Future Inventors

Future Inventors: An educational program to elicit problem solving skills in upper primary school learners in Lamu, Kenya

Bueters, Dorrit (TU Delft Industrial Design Engineering)

Diehl, J.C. (mentor)
Brouwer, W. (mentor)

Delft University of Technology

Integrated Product Design

2023-04-11

Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education plays a critical role in personal and societal development by preparing students for a rapidly changing, technological world. However, implementation of integrated STEM education poses significant challenges for educators, particularly in emerging markets such as Kenya, where resources and investments in teacher training are limited. In rural areas like the Lamu Archipelago, inadequate access to technology and educational resources intensifies this problem, leading to high dropout rates and limited opportunities for learners.

IOMe005, a fabrication lab in Lamu county which is part of Kenya Red Cross Society, is looking to bridge the gap between primary school education and technological literacy for upper primary learners. The fabrication lab intends to train a team of innovators to facilitate a STEM program in local schools where learners are provided with tools to learn about STEM concept in an experiential way.

The goal of this project is to create such a hands-on educational tool and teaching method which promotes problem-solving skills specifically, as this is a vital skill in the ever-changing world.

The final design aims to empower a team of innovators to facilitate extracurricular Future Inventors workshops at Lamu primary schools, where they encourage upper primary learners to become the inventors of the future. In the Challenge-based workshops, learners are presented with a challenge, and can use the ThinkBricks, a set of building blocks, to build prototypes and envision solutions to these challenges. The program core is the Future Inventors manual, which guides the team of innovators step-by-step through the full process of development and facilitation of Future Inventors workshops.

The Intercultural Design Approach was developed and employed during this project. The approach combines various design research activities such as Rapid Prototyping and participatory sessions, to bridge cultural gaps and mitigate the risks of unintended consequences that could negatively impact communities. Building cultural sensitivity, establishing relationships, and gaining a deep understanding of the context through field research were the core activities undertaken to learn about the culture and to design a solution that fits the targeted context.

Lamu
Kenya
STEM education
Education
Problem solving
Emerging markets

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:6a831ec1-4906-438d-ab62-172d968b0014

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Student theses

master thesis

© 2023 Dorrit Bueters