Integrated STEM Education in Papua New Guinea Teacher Professional Learning and Praxis

This book showcases evidence-based accounts of how school systems can tackle the challenges associated with teacher training in integrated STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education. It reports on how a group of high school teachers from Papua New Guinea were upskilled in integrated STEM education through the Graduate Certificate in STEM Education course delivered by the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) (Australia). Through their own voices, the teachers present examples of how they applied their new knowledge and skills in their contexts by tackling real-world challenges and needs aligned with the PNG Curriculum and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. Their narratives are framed in terms of the STEM pedagogies they adopted. The book provides evidence of how knowledge gained through postgraduate training has been implemented by teachers in their respective contexts, including some in rural and remote schools. Through the eyes of both teacher educators and teachers, this book demonstrates how integrated STEM Education can be delivered and serves as a helpful resource for academics, teachers, and policymakers.  Through these connections, academia and educational jurisdictions can sharpen their strategies for providing teacher in-service courses on integrated STEM Education.

Introduction to the book.- Philosophy and background to course design.- Course design and its impact on teachers.- Course delivery and its impact on teachers.- Implications for professional learning and leadership.- Authentic learning in stem.- Design thinking in stem.- Project based learning in stem.- Teacher leadership in stem.- The way forward for stem teacher learning and practice in developing countries.

Vinesh Chandra is an Associate Professor at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in Brisbane, Australia. He has over 40 years of teaching experience in Australia and various developing countries overseas. His teaching and research interests include STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) and global education. From 2000 to 23, he led the design and delivery of the Australia Awards Graduate Certificate in STEM Education course for teachers in Papua New Guinea (PNG), working with Professor Dann Mallet. His co-authored book ‘STEM Education in the Primary School: A Teacher’s Toolkit’ (Cambridge University Press) received two awards (Educational Publishing Australia Awards, 2022), and his team won Gold in the prestigious QS Reimagine Education Wharton Awards in 2022 for their project in STEM Education in PNG. In 2024, he was honoured with an Australian Award for University Teaching (AAUT) for developing and leading innovative, integrated STEM education initiatives that have improved learning and teaching both nationally and internationally.

Margaret Lloyd is an adjunct Professor in the School of Education, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), specialising in information and communication technology (ICT) education, assessment and moderation, curriculum design, and policy analysis relating to education. She has won University awards for teaching as well as several national awards, including an individual ALTC Teaching Excellence Award (for Social Sciences, including Education) and a National Teaching Fellowship.

Dann Mallet is Professor of STEM Education and Professor of Mathematics at Queensland University of Technology. He has experience in academic and curriculum team leadership and mentoring, having served as Head of the QUT School of Teacher Education from 2020-2024, and previously in roles including Assistant Dean of a large science and engineering faculty. He is also a dedicated tertiary mathematics educator, having received the Award for Teaching Excellence in the 2014 Australian Awards for University Teaching and been recognised as a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Dann has initiated and led significant international education aid projects in the Indo-Pacific region and has been recognised through numerous awards and nominations, including, most recently, a Gold award in the QS Wharton Awards and a High Commendation in the IEAA awards.