New Era College has a thriving STEM education program coordinated through the STEM department which was established in 2018. The STEM department is housed in the official New Era College Tinkering lab. A Tinkering lab is a specially designed science lab where students can fully explore their creative ideas and turn them into real life innovations that can transform their lives and the communities they live in. Through the use of DIY STEM kits, students are taught problem solving skills, team work, design thinking, leadership and communication skills, which are all critical for the future technology driven workforce.
STEM Kits encourage students to tinker and experiment with real-world STEM applications and solutions that facilitate practical experience and learning. The STEM Kits are easy to use, self-explanatory, curriculum-based, and enhance life and creative skills, empowering learners to develop strong problem-solving and analytical skills through a practical, experiential and innovative mode of learning.
Tinkering labs are dedicated innovation spaces that come with educational STEM kits where learners can experiment with the various given innovations and learn the basic concepts of electronics, programming and robotics. The College intends to roll out Tinkering labs in schools across Botswana where teachers in the schools will be the ones teaching learners how to use the STEM kits in classes so they can coordinate the STEM sessions themselves. The College has facilitated for tinkering labs...
STEM kits, which are sold exclusively through the College, equip learners from 8 years old until infinity with the basic understanding of concepts such as electronics, programming and robotics. The kits are designed such that learners can be able to easily grasp the concepts through their “do it yourself” approach and peer based learning that encourage learners to collaborate, think creatively and tinker with them until they come up with their own amazing innovations.
The STEM Club offers after-school STEM programs by establishing clubs in schools that equip learners with practical competencies and knowledge in electronics, programming and robotics. Weekly sessions are designed to take learners through progressively complex concepts, projects...
New Era College hosts an Annual STEM Hackathon under the theme in collaboration with the Mathematical Association of Botswana (MAB). The event brings together the top mathematics students from around the country to come and showcase their skills in STEM.
My time as a STEM associate has been exciting and enriching with all the knowledge and experience I gained from my time with the STEM department.
As an associate I was expected to balance my school work with my part time work which included mandatory hours spent in the tinkering lab carrying out departmental duties or helping other students with the STEM kits.
The experience also gave me an insight into working life. Even though the position was a part-time, I had to learn how to be professional and make sure I carry myself an employee, which meant arriving on time every day for work and showing up with a positive attitude.
The past year spent as a STEM associate in New Era College’s STEM department has furthered my knowledge on STEM and even given me ideas to some great innovations I could invent once I leave the College.
The highlight of my experience has been interacting with younger learners from junior schools and teaching them all about STEM through the STEM kits. I especially enjoyed this part as through teaching I also learned more about STEM concepts.
The joy of being a STEM associate is that you get to spend a lot of time in the STEM lab tinkering with various components which helped me a lot in better understanding some concepts that were being taught in the classrooms.
My passion for science and technology started at a young age when I used to watch robots in movies like transformers and developed an interest as to how exactly they operate. I learned what STEM was through watching the TV program that the STEM department at the College produced.
During the show there was an opportunity for a viewer to win themselves a STEM kit through answering some STEM related questions. Due to my passion for the subject I paid close attention to the show and actually answered the quiz question correctly. This earned me my very own STEM kit to tinker with at home.
When the opportunity to apply as a STEM associate came about I jumped at it with both hands so I could further my STEM knowledge.
