Location: Shangri-La Hotel, Bangkok, Thailand
We are so very pleased to invite you to the 19th Annual Teachers' Conference, from March 21-23, 2024 at the Shangri-La Hotel, Bangkok, Thailand. Coming on the heels of last year’s fantastic conference where, for the first time in three years, educators from around the region (and the globe) were able to reconnect in person this year’s conference promises to be at least as exciting as last year’s!While the core subject strands this coming March are Science, Technology, Math, and Social Studies, Service Learning, and Global Citizenship with a focus on middle school as well, there will be much on offer no matter what you teach. If you are an international school educator, please plan to join us. From our keynotes to the rich array of preconference offerings from leaders in teaching and learning and assessment to the always remarkable collection of presentations and workshops offered by teachers from EARCOS schools, you don’t want to miss this year’s conference.
All of us at EARCOS look forward to welcoming you to the 19th Teachers' Conference.
See you in March!
Edward E. Greene, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Citizen Science & Activism
Fri Mar 22, 2024. 9:45-11:00 AM
Location: Myanmar II
Real-world challenges are almost always complex and have political ramifications. The great injustices have only been addressed when people have stopped being silently complicit. There are still crimes today we must stop being silent about. In the case of climate change, it has also been critical to measure environmental and biological indicators to understand how we affect the environment and how it has been affecting us, and the broader living world in return. How can students become citizen scientists? How can they collect data, evidence, seek the truth, to influence decision-makers, shift public opinion and influence policy? And how do they do so in a rigorous and safe way?
Open Science and Entrepreneurship
Fri Mar 22, 2024. 11:15 -12:30
Location: The Valley (Combined)
An increasing number of students are showing an interest in entrepreneurship and aspire to the "start-up dream". Many rapidly emerging fields are using open science at the highest level: the large hadron collider, the human genome project, most AI, blockchain, robotic and IOT projects are open source. Such developments allow not only for science to progress faster, but also allows companies to be built upon all these discoveries. "The enemies of freedom have always charged its defenders with subversion. And nearly always they have succeeded in persuading the guileless and well-meaning." from the book The Open Society and Its Enemies, Karl Popper 1945. What if the students were able to understand how such new technologies and associated intellectual property mechanism work, and can fast track them to learn and to contribute to a better and fairer society?
Bridging Art and Science, STEAM and STEM
Sat, Mar 23, 2024. 11:15 - 12:30
Location: Vietnam
Art and science are often put at odds when it comes to making academic choices for students. To most, it would seem morally acceptable to let a science teacher lead an art class, but unthinkable that an art teacher would be capable to lead a science class. A high performing student would be more likely be advised to pursue a career in science than in the arts. Why is that the case? Eistein famously said "Imagination is more important than knowledge" while Stephen Fry argued "It is the useless things that make life worth living and that make life dangerous too: wine, love, art, beauty. Without them life is safe, but not worth bothering with”. To be a great scientist, one needs to be incredibly creative. To be a great artist, it requires a deep understanding and discipline of technique. Can we resolve this cognitive dissonance and support our students to become themselves and fully contribute to the world?
Teaching Invention for Real-life challenges
Sat Mar 23, 2024. 13:45-15:00
Myanmar I
Cesar will give examples of mentoring students to come up with real-world challenges inventions, without falling in "techno-solutionism" (the belief that tech will solve all the problems, most of which are not rooted in tech). Cesar will then outline some of the challenges that may arise from engaging with real-world challenges in the school context, and open to discussion to examine different approaches and why not come up with new ideas the teachers may want to experiment with.
Closing Reception
Sat Mar 23, 2024. 19:00-21:00