OpenSTEM Africa

Co-developing technology-based practical science teaching & learning

Government policies aim to improve opportunities for all young people, especially girls, to study science subjects and take up STEMrelated careers.The challenge is for ways to address the need for more laboratories, equipment and materials to support teachers and schools to effect this and enable learners to engage with practical science.

OpenSTEM Africa: Ghana supports the effective teaching and learning of practical science in Senior High Schools in Ghana by:

• creating a Virtual Lab of practical science apps, which helps provide more opportunities for learners to engage with practical science;
• professional development for teachers to develop effective ICT-based teaching and learning approaches;
• professional support for heads of science to help improve the experiential teaching and learning of the practical science syllabus.

Open, on-screen, online

Drawing on the OU’s pioneering OpenScience Laboratory technology, the OpenSTEM Africa Virtual Lab provides a set of curriculum-relevant, on-screen, practical science apps for multiple use in multiple experiments in multiple lessons. Each is based on real science data and produces real scientific outputs    which can be analysed and used to develop students’ and teachers’ skills in practical science.

Progress, achievements and impact

Working with the Centre for Distance Learning and Open Schooling (CENDLOS), from the Ministry of Education, Ghana, key practical science apps have been mapped to the Ghanaian curriculum and are being co-developed to provide up to 100 interactive online virtual experiments for up to 148 Senior High Schools in Ghana. The science apps will benefit up to 148 schools with the local iBox server and up to 1.2 million SHS students and staff via the Internet.

"ICT has the potential to accelerate, enrich and deepen learning and the acquisition of skills.  Students should be motivated and engaged in classroom activities that will make them participate fully" 

Gladys, a Senior High School Chemistry Teacher in Ghana.