On August 29 the Function Hall of the AIIAS Auditorium filled with K-12 teachers from Cavite Mission, AIIAS Academy, AUP Academy and the AIIAS Education department for a hands-on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) workshop with STEM consultant Ophelia Barizo.
Mrs. Barizo, a Nationally Certified STEM Educator in the United States and Albert Einstein Education Fellow with the National Science Foundation, has won a number of awards for her work in STEM education. Her long-time classroom was at Highland View Academy in Maryland. For the workshop at AIIAS, she focused on easy first steps that classroom teachers can take in interesting their students in science, even when they don’t have many resources available to them. Beginning with a devotional focusing on the many evidences of God’s design in nature, Barizo provided sessions on STEM in Discipleship, Project Based Learning, Engineering, and STEM on a Shoestring. A number of hands-on cooperative projects kept the action moving all morning for the approximately 60 individuals attending.
“We can’t express enough, how much we appreciate Mrs. Barizo’s volunteer contributions to AIIAS Academy for several weeks, and to all the Adventist teachers in our region through this energetic STEM workshop format,” said Dr. Ginger Ketting-Weller, AIIAS president and former K-12 teacher herself, who organized the event. “Sharing her expertise, insights and ideas with a number of schools in our area was our pleasure. We look forward to Mrs. Barizo’s return next year as she enlivens teachers and students for inquiry and development in the STEM areas of study.”
