Empowering Palestinian Girls through Digital Learning Innovations in STEM Fields

Birzeit University developed eXperiential Learning Objects (xLOBs) in 2014, which form the basis for this project. The learning objects approach addresses the full educational ecosystem, ranging from conventional considerations such as curriculum, teachers, and schools, to newer considerations such as the local environment and student personalities and well-being. Learning objects are self-contained and flexible educational units that comprise well-defined objectives, a set of resources, activities, performance metrics, and assessment tools. They can be designed to either enrich the existing curriculum or to replace it with more fun and effective learning experiences while achieving the same objectives required by the official curricula (and more).

xLOBs consist of:

• learning resources that can be delivered physically in the classroom or across the network;
• learning activities (where learners internalise and reinforce what they learn) and applications of the knowledge in contexts that are meaningful and stimulating to students; and
• instructional strategies that link and integrate the various elements of the learning object. These strategies are designed to stimulate active learning, provide innovative learning spaces, support deep learning, and develop soft skills such as problem solving, critical thinking, creativity, and innovation.

The xLOBs model used in this project is being piloted in several schools before scaling up to approximately 100 schools. The project is amplifying the use of digital tools for education by supporting interactive teaching that helps students design, create, collaborate, innovate, and code. It is conducting research on how digital educational tools can be used to improve the quality and accessibility of education for girls. It is also testing hypotheses on how training and access to digital skills and to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) can open new pathways to employment and to lifelong learning opportunities for girls and other excluded communities.

The idea behind this approach is that technology provides the flexibility, scalability, and reach required to improve and transfer knowledge quickly and effectively. Teachers can adapt learning units to compensate for a lack of resources by playing a simulation/education game, gaining remote access to an expert, and more. The model provides a means for learners to develop their critical thinking and design skills, to experiment, and to acquire new skills, all while applying their learning in contexts that are relevant to their needs. Technology is also used as an interactive communications and collaboration tool. Teachers in large classrooms can use technologies that are already available to students, such as mobile devices, to break up the classrooms into groups, to distribute learning resources and activities electronically, and to collect feedback and facilitate interaction and group work. Likewise, mobile devices facilitate ongoing collaboration and learning outside the classroom, with facilitation provided by teachers, peers, and/or volunteers (university students and others).

The project is using electronic data collection to help students discover learning profiles (through data analytics). Students are required to be active learners, and each xLOB includes an assessment metric to measure their performance. This performance tracking provides analytics to build a profile for each learner to identify their strengths, weaknesses, and learning preferences. It also provides a means for monitoring and evaluation and for providing feedback on LOBs as they are being designed.

The LOBs developed over the course of the project will be licensed under Creative Commons and placed on an open learning platform called the Learning Objects Portal. This knowledge bank is designed to capture innovations and educational knowledge developed through the xLOBs. An xLOB can be used, re-used, and built upon indefinitely. Since LOBs by definition are made up of small building blocks, they can be re-assembled to accommodate the curricula of other countries (with some modifications or additions). As more LOBs populate the knowledge bank, teachers and students will have a wider selection and the freedom to choose what and how they teach and learn. Data analytics focused on the learning process and the use of LOBs will provide an opportunity for educational research and development specific to the Middle East and North Africa.

The LOBs place a heavy emphasis on equal and equitable learning opportunities for all by addressing biases and social inclusion for girls and other marginalised groups, including those with limited accessibility (special needs learners and geographically remote learners, e.g., Bedouins living in isolated areas and those with travel limitations due to the wall, frequent road closures, etc.).

The project is also working to strengthen technical and human capacities at the pilot schools by developing and implementing locally relevant digital learning innovations, especially in the STEM fields. An online platform will allow teachers to crowdsource new LOB ideas and designs or suggest modifications and additions to existing ones. Both offline and online training components are being used to support teachers with limited access (female teachers with extra responsibilities, teachers with special needs, and those with restrictions on movement) to benefit from online resources. The hope is that the resulting strengthened capacities will contribute to the creation of an inclusive and stimulating learning environment to produce more engaged, creative, and motivated girls.

Education, Gender, Technology

Ministry of Education Reports from 2011-2015 indicate that fewer than half of all children in the West Bank and Gaza successfully complete high school. The barriers to quality education affect girls in particular. This in turn leads to significant societal and economic impacts because of girls' limited opportunities to earn higher wages or achieve greater social mobility. The education system faces a variety of challenges, including serious budget limitations, restrictions on movement (e.g., those behind the wall), overcrowded classes, inferior infrastructure, and access to qualified teachers and appropriate educational resources.

According to BZU, even with the public and full recognition of the problem and calls for reform (as is the case in national strategies that identify the core problems and suggest solutions), the existing educational system will not have the capacity to reform from within. Many teachers and educators trained in traditional teaching and learning methodologies find it difficult to innovate and may unconsciously propagate gender biases. There is no technical capacity to rethink and restructure curriculum to add cognitive learning methods and life skills and to ensure that all modern pillars of learning and girls' empowerment are included and implemented effectively.

BZU contends that although emerging low-cost digital tools, improved connectivity, the "explosion" of online content, and widespread communications and collaboration tools provide unlimited opportunities in education today, their effective use and deployment have been extremely limited and challenged. Without motivating teachers to use LOBs or improving their technical literacy, these new technologies will only achieve the old outcomes. These problems can be exacerbated if little attention is paid to the local context when introducing technology into the classroom.