By Carmela Jones, MNS
"Without education and liberty, which are the soil and the sun of man, no reform is possible, no measure can give the result desired." Jose Rizal, Philippine National Hero
It's been an extended hiatus for my family and me with serious illnesses and business closures, but now I'm back!
Welcome to Dumaguete City, Philippines. This is where I live now with my husband who is attending Bible college. I became the Principal of the Olivet Learning Institute of Asia, Inc., OLIA, in February, 2023.
OLIA is the private school on my husband's college campus that serves preschool through grade six. It was established in 2013 and will celebrate her 10th anniversary next school year. It began as an early childhood school and over time has expanded to include an entire elementary school. The founders' vision was for Olivet to become a secondary school as well, all the way up to grade 12. We are located in the province of Negros Oriental on Negros Island, in the Candau-ay Barangay, in the Visayas.
Filipinos are known for their gentle dispositions and smiling countenances. The students, families, and teachers here at Olivet have the same character. In the Philippines, the best jobs are at call centers or overseas, even for those with a college education. Education is an important key for advancement here. No one takes academics for granted, especially in learning English, which is another key to success. It is also a widespread tradition for the eldest brother or sister to help their younger siblings pay for an education. For all the aforementioned reasons, OLIA is a wonderful opportunity to help the people of these Philippine islands, beginning here in Dumaguete City. I am so grateful for a campus director, an administrator and all the support staff who are crucial in helping me acclimate and adjust to a new school setting.
The teachers at the school are so hungry for professional development. Just as in MI we begin every lab with an observation to create a shared experience and common definitions for students, we as educators have begun by exploring principles of Inquiry through the Pi Lab and principles of Design through a Spaghetti Building Activity. We are now ready to venture into exploring the specific philosophy and pedagogy of Modeling Instruction.
Although MI is specific to STEM education, the philosophy and pedagogy are universal and can be applied to other disciplines as well. In fact, the trend in education, if I'm reading between the lines of the 3D Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) accurately, interdisciplinary integration and application plays a very vital role in education.
At OLIA, we are excited to apply MI to a wide array of courses. We don't know exactly what to expect, but at the very least it will be an adventure worth remembering and one worth documenting. Please join us as a spectator, and even more importantly, as a contributor and collaborator, while we embark on this journey together. ALL ABOARD!!!
Add your name to those who support Modeling Instruction (MI) by liking & subscribing to The STEM Secret blog (there's a subscribe button at the top and the bottom of the page: https://www.thestemsecret.com) and by liking & following The STEM Secret FaceBook page (https://www.facebook.com/theSTEMSecret/…).
If you are a Modeling teacher, share your story by sending it to the email listed. If you know a great Modeling teacher, encourage them to send their story to the email listed. cjones.stemprofessionals@gmail.com.
If you are Modeling teacher and want to interact with other Modeling teachers with a question, an issue, a classroom experience, an announcement, or anything other MI teachers might be interested in, post it on the M2M (Modeler to Modeler) blog on the AMTA site. https://modelinginstruction.org/submit-a-blog-entry-to-m2m/
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