Pekan Nanas, otherwise known as the Pineapple town, is in the district of Pontian where SMK Dato’ Mohd Yunos Sulaiman is located. On Thursday, October 31st, the staff and students of this secondary school witnessed and participated in the open inquiry STEM activities of the CREATE project featuring two ‘developing a prototype’ activities. These activities were led by a team of STEM experts coordinated by Dr. Corrienna Abdul Talib from the Faculty of Social Science and Humanities, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. The team received a warm welcome from the school teachers. After the formal introduction, about 90 students were organized into small groups and encouraged with some refreshing talks and activities. The necessary materials were shared by all the groups in the two activities which marked the beginning of critical thinking and open inquiry learning. Through the use of their initiatives and collaboration, students caught up what was required of them to do, leading them to design and develop rockets and a rubber band car through the application of a series of inquiry skills. Consequently, these activities assured the students of their brighter future in a society that requires 21st- century skills. The products (project prototypes) developed by various groups were utilized with the purpose of competition to crown the champion. The first five winners from each activity were sorted, called to the finish line and rewarded with some gifts and words of encouragement. This moment was full of excitement and joy as evidenced from the faces of both staff and students of the school. The event ended with a group photo session, a lot of thanks from the school’s administration. Both staff and students were extremely and ecstatically happy with the activities which, according to them were very much relevant to the development of their schema and expressed their readiness to always participate in such activities. The school further thanked the Faculty of Social Science and Humanities team, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia for their valuable participation. For further details kindly contact corrienna@utm.my
Written by Faruku Aliyu and Dr. Corrienna Abdul Talib.