Promoting Innovation and Critical Thinking
through STEM focused TVET
The Application of STEM for Economic
Development
Authors: Owen Wilson , Shereen Davy-Stubbs & Conrad Valentine
April 15, 2015
Overview of TVET
TVET is the acquisition of practical skills, attitudes and
knowledge relating to workplace competence.
TVET is understood to be:
(a) an integral part of general education;
(b) a means of preparing for occupational fields and for
effective participation in the world of work;
(c) an aspect of lifelong learning and a preparation for
responsible citizenship;
(d) an instrument for promoting sustainable
development;
(e) a method of facilitating poverty alleviation.
UNESCO Definition
Background



One of the most intractable problems facing Jamaica is
youth unemployment
The number of unemployed persons in Jamaica stood at
179,400 persons in July 2014.
The number of unemployed youths is 34.1 per cent for July
2014.
Currently in the Jamaican economy, there are more people
willing to work than the number of jobs available. If the
economic conditions continue to decline, cyclical
unemployment will continue to increase.
Statistical Institute of Jamaica 2013
Context
Engineering and other STEM fields are areas of great
concern and great demand for employers. It needs support
from the GOJ, particularly the Ministry of Science,
Technology, Energy and Mining and the Ministry of
Education working in tandem to empower High School
leavers to pursue Engineering related fields.
Improving our skilled pool of [Contextual Engineers] and
Technicians will make Jamaica attractive to Foreign Direct
Investors (FDI) looking to set up without the added cost of
having to find multi-lingual trainers to train Jamaicans
technicians and engineers, as they would already be here in
abundance.
Ministry of Labour and Social Security Social research Data
Introduction

Globally education is acknowledged as a means of
transforming and empowering citizens within a
country with requisite skills, knowledge and,
attitudes to enable them to become productive
members of the society.
 Innovations and advances in STEM are end
products of critical thinking and problem solving.
Review of Literature

Primary role of education is its contribution to
longer-run economic growth (Töffler 1995)
 It has a big role to play in the success of Jamaica’s
2030 Developmental Plan in terms of the quality
of jobs and productivity growth
 We should not allow the austerity to put at risk
this function of education therefore, we need
to: Promote Innovation and Critical thinking
through STEM focused TVET.
Critical Thinking

Whenever we are dealing with human life,
we are almost always dealing with thinking.
 Thinking is the way that the mind makes
sense of the world.
 There is no way to understand anything
except through thinking.
 Innovation and creativity are end products
of critical thinkers.
(Wood 2002)
Critical thinking is a selfdirected process by which we
take deliberate steps to think at
the highest level
Critical thinking therefore
requires a conscious level of
processing, analysis, creation
and evaluation of possible
outcomes and reflection.
Study without reflection is a waste of time; reflection without study is
dangerous."
-- Confucius
Why Is Critical Thinking
Important?
It . . .
underlies reading, writing, listening and speaking. These are
basic elements of communication. They play an important
part in social change.
plays a major role in technological advances
blazes a path to freedom from half-truths and deceptions
Institutions in any society such as courts, governments,
schools, businesses are products of critical thinking.
(Esterle & Clurman 1993)
Importance Cont’d
The ideal critical thinker is habitually
inquisitive, well-informed, trustful of
reason, open-minded, flexible, fair-minded
in evaluation, honest in facing personal
biases, prudent in making judgments,
willing to reconsider, clear about issues,
orderly in complex matters, diligent in
seeking relevant solutions.
Classroom Example
Apply Level: Implementing
In-class instruction:
Students learn about Newton’s three laws
Assessment:
Students are asked to list Newton’s three laws
of motion
11
12
Classroom Example
Apply Level: Implementing
In-class instruction:
Students learn about Newton’s three laws
Assessment:
Students are asked to examine the information
about a car crash and determine which if any
of Newtown’s laws apply to the situation
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Critical Thinking Is:
Higher Order Thinking
That Unifies
Curriculum, Instruction, and
Learning
The fundamental problems in schooling today
at all levels are fragmentation and the
promotion of lower order learning:

there is too little connection and depth.

methodology adopted by the Education system stifles
creativity and critical thinking.

fragmented lists dominate curricula and lack of rigor

fragmented teaching dominates instruction

fragmented lower order skills dominate learning

inadequacy in the preparation of students for higher
learning and the world of work
(Stobaugh 2013)

“All too often we focus on a narrow collection
of well-defined tasks and train students to
execute those tasks in a routine, if not
algorithmic fashion.

