DAR-The Open University of Tanzania (OUT), through the UNESCO Chair on Teacher Education and Curriculum, convened a dissemination and certificate award workshop on 3rd December 2025 for 24 STEM teachers from nine secondary schools in Iringa District Council.
The teachers completed the online short course “Competency-Based Digital Skills Training for STEM Teachers”, delivered under the Connected Learning for Secondary Schools STEM Teacher Capacity Building (CL4STEM) – Impact Grant, funded by IDRC through Global Partnership for Education Knowledge and Innovation Exchange (GPE-KIX).
The virtual event, led by Prof. Paul Ikwaba, brought together STEM teachers and officials from the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MoEST), PO-RALG (TAMISEMI), OUT, and Iringa District Council, as well as the involved schools.
During the welcome address, the OUT Acting Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic, Research, and Consultancy, Prof. Kapaya Saganga, acknowledged the strong collaboration behind the CL4STEM initiative.
He highlighted progress made by teachers across five core units: digital skills foundation, digital access, delivery and inclusion, ICT for professional development, open educational resources, and responsible use of AI in education.
He also noted that teachers were equipped with ToT skills to support scale-up efforts and demonstrated improvements in using digital tools, simulations, OER, and AI platforms to enhance STEM lesson planning and delivery.
The CL4STEM Project Lead, Dr. Edephonce Nfuka, outlined the training design and the partnership with institutions in India (TISS), Nigeria (IBBUL), and Bhutan (SCE).
He explained how teachers applied tools such as Moodle, WhatsApp, Zoom, GeoGebra, PhET simulations, Creative Commons resources, and AI tools, including ChatGPT, Copilot, and NotebookLM, guided by TPACK, UDL, and Communities of Practice frameworks.
He shared evidence of progress, noting a 20 percent increase in teacher competencies from the start to the end of the course, and that more than 90 percent of participants expressed readiness to train and support peers across the Council.
The trained teachers reflected on the training and presented examples of classroom application. Mathematics teachers demonstrated GeoGebra simulations for coordinate geometry.
Biology teachers showcased virtual labs and animations for complex concepts. Chemistry teachers highlighted simulations and AI-generated content that improved student engagement.
Physics teachers presented lesson plans, digital simulations, and assessments developed using PhET, Padlet, Google Docs, and AI platforms. Teachers also noted challenges faced, such as limited learners' digital infrastructure and literacy, and recommended joint efforts to mitigate.
Furthermore, teachers commended ToT received and recommended peer-led training, cluster-based sessions, and mentorship support to strengthen district-wide scaling.
Speaking on behalf of heads of schools, Mr. Ohadi Nosa affirmed school leaders’ commitment to supporting teachers as they apply digital skills in classrooms. He emphasized that trained teachers would serve as digital champions within school clusters in 2026 to extend the initiative’s impact across the Council.
Iringa District Education Officer representative, Mr. Sitta Ndamayape, commended teachers for their engagement and confirmed plans to position them as champions, Digitally Enabled STEM Teachers, for the scaling up of this initiative across the schools in the council.
He noted that the Council will integrate this digital skills capacity-building into supervision routines and long-term professional development. PO-RALG representative, Mr. Anosta Nyamoga, echoed this plan and stressed the importance of continued collaboration.
In his closing remarks, MoEST representative Mr. Mussa Mnyeti praised teacher progress and reiterated that the initiative aligns with Ministry priorities to strengthen digital readiness and support competency-based curriculum delivery as per the recent national education and training policy.
He emphasized the importance of responsible use of digital and AI tools in schools, noting that the inclusion of AI training in the module aligns with current Ministry strategies and guidelines on safe and purposeful adoption of AI and emerging technologies in general.
Finally, certificates were presented to four subject representatives during the session, with the remaining certificates issued digitally through the Moodle platform.
The workshop represents a significant step in equipping STEM secondary school teachers with practical, competency-based digital skills that improve teaching, enhance learner engagement, and support scalable digital practice across Iringa District Council schools.