Russasmita Sri Padmi will present her research under 2018 Fulbright US–ASEAN Visiting Scholar Initiative Program entitled “Educating Future Engineers with STEM” on February 22, 2019, at Rumah Budaya Tembi, Yogyakarta. Her presentation will be a part of SEAQIM ‘STEM CAMP’ which will be attended by 30 selected teachers* from Yogyakarta and nearby areas.

Russasmita is an academic specialist at SEAMEO QITEP in Mathematics. She earned her bachelor degree in mathematics education from Universitas Pendidikan Ganesha. She obtained her master’s degree through the International Master Program in Mathematics Education (IMPoME) from Surabaya State University and Utrecht University. As a 2018 US-ASEAN Visiting Scholar Initiative Program grantee, Russasmita joined the STEM center of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville to conduct research on the capacity building in STEM education that is offered for mathematics teachers in the United States.

A short summary of the research:

STEM is a recently popular topic which has been discussed frequently in the educational forum in Indonesia. As an institution that is focused on teacher professional development, she intends to learn about what works and what does not work when it comes to capacity building for teachers in STEM education. The finding from her study suggest that the center offers capacity building in three aspects; resource center, research-based curriculums, and teacher training/workshop. All these aspects are rooted in the teachers’ need to for something practical and ready-to-use, which increases the teachers’ efficacy and confidence in implementing STEM in their classroom, as opposed to coming home from teacher training with purely theoretical knowledge. The implication from this research is the need for research-based STEM Mathematics curriculum that is relevant for Indonesian context, as well as a sufficient resource center that provides supporting lesson kit and manipulative.

Poster of the event:

*A note on the 30 selected teachers: the selection process includes an interview in English and a reference letter from the head of teachers’ forum KKG (Kelompok Kerja Guru)/MGMP (Musyawarah Guru Mata Pelajaran) to demonstrate active participation in the community.

Photos of the event are available here.