Abstract:

Apart from public education, private education plays an important role in the education arena in Taiwan. In 2017, it has been estimated that the amount of money that parents in Taiwan spent on after school enrichment classes is way above public education [1] [2]. This amount is also exceedingly high considering the average median salary [3]. With such high emphasis in the after-school education scene, especially with public education costing just a fraction amount, there is an essential need to upskill the teaching abilities of educators in these organizations. For this research, after school educators from AI4Kids Creative Education Corporation Limited embarked on a 2-day professional development workshop to enhance the curriculum design capabilities of educators using the DDMT Model [4]. In this 2-day workshop, participants will learn how to incorporate critical thinking [5] into their designed courses as well as the use of a digital portfolio [6] to capture the learning pathway of individual students [7]. At the end of the workshop, each participant will submit a DDMT designed course to be implemented in the upcoming summer holidays.

References:
[1] Everington, K. (2017, July 3). Taiwanese parents spend 5th most in world on education: Taiwan news: 2017-07-03 16:07:00. Taiwan News. Retrieved May 31, 2022, from https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3202190
[2] National Academy for Educational Research. 中文. (n.d.). Retrieved May 31, 2022, from https://www.naer.edu.tw/eng/PageSyllabus?fid=148
[3] Morgan, S. (2018, December 25). Taiwan median salary highest since 2012: Taiwan News: 2018-12-25 10:18:00. Taiwan News. Retrieved May 31, 2022, from https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3604038#:~:text=Taiwan's%20median%20salary%20was%20NT%24470%2C000%20in%202017&text=TAIPEI%20(Taiwan%20News)%20%E2%80%93%20Taiwan's,(DGBAS)%2C%20reported%20CNA.
[4] Lam, K.-F. T., Wang, T.-H., Vun, Y.-S., & Ku, N. (2019). Using DDMT Teaching Model to Cultivate Critical Thinking in a STEAM Classroom. International Congress on Education and Technology in Sciences, 47–57
[5] ABET Engineering Accreditation Commission. (2012). Criteria for Accrediting Engineering Programs. Retrieved from http://www.abet.org/accreditation/accreditation-criteria/criteria-for-accrediting-engineering-programs-2016-2017/.
[6] Lam, K.-F. T., Wang, T. H., & Nedivi, R. (2020). Measuring Students’ Competencies With ShareLook as a Digital Portfolio. III Congreso Internacional de Tendencias En Innovación Educativa 2020, 22–28.
[7] Biggs, J. (1988). The role of metacognition in enhancing learning. Journal of Education, 32(2), 127–138. https://doi.org/10.1177/000494418803200201

Keywords:

Tsing Hua STEAM School, STEAM, Critical Thinking.