The International Cross-border STEM Education Cloud sharing (the first session), about “Epidemic and Primary and Secondary STEM Education: Innovation, Creativity and Sustainable Development”, was successfully launched on the morning of 13 May. The sharing is co-sponsored and co-organized by ICI, the International Engineering Education Center, the Associated Schools International Network Center and Tsinghua University.

The seminar attracted worldwide attention. More than 4, 000 participants joined in the seminar, of which 40% were from North America, Europe and Africa.

The first session was conducted in the form of keynote reports, dialogues and Q&A. Associate Professor Xiao Sihan of ICI, Hoshi, president of Stanford online High School, Han Dong, academic principle of Yitu Middle School, and Li Yi, senior teacher of the Middle School affiliated to Renmin University of China, shared their own practice and academic experience.

01

Han Dong, academic principal of Yitu Middle School, first introduced the STEM project of the Beijing Migration Raptor Surveillance Project from his own experience, then proposed that students could conduct scientific research at home during the outbreak, and shared in detail how to integrate online and offline resources to enrich students' STEM learning experience in their daily living environment. His sharing provided an effective solution for students to manage their time effectively, make their own study plans and become independent learners.

02

Associate Professor Xiao Sihan of ICI and Dr. Hoshi, principal of Stanford online High School made an online conversation. Xiao first asked Dr. Hoshi to introduce the organization and operation mode of curriculum and instruction at Stanford online High School, as well as their rich experience in online teaching. They conducted in-depth exchanges on how to use daily life resources to promote STEM teaching, the integration of formal and informal education, and the sharing of learning resources in different cultural contexts during the outbreak.

03

Dr. Li Yi, senior teacher of the Middle School affiliated to Renmin University of China, shared her experiences on four integrated STEM research and practice projects (including optical communication technology, brain-computer interface, Internet of things and smart city, UAV manufacturing and formation flying). She then shared how to improve students’ math and engineering skills based on these projects. She believed that the future STEM education needs the combination of online and offline education, the combination of schools and laboratories, the combination of subject knowledge and practice, the combination of schools and enterprises, and the connection between schools. Her sharing provided a reference for the majority of primary and secondary school teachers to carry out STEM curriculum design.

At the end of the online sharing, Associate Professor Xiao Sihan summarized the the event and analyzed the opportunities and challenges of STEM education during the outbreak:

1. The outbreak is not an abstract concept and a “grand narrative”, but a specific issue that all people need to make judgments and decisions in their daily lives.

2. STEM education should transcend the metaphor of “talent delivery pipeline” implied in traditional science education, mathematics education, technology and engineering education, and face all students and the daily life of ordinary people.

3. STEM education means not only the intersection of fields and disciplines, but also the intersection of people.

Associate Professor Xiao Sihan called on everyone to think about how STEM education in the context of the outbreak can make use of daily resources to reshape the relationship between school education and the real world, so that we can learn to live together in a more just way.

The video clip is available at: https://cloud.tsinghua.edu.cn/f/fbf885523ffc4f539cc4/

Password: thanksfromtsinghua