Then we test the students on tasks that are
very close to the ones they have been taught.
If they are successful with the given tasks, we
congratulate each other on the fact that they
have learned .”
(Foundation for critical thinking n.d.)
The Partnership for 21st Century Skills
(2011) advocates merging the 3Rs (core
academic content mastery) and the 4Cs
(critical thinking, collaboration,
communication, and creativity)
(Stobaugh 2013)
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Paradigm Shift
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
We must make a paradigm shift from a didactic
to a critical model of education to make higher
order thinking a classroom reality.
Establish a strong STEM ecosystem to ensure
that students are equipped with technical and
professional skills.
Incentivise Innovation and Creativity
Develop systems to foster an inspire a STEM
Culture K -12
Conversion/merging of underutilized spaces to
Technical Training, National Polytechnics and
Colleges
Let us now consider
some of the basic
changes that must be
made to effect this shift.
Reconceive and
Redesign the Curriculum
Curricula play a significant role in school
life. Instruction arises from goals and
objectives stated in them.
The shift from a lecture-drill-recall
paradigm to one focused upon engaged
deep-processing
CSEC Data Maths & Science
Performance of Public Schools by Subjects, 2013 - 2014
SUBJECT
TOTAL
TOTAL
SITTINGS
ENTRIES 2014 2014
PERCENT
PASSES 2014 PASSES 2014
TOTAL
ENTRIES
2013
TOTAL
SITTINGS
2013
PERCENT
PASSES 2013 PASSES 2013
Increase+/-
ADDITIONAL
MATHEMATICS
972
930
681
73.2
583
572
381
66.6
6.6
AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE
DOUBLE AWARD *
523
507
399
78.7
466
452
431
95.4
-17
AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE
SINGLE AWARD
2996
2851
2318
81.3
3003
2865
2673
93.3
-12.0
BIOLOGY
5943
5805
4546
78.3
5621
5510
4249
77.1
1.2
CHEMISTRY
5350
5220
3862
74.0
5338
5198
3469
66.7
7.2
10217
9887
6444
65.2
10169
9867
6625
67.1
-2.0
6945
6555
4714
71.9
7386
6992
5180
74.1
-2.2
MATHEMATICS
23839
23351
12963
55.5
23354
22874
9659
42.2
13.3
PHYSICS
Total
5139
61924
4948
60054
3860
39787
78.0
72.9
4883
60803
4714
59044
3239
35906
68.7
72.4
9.3
4.9
HUMAN AND SOCIAL
BIOLOGY
INTEGRATED SCIENCE
Building Mathematics & Science Skills
Jamaica must create a scientific and
technological culture where
technology is not only consumed but
created
There should be strong links among
research bodies, tertiary institutions
and industry to stimulate innovation
and boost economic development
Identify a challenge facing our
schools, and using STEM in alliance
with TVET, develop effective,
innovative and sustainable solutions
to the challenge identified.
Building a strong STEM
ecosystem

A strong STEM ecosystem depends on an interdisciplinary
 education system that is closely aligned with workforce
needs. No longer can the education system be defined just
as schools and universities; a student’s education must be
 reframed to include time both inside and outside
 of school, intergenerational learning within the
 family and community, and experiences students
 have interacting with real world problems
Pillars to build STEM
Ecosystem





Align educational curricula and skill development with
local employer needs.
Foster robust vocational and technical training career
pathways across skill levels.
Build a system of internship, apprenticeship, and
mentoring opportunities.
Offer untraditional education opportunities to reinforce inschool curricula.
Increase access to technology that can deliver innovative
education programs
FOSTERING AN INSPIRING
STEM CULTURE
An inspiring STEM culture places value on
the importance of STEM and what it brings to
the community; families and individuals
appreciate how essential all STEM pathways
are to the field, and the general public has a
basic understanding of STEM and the value of
a diverse STEM workforce.
Pillars for Fostering an Inspiring
STEM Culture





Promote STEM heroes and elevate the importance of
STEM professionals at home, in school, and in the media.
Support the development of and engagement in fun,
interactive recreational STEM activities.
Develop public education initiatives that breakdown
stereotypes about technical and vocational training.
Invest in STEM teaching so it becomes a more attractive
method of student/teacher engagement.
Attract diverse demographics into STEM through
mentorship and redefining STEM in the workplace.
Incentivising Innovation and
creativity
Governments must pursue a comprehensive
STEM policy agenda that incentivizes
companies to invest in research and
innovation. Such an agenda can create new
job opportunities for STEM graduates, grow
the economy, and accelerate scientific
progress.
Pillars to Incentivising
Innovation and Creativity





Identify and invest in priority STEM industries most
relevant to national competitive advantage.
Offer tax breaks and incentives to firms for ingenuity and
Research and Development
Develop a robust STEM strategy with policies that
support priority industries through grant funding,
intellectual property protection, and research.
Evaluate and refine the STEM strategy and approach in
line with evolving national and regional needs.
Connect with the global community to identify, share, and
strengthen promising practices.
Quality of schooling and
economic growth



Education increases the human capital inherent in the labor
force, which increase productivity and thus transitional
growth towards a higher equilibrium level of output.
Education may increase the innovative capacity of the
economy and the new knowledge on new technologies,
products and processes promotes growth.
Education may facilitate the diffusion and transmissions of
knowledge needed to understand and process new
information and to successfully implement new
technologies devised by others, which again promotes
economic growth.
Connection between education and
economic growth?

Education fires up technological progress
 Formal education is an important source of human
capital
 Human capital stimulates productivity growth
directly or indirectly
 Human capital is a vehicle for technical progress
 investment in education builds the foundation of
sustained economic growth and ensures a longterm regional competitive advantage.
Thank You

Too often we give children answers to
remember rather than problems to solve.
Roger Lewin

"If a man empties his wallet into his
head, no one can take it from him.„
“The true concept of life long
learning” Therefore, if we are in the
wrong hole – Let stop digging
(Unknown)
References

Edman, Laird R. O. (2002). Teaching Thinking: The state of the art [handout]. Mercer
University.

Esterle, E. & Clurman, D. (Eds.) (1993). Critical thinking development . San Francisco,
CA : Whitman Institute.

Foundation for critical thinking. Retrieved from www.criticalthinking.org

Goscik, K. (2002). Teaching Critical Thinking: Elements of Critical Thinking.
Composition Center. 1997. Dartmouth College. Retrieved from
http://www.dartmouth.edu/%7Ecompose/faculty/pedagogies/thinking.html.

Performance of public schools by subject 2013 - 2014. (2014). Caribbean Examination
Council

Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN)

Stobaugh, R. (2013). Assessing critical thinking in middle and high schools: Meeting
the common core. New York: Routledge.
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