At the end of October, at an international conference on the application of computational thinking and skills in the AI era at Hanoi University of Science and Technology, Ms. Vang Thi Dinh, 37 years old, a Math teacher at Dong Van District Boarding Secondary and High School for Ethnic Minorities, surprised many people.
Standing in front of experts, representatives of the United Nations Children’s Fund and many diplomatic agencies, the woman in traditional Mong costume confidently presented her experience in applying artificial intelligence (AI) to teaching Math. She said that computational thinking and artificial intelligence helped her draft and come up with ideas for each lesson content.
“Ms. Dinh is excellent. Her spirit of learning, innovation, and especially integration is admirable and admirable,” commented engineer Do Hoang Son, a member of the STEM Alliance.
Ms. Dinh graduated from the Mathematics – Information Technology major of Ha Giang Pedagogical College in 2007. Her chance to come to robots, STEM (educational methods on science, technology, engineering, mathematics), and AI began in 2023. Having been given many sets of KCbot educational robots, the provincial Department of Education and Training organized a competition for teachers. Ms. Dinh and a colleague were sent by the school to participate.
“I knew nothing. Robotics and STEM were so foreign,” she recalls.
At first, Ms. Dinh was not very enthusiastic, just trying to complete the task. She watched the instructional videos and then tried to assemble it. Learning about robots and STEM also requires knowing some English terms, so Ms. Dinh studied and looked up at the same time. When she did not understand something, she called her friends and experts in Hanoi for help.
Assembly can be done following the video but programming requires both Math and IT knowledge. At first, Ms. Dinh could not do it. She persisted in doing it again every time she made a mistake, learning from her experience until she could do the problem. The more she practiced, the more curious and interested she became.
“I stayed up all night to program, almost giving up all other work. At that time, just seeing the robot move made me happy,” Ms. Dinh said.
That time, Ms. Dinh’s group won third prize with the Student Management Robot project. She and her colleagues came up with this product to help students not be disorderly during self-study hours. The robot can move to many locations in the classroom, and when it detects noise, it will signal through the speaker.
After winning the award, Ms. Dinh has more motivation and passion for robotics and STEM. According to her, the students at her school are ethnic minorities, and difficult conditions cause many of them to drop out of school early. She wants to access new knowledge to inspire and instill a love of science in her students, helping to limit this situation.
Last summer, for three months, she attended an online programming course run by STEAM for Vietnam, a non-profit organization of many Vietnamese experts and engineers. During the same period, Ms. Dinh traveled from Ha Giang to Hanoi for two days to take a course taught by Professor Do Yong Park, a Fulbright scholar on STEM education from Illinois State University, USA. The class is free for students in disadvantaged areas, but she has to cover her own travel and accommodation expenses.
At school, she founded a robotics and STEM club and organized a STEM Day for students. This year, the club received more applications, especially from female students.
Earlier this year, Ms. Dinh led a group of students to compete in the VEX IQ national robot competition in Hoa Lac. She said that although they did not win any prizes, many students were very excited because it was their first time traveling far away and participating in a new field.
Recently, she and the Dong Van District Education Department organized a training course on American VEX VR virtual robot technology for 20 secondary schools in the area. She also asked to sponsor 12 specialized robot boxes and provide programming instructions for colleagues in 6 primary and secondary schools.
On November 16, Ms. Dinh was invited by Na Hang district, Tuyen Quang to talk about the application of Artificial Intelligence in teaching with about 900 teaches.
According to Ms. Dinh, knowledge of STEM and AI has helped her change the way she teaches Math. Previously, knowledge was mainly theoretical, students did not create or see practical applications. Now, she guides students to practice more, for example, based on the radius and angle measurements of the center to create a paper fan.
“The students did very well. They were also excited to apply STEM,” she commented.
Mr. Dang Quoc Hoang Huan, Vice Principal of Dong Van District Boarding Secondary and High School for Ethnic Minorities, commented that Ms. Dinh is dynamic, hard-working and passionate about technology.
“Ms. Dinh is a capable teacher,” Mr. Huan shared. Since then, she has “inspired” many students inside and outside the school, and is an example for her colleagues in her efforts to learn.
Currently, Ms. Dinh and her students are practicing for the regional round of the national robot competition, scheduled to be held early next year. She also wants to improve her English to be able to read documents and confidently participate in international conferences.
“I will continue to study to convey knowledge to everyone, promoting changes in the lives of students in mountainous areas,” said Ms. Dinh.
Source: vnexpress.net (Dawn)
Source: Vietnam Insider