9/13/2016
Text – Luiz Paulo Juttel / Ascom – ISD
Photos – Ariane Mondo and Luiz Paulo Juttel / Ascom – ISD
Science Education Centers: a successful experience to be developed in Maranhão
O Secretary of State for Science, Technology and Innovation of Maranhão, Jhonatan Almada, visited the units of the Santos Dumont Institute (ISD) of the cities of Natal and Macaíba, on the 8th of September. One of the main objectives of the visit was to get to know in detail the project of the Science Education Centers (CECs) of the ISD and discuss possibilities of implementing this initiative in the state of Maranhão.
The first CEC came into operation in 2007 and, currently, the three units offer 1,400 places per year for public school students who are studying in the second segment of elementary school (6th to 9th grade). These attend science education workshops after regular school hours, in areas such as science and technology, biology, chemistry, physics, history, art, robotics, communication and the environment. The works are developed in groups of up to 25 students and under the pedagogical guidance of two educators per workshop. The CECs are located in Natal (RN), Macaíba (RN) and Serrinha (BA). Click here to know the other units of ISD.
Maranhão's S&T secretary explains that he found out about the CECs project in a presentation by neuroscientist Miguel Nicolelis. Later, he read the book Made in Macaíba, which describes the creation of ISD units in the Brazilian Northeast. Almada said he was delighted with the CECs project and would like to create a pilot for this action in Maranhão.
“We carried out an assessment on basic knowledge of mathematics and the Portuguese language of elementary school students in Maranhão and the result was worrying. This led us to look for alternatives that could change this reality”, explains Almada. The Secretariat of State and the ISD are negotiating the format in which this partnership can be established. The two institutions are also talking about the possibility of exchanging undergraduate and graduate students from Maranhão for the Edmond and Lily Safra International Institute of Neuroscience (IIN-ELS).
Scientific Education to form citizens
Secretary Jhonatan Almada visited the Center for Scientific Education (CEC) in Natal, where students attend two workshops a year, two days a week. There, he spoke with the director of the CECs, Dora Montenegro, and the general director of the ISD, Theodoro Paraschiva. Montenegro explained to the secretary that teachers from all workshops work on oral expression, written expression and mathematical calculation, as they are structuring of human thought. “We want to train citizens, through the appropriation of universally recognized scientific knowledge”, informed Montenegro.
Access here more information about this initiative, published on the blog of the Secretary of State for Science, Technology and Innovation of Maranhão, Jhonatan Almada
