Speech for the 11th International Conference on

Science, Mathematics and Technical Education

Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah Institute of Education
Universiti Brunei Darussalam
22 May 2006

By
Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Lela Dato Seri
Setia Awang Haji Abdul Rahman bin Dato Setia Haji
Mohamed Taib,
Minister of Education

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Bismillahi rahmanir rahim

Assalamualaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh and a very good morning

Yang Mulia Pg Dato Seri Setia Dr Haji Mohammad bin Pengiran Haji Abd.
Rahman, Deputy Minister of Education
Yang Mulia Dato Paduka Haji Sheikh Adnan Hj Mohamad, Permanent
Secretary, Ministry of Education,
Yang Mulia Dato Paduka Dr Haji Ismail Haji Duraman, Vice Chancellor,
Universiti Brunei Darussalam
Excellencies
Senior Ministry Officials, Participants, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is my pleasure and honour to be here to declare open the Eleventh

International Annual Conference on Science, Mathematics and Technical
Education, organised by Universiti Brunei Darussalam to consider issues
of importance to Science, Mathematics and Technical Education.

I would also like to take this opportunity to welcome all of our overseas
visitors to Brunei Darussalam and to wish you a pleasant stay. I hope that
your deliberations in this conference over the next few days will be fruitful,
and that when you leave Brunei Darussalam you will bring home fond
memories of your time here. I trust that you will be able to find time to
explore this country. I am sure that the organizers will have made it
possible for you to see places that interest you. We have good record on
forest preservation with over sixty seven percent of the country still
forested and for those who are interested in nature studies; the jungle of
Brunei can offer you an opportunity to see the uniqueness of its flora and
fauna. The Belalong Field Studies Centre in Temburong, a part of and a
creation of this university, is an internationally renowned centre for the
study of forest habitat.

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To those of you who have been here before, I am very pleased to welcome
you back again. Your return is an indication of your strong commitment to
sharing with us ideas about developing science, mathematics and
technical education.

I am sure that all of you will enjoy the intellectual activity generated by this
conference. It is the sharing of ideas that is such an important part of
international conferences such as this. Conferences are illuminated and
inspired by the idea that by working together in a scholarly and
collaborative spirit we can face issues and solve problems. I am confident
that your deliberations over the next few days will help advance the
teaching and learning of Science, Mathematics and Technical subjects.

The theme of this conference is Future Directions in Science,

Mathematics and Technical Education. This is timely and of significance
to us all. Globally, in the last few decades, we have experienced an
information technology revolution that has pervaded the whole realm of
human activity. Technological innovation and its social application will
determine the capacity of nations to transform themselves. In recognition
of this, the government of Brunei Darussalam in its 8th Five-Year
Development Plan has committed itself to invest in the development of
information communication technology infrastructure and the human
capacity to mediate these technologies.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The ability of all learners to succeed in todays technically orientated work

environment is increasingly dependent on their understanding of
mathematical and computational sciences and their application in
practical situations. In fact, these sciences have become technicians,
engineers, educators, leaders in business and government, and more

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generally, for developing scientifically, mathematically and
technologically literate citizens. In a technologically driven world, even in
our daily lives, skills and knowledge of technology are essential to
navigate through it, such as, for example, in electronic banking purchases
over the Internet.

How can we prepare our learners to succeed in this present world and the
future? It will certainly require our collective efforts and well-planned
strategy. In developing the strategy, one must give attention to the
question of capacity and agency, to resources and the ability to accept
and mediate change, and to the reality at systematic and institutional
levels. For the strategy to make sense, one requires an understanding of
the tacit and material conditions, as well as constraints to action. This
strategy must be rooted in this reality and seek to transform it into a
desired set of future outcomes.

Knowledge and skills in school subjects such as languages, mathematics

and science are an essential foundation for this, but a much wider range
of competencies is needed for students to be well prepared for the future.
Many of you here would concur with me that problem-solving skills, i.e. the
capacity of students to understand problems situated in novel and cross-
curricular settings, to identify relevant information or constraints, to
represent possible alternatives or solution routes, to develop solution
strategies, and to solve problems and communicate the solutions, are an
example o this wider range of competencies.

What implications are there for teachers in regard to present and future
classrooms? In recent months, I have had the opportunity to visit many
classrooms in our schools and those abroad. I have had many discussions
with educators and students about what they enjoy most about teaching
and learning and of best practices.

