Following up on the MoU agreed by the Director of SEAMEO QITEP in Science (SEAQIS) and the Head of the Darul Ulum 1 Middle School Jombang in March 2018 about assistance in the preparation and implementation of STEM Schools as piloting STEM-based Schools, Director of SEAQIS, Dr Indrawati, accompanied by the Head of ICT Division, Dr. Poppy Kamlia Devi, visited Darul Ulum 1 Middle School Jombang on 26-28 August 2019 in the context of monitoring and evaluating the programme that had been running for 1 year.
After the signing of the MoU, the Head of Darul Ulum 1 Middle School, Mr Mashudi, SS, SPd, formed a special STEM class in his school as a first step towards implementing STEM as a whole for all students. Two STEM classes were formed, consisting of selected students who were academically selected and interested in STEM.
During one year, many STEM projects have been developed but there are also many obstacles experienced by the principal and the STEM developer team. So, in that SEAQIS Director’s visit, Dr Indrawati provided direction in the preparation of the STEM programme. Before it leads to STEM, there needs to have improvements in advance to the school managerial. Starting from the relevance of the STEM programme to the vision and mission of the school, collaboration between school personnel, supporting facilities and infrastructure, as well as the readiness of teachers and students in receiving STEM learning.
To reinforce Darul Ulum 1 Middle School teachers, Dr Indrawati and Dr Poppy gave a short workshop on STEM learning. The workshop was delivered through public lecture activities and STEM project practices. It is hoped that through these activities all members of the Darul Ulum 1 Middle School have a deeper understanding of supporting schools implementing the STEM School programme even though they are not natural science or mathematics teachers.
During the three-day visit, there were many suggestions given by Dr Indrawati and Dr Poppy so that the Darul Ulum 1 Middle School Jombang could become a pilot school and a reference for other schools who also wanted to implement STEM Schools in order to prepare students to have 21st century skills and global competitiveness.