool called the ‘flower model of the axis of development of science and technology in schools.’ The participants formed small groups (math, science, administration, biology), and using the flower model, they arrived at a collage of what they considered as their collective strengths and weaknesses relative to the strategic elements.

Lamap’s ‘flower model of the axis of development of S&T in
schools’ helps NISMED identify strategic initiatives.