Science teachers, Supervisors and Campus Directors from various regions representing the Department of Education and the Philippine Science High School System met with DOST-PNRI officials during the roll out of the Nuclear Science and Technology Education Program (NSTEP) in selected pilot schools in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao for K-12 students on August 15-17, 2018. The NSTEP aims to support, strengthen and sustain nuclear science and technology education in the Philippines
PNRI Rolls Out nSTEp+ for K-12 Teachers and Students in the Regions
Expanding the reach of nuclear science and technology to high school classrooms in various provinces, the Department of Science and Technology – Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (DOST-PNRI) has recently rolled out its Nuclear Science and Technology Education Program (nSTEp+) to its regional counterparts from the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Philippine Science High School (PSHS) System.
During the nSTEp+ Forum from August 15-17, 2018, participating science teachers, supervisors and campus directors from DepEd and PSHS agreed to become part of the vibrant network of science educators who will promote the peaceful uses and applications of nuclear science and technology through the implementation of various curricular and extra curricular activities incorporating nuclear and radiation concepts in various subjects.
PSHS is already set to include nuclear science as an elective subject for their Grade 10 students as well as in their existing student activities like science and research fairs, science clubs, and a column in their school paper.
Meanwhile, DepEd will begin conducting awareness campaigns about the program and extracurricular activities while waiting for the guidelines for the integration of nuclear science concepts in their classes. The integration was drawn from the Memorandum of Understanding between DepEd and PNRI signed last February 2018.
The coverage of the nSTEp+ includes selected areas and schools in the Philippines, namely Region I (Ilocos), Region III (Central Luzon), Region 4-A (CALABARZON), Region VI (Central Visayas), Region VII (Western Visayas), Region X (North Mindanao), Region XI (Davao), Region XII (SOCCSKSARGEN) and the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR).
nSTEp+ draws from the rich experience gained from technical cooperation projects with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) starting with its pilot implementation in the Philippines since 2015. Through an inter-agency partnership between PNRI, DepEd, PSHS and the DOST-Science Education Institute (DOST-SEI), the projects involved the successful use of the IAEA-developed compendium of resources in teaching nuclear and radiation concepts in an outreach program for secondary schools in Asia and the Pacific.
Through this continuing IAEA projects, teachers and supervisors from DepEd and PSHS were sent abroad to train and observe activities in secondary schools from other countries as they integrate nuclear science in their respective curriculums. The trainees shared their experiences and demonstrated some of the classroom activities they learned from the fellowship during the nSTEp+ forum. These activities include the cloud chamber experiments, radiation monitoring with survey meters and interactive lessons on radiation safety.
At the end of the forum, the participants had the opportunity to interact with researchers and scientists of PNRI and other nuclear and radiation facilities, namely the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant, the medical cyclotron center at the National Kidney and Transplant Institute and the radiopharmaceutical lab of Assurance Controls Technologies Co. Inc.
Through an inter-agency partnership between PNRI, DepEd, PSHS and SEI, nSTEp+ aims to expand its reach to all the regions in the Philippines, inspiring the Filipino youth through nuclear science and technology.
