| SIBU:Methodist Pilley Institute (MPI) Early Childhood Education Department and Glokids Kindergarten families recently enjoyed a vibrant day of learning at the STEAM Family Day held on campus on June 21.
According to MPI ECE Head of Department Wee Jia Ing, eight second- and third-year students participated in this event as part of their final Partnership and Community Engagement subject project under the Diploma in Early Childhood Education programme. “The purpose of this project is to provide real-life practice for our students to engage families and communities in early childhood education settings,” she explained. “To enable students to build collaboration skills with kindergartens and parents, aligning with the principle of ‘it takes a village to raise a child,’ while cultivating awareness of SDG 4 (Quality Education) and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals) through project-based learning,” she said. She added that working together with kindergartens provides real-life experience for students to understand the realities of engaging children and families, preparing them to be career-ready and confident for their future roles in the field of early childhood education. As part of their project-based learning (PBL) theme, students and families explored ‘things we sit on’ (chairs) from everyday perspectives, transforming this ordinary object into a rich learning opportunity for children. Through these hands-on STEAM projects, children, parents, and future educators discovered science, technology, engineering, arts, and maths concepts together while reusing materials creatively and meaningfully. “These activities allowed our students to apply 21st-century skills including collaboration, critical thinking, creativity, and communication in a real community environment,” she said. She added, “Seeing parents and children learn side by side reminded us that family involvement makes learning deeper and more meaningful.” |
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"for the glory of God, and the service of man"