Sixty-five percent of children entering school today will have professions that don't yet exist. This data, from the World Economic Forum, sparks a mix of curiosity and apprehension. What will the jobs of the future be? How can we prepare children and young people for them? The answers are numerous. But there's no doubt that all children receive a quality education.
That's why it's so important to invest in K-12 teachers, those who guide students from the beginning of their school years until they begin making choices, such as their desired career paths. These teachers are also the ones who inspire students' interest in science and careers in science, technology, and innovation—areas that will continue to grow in the coming decades following the fourth industrial revolution. This is a challenge for Brazil, which in 2019 alone will have 160,000 technology vacancies without professionals to fill them, according to BrazilLab.
This explains why the Museum of Tomorrow and the British Council carry out Inspira Ciência, a training program for Basic Education teachers, sponsored by IBM. In just the second edition of the program, which began last Saturday (11/5), the 60 participating teachers teach more than 18 thousand students.
"This demonstrates the strategic role of teachers in educating current and future generations, as well as the impact of their work on the entire life of the country. Education, science, technology, and innovation are paths to the future," highlighted Luiz Alberto Oliveira, general curator of the Museum of Tomorrow, during the program's opening.
Luis Serrao, Senior Manager of Basic Education at the British Council, agrees with this vision for the program's future. At the same time, he reiterated that Inspira Ciência, which began in 2018, also addresses one of the country's main educational needs today: "If we consider that only 35.1% of these teachers have access to continuing education, according to data from INEP and the PNE Observatory, we understand that Inspira Ciência helps reverse this situation by creating an opportunity for teachers to stay up-to-date on school curriculum topics and new educational approaches."
Representing IBM at the program's opening, software architect Thiago de Moraes stated that bringing together Basic Education teachers and the Museum of Tomorrow through a training program is also a way to connect Basic Education to the challenges and opportunities open to young people in the 21st century, including preparing them for the future of work.
Cell phone as a microscope
The second edition of Inspira Ciência will feature four in-person meetings at the Museum of Tomorrow in May and June. Combining theory and practice, teachers will meet with astronomers, geologists, biologists, and paleontologists to explore fundamental science topics. They will also experience new educational approaches to these topics in workshops with science education experts, leveraging technology. In one of these activities, for example, teachers will learn how to build low-cost microscopes using electronic waste and cell phones. During the program, participants will also develop group lesson plans to put their new knowledge into practice in the classroom.
Lucineia Alves, a teacher at the Juan Antonio Samaranch Municipal School in Santa Teresa, is one of those selected for the second edition of the program. She holds a postdoctoral degree in Neuroscience and specializes in science education and is excited about the opportunity.
"In the science field, updating is essential, as is the exchange of experiences and practices with other teachers. That's what we always tell students: you can never have too much knowledge," he said.
She said she had visited the Museum of Tomorrow before, including with her classes. "But this time is special. It's for educational purposes."
In the two public calls already held, Inspira Ciência received over a thousand applications, and 120 teachers from different regions of Rio de Janeiro State were selected. This selection process uses criteria that ensure the program's comprehensiveness and representation of public and private education professionals, as well as gender and ethnicity. This diversity ensures a vibrant exchange of experiences and demonstrates that there is no shortage of willingness among K-12 teachers to participate in this type of training.
Offering opportunities for teachers to update themselves is still one of the goals of SDG 4 – Quality Education – of the United Nations 2030 Agenda and is fundamental to the success of all other targets of this Goal.