Education

Smart Schools : UBEC moves to boost Design Thinking, Robotics, AI skills, partners NERDC

Published

7 months ago

8 January 2025

Jane Oke

Smart Schools UBEC moves to boost Design Thinking Robotics AI skills partners NERDC

The Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) has reaffirmed its dedication to equipping young students in basic education schools with essential skills in Design Thinking, Robotics, and Artificial Intelligence.

This commitment was made known by the National Coordinator of the UBEC Digital Resource Center, Prof. Bashir Galadanci, who represented the UBEC Executive Secretary at the opening of a four-day workshop on the review of the Design Thinking, Robotics, and Artificial Intelligence (DTCRA) Curriculum.

The event was a joint initiative by UBEC and the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC), also focusing on the development of a Teachers’ Guide for Smart Schools.

In her opening address, Dr. Hafsat L. Kontagora, Head of Capacity Building at UBEC’s Digital Resource Centre, shared that the workshop was designed to introduce educators to innovative methods for integrating robotics, artificial intelligence, and design thinking into basic education curricula.

The sessions, which spanned four days, aimed to nurture critical thinking and problem-solving skills among learners by leveraging AI-powered robotics and coding modules. This initiative sought to provide educators with practical tools for effectively implementing these concepts in smart schools.

Throughout the workshop, experts from the Digital Resource Centre, along with teachers and administrators from smart schools, worked with NERDC to critically assess and revise the DTRCA curriculum and develop a comprehensive Teachers’ Guide.

Key discussions covered areas such as the philosophy behind the DTCRA curriculum, the use of robotics frameworks, and the integration of emerging technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT) and Virtual Labs (VL). Additionally, participants explored competency-based assessments and continuous feedback mechanisms to boost student engagement and enhance learning outcomes.