The MANCOSA iTEACHlab (a STEAM lab) seeks to ensure that MANCOSA teacher graduates are recognised for their professional skills, can teach across diverse school contexts, be resourceful, and utilise technology in teaching and learning.
About
The MANCOSA iTEACHlab (a STEAM lab) seeks to ensure that MANCOSA teacher graduates are recognised for their professional skills, can teach across diverse school contexts, be resourceful, and utilise technology in teaching and learning.
In the 21st century, students require a learning environment that enables them to develop employability skills in conjunction with developing more personal characteristics such as leadership, ethics and mindfulness.
The iTEACHlab aims to go beyond marginal Change and the traditional classroom, towards a complete rebuild of how students learn.
Objectives
To develop 21st century employability skills among students.
To encourage teachers to embrace 21st century technology in teaching.
To prepare stakeholders for the changing landscape of teaching and learning.
To foster teacher resourcefulness.
To understand individual educational needs.
MANCOSA School of Education launches state-of-the-art iTeach Lab
MANCOSA School of Education launches state-of-the-art iTeach Lab
MANCOSA has implemented seven hubs aligned to steam-related subjects.
The Culture Hub aims to recognise and celebrate cultural diversity. It seeks to empower students to understand the beliefs, customs, religions and languages of diverse cultures in South Africa. It also aims to teach students to understand different cultures worldwide and to educate them on the role culture plays in organisations. Through its various courses, students will get a sense of identity and be proud to be in a diverse world. In this hub we aim to teach students aspects of inclusive education in classrooms and identity in a diverse world.
This hub provides a platform for students and teachers to be innovative and use their critical thinking skills to design solutions to real-life problems using Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) technologies and recyclable materials. In this hub we aim to teach students how to be creative by applying design thinking methodologies and how to enhance 21st century teaching and learning through the 4C’s (Critical thinking, Creativity, Communication and Collaboration).
The amphitheatre aims to develop students’ reading, writing, speaking and listening skills.The hub seeks to facilitate collaboration, inspire creativity and promote literacy across age groups. It aims to foster professional skills among students by teaching creative writing techniques, how to write short stories, how to speak effectively and how to listen for meaning. In this hub, we aim to teach students how to effectively express their ideas and opinions through various forms of text
The hub aims to expose mathematics to 21st century skills that conceptualise teaching methodologies through 4IR technology advances. It will enable students to apply their mathematical knowledge to solve real- world problems. It is the ultimate space for students to construct and collaborate their ideas through creativity, critical thinking skills and fun. In this hub students will learn how to use different mathematical applications focusing on Geogebra and how to use technologies like Clevertouch in teaching and learning.
The Science Laboratory is a hi-tech lab that incorporates Biology, Chemistry and Physical Sciences. The Science Lab aims to engage in exciting STEAM projects through discovery learning and inquiry-based dialogue. In this hub, we aim to discuss real life challenges such as global warming, climate change and the Corona Virus (COVID-19) making the discourse relevant to classroom teaching and learning in the current context.
The hub seeks to train students for the new Robotics and Coding curriculum in South Africa. It aims to build creative and innovative thinkers who can solve problems with ease. The hub follows computational thinking (CT) processes, which are the highest order of problem-solving. These processes involve logic, assessment, patterns, automation, and generalisation.
Well-run schools produce better results and this efficiency reflects on the quality of the principal. This hub seeks to cultivate strong leadership and management skills through courses, master classes, and boot camps linked to teacher professional development, theory, and leadership and management practice. This hub covers various aspects of school and higher education leadership and management concepts.
Programme
The lab delivers various academic programs, master classes, boot camps, short courses and webinars. These programs utilise the principles of STEAM education to develop numerous skills that cut across different subject areas. These skills include communication, collaboration, teamwork, decision making and problem-solving skills.
The iTEACHlab delivers master classes to students. The duration of the master class sessions are generally a few Hours long, for example 2-3 hours.
These courses can be tailor made to suit particular educational needs of stakeholders. Each lesson from the hubs fosters creativity and collaboration, encouraging interdisciplinary engagement. This approach allows students to think critically and be able to cultivate significant problem-solving skills, which are vital in today’s economies.
The MANCOSA iTEACHlab boot camp is a training program that spans 3-4 days. The boot camps allow the participants to gain knowledge about a specific field and its relation to other subject areas. Most important are the activities and team projects that enable the students to develop critical 21st century teaching and workplace skills.