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Here are some of my observations about trends in the classrooms:

Information technologies and digital resources, such as the

computer and the Internet for teaching and learning have enabled
new modes of learning in science, mathematics, and technology
education (SMTE).

Recent initiatives in science, mathematics, and technology

educational reform have coupled the advances in the technology
with innovations in the learning sciences to develop multi-
disciplinary projects/discovery-based approaches to teaching.

The teacher or student cannot reply on knowledge acquisition from

just print-based materials but from multiple sources.

The role of the teacher has now changed from oracle to mentor;
resources central to a structured curriculum are shifted to those
directly applicable to the project or experiment at hand. The internet
and the digital libraries it gives access to are positioned to become a
major learning resource in the future.

In view of these developments, it is now more important than ever for

teachers to develop the thinking skills of our students. In 2003, a study
by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development
(OECD) in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA)
included an assessment of students problem-solving skills in 44
participating countries, providing for the first time a direct assessment
of life competencies that apply across different areas of the school
curriculum.

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About one in five 15-year-olds in OECD countries can be considered a
reflective, communicative problem solver. These students are able not
only top analyse a situation and make decisions, they are also capable
of managing multiple conditions simultaneously. They can think about
the underlying relationships in a problem, solve it systematically,
check their work and communicate the results. In some countries,
more than a third of students reach this high level of problem-solving
competencies. In other countries, however, the majority of students
cannot even be classified as basic problem solvers, a level at which
they are required to deal with only a single data source containing
discrete, well-defined information.

How can countries raise their performance in this increasingly

important competency area and what can countries with lower
performance levels learn from those where students do well? I hope,
delegates here can deliberate and find solutions to the future of
teaching and learning on some of the issues I have just raised.

The 2003 study also looked at ICT use among 15-year olds. The study
indicated that those who had access to computers and used them for a
variety of tasks, including browsing the Internet for knowledge or
research, performed much better academically, including in
mathematics than those who had no access to computers.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The introduction of computers in the classroom is important, not only
as a teaching device but also as a tool for students to access and
explore a vast warehouse of digital data. Here, the university and other
teacher training institutions can play a critical goal in preparing
teachers in their new role and in expanding the frontier of teaching in
this technologically driven world.

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On the issue of teacher preparation, no matter how much training a
teacher is given, if his/her heart is not in teaching, sooner or later the
learning outcomes in the classroom will suffer. Teaching should not be
a profession of last resort, a transit career until something better
comes along, or viewed as a safe option. Many of you will agree with
me that one has to have a passion for teaching to become a truly
effective teacher.

While strongly encouraging students to go into the teaching profession

to fill shortages of teachers in English Language, Mathematics,
Science and Technology, particularly at upper secondary level, this
Ministry is acutely aware that its selection process must be sufficiently
stringent to filter out those who may not be attuned to the teaching
profession. I believe we should begin with our teacher training
institution, in the selection of applicants for the various teacher
education programmes. Here, closer collaboration is needed between
the Ministry and the Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah Institute of Education on
ensuring that teachers who eventually join the teaching profession
truly possess not only the relevant subject disciplines required by
schools, but also the aptitude for teaching. It is also possible in future
that teacher graduates may not necessarily or automatically be
guaranteed employment in government schools.

They may have to compete for places in our schools. With regard to
attracting more of our students to go into teaching, this Ministry is
exploring with relevant government agencies for ways that will attract
high-caliber graduates and provide them the incentives to stay on in
the classroom. With a high quality teaching force, we will be able to
develop our pupils into well-rounded citizens, and that includes being
curious, excited and thoughtful about the world they live in. Therefore,

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it is important that this Ministry plays a bigger role in the policy
direction and programmes that SHBIE offers for teachers.

It is for these reasons that the Ministry of Education is happy to be

involved in the overall growth of the Institute and committed to the
realization of such matters as the provision of quality initial teacher
preparation and continuing teacher professional development as well
as extensive educational research activities. I understand that at
present many of the Institutes academic staffs are already involved in
numerous research projects with personnel from the Ministry of
Education.

In conclusion, I wish to convey my appreciation to all participants for

your enthusiasm in taking part in this conference and also to those who
have made this event a success.

With the kalimah Bismillahi Rahmanir Rahim, it gives me great

pleasure, therefore, to declare this, the 11th Science, Mathematics and
Technical Education International Conference at Universiti Brunei
Darussalam, open.

Wabillahi Taufik Walhidayah.

Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh