PUTRAJAYA: Universiti Malaya (UM) and the American Chemical Society (ACS) Malaysia International Chemical Sciences Chapter have strengthened their collaboration in STEM education and outreach through the exchange of a Memorandum of Agreement for the implementation of ‘A STEM Intervention Programme’.
The agreement between UM’s Department of Chemistry at the Faculty of Science and the ACS Malaysia Chapter was signed on Aug 22.
The collaboration is supported by the ACS Chapter Outreach Project Impact Assessment Grant of RM20,000, which will support the implementation and impact assessment of the programme.
In conjunction with the 150th anniversary of ACS this year and the 12th anniversary of the establishment of the ACS Malaysia Chapter, A STEM Intervention Programme is being implemented as part of ongoing efforts to strengthen and assess the impact of ACS STEM outreach activities in Malaysia.
The programme aims to systematically evaluate, through an evidence-based approach, the impact of STEM outreach activities on students, particularly in terms of changes in their interest, attitudes, knowledge, and engagement in STEM. The findings will provide evidence-based data to support the improvement, strengthening, and expansion of future chemistry outreach programmes by the ACS Malaysia Chapter.
According to Dr Low May Lee, ACS Malaysia Chapter chair, the effectiveness of STEM outreach programmes should be supported by a systematic impact assessment that demonstrates meaningful and positive changes among participants.
‘This collaboration enables us not only to provide students with exposure to STEM, but also to systematically assess the impact of our chemistry outreach activities. The data generated will help us develop more effective and impactful outreach programmes for the future,’ she said.
A key feature of the project is its systematic approach to measuring programme impact. Rather than focusing solely on participation or participant feedback, the project will employ pre-programme, post-programme, and follow-up assessments.
The project team will use the Test of Science-Related Attitudes (TOSRA) to measure changes in students’ attitudes and interest in science. At the same time, Kirkpatrick’s Four-Level Training Model will be used to assess four key dimensions: participant reactions, learning, behavioural change, and long-term outcomes.
A quasi-experimental design involving intervention and control groups will be employed to generate more robust evidence of the programme’s effectiveness. One of the key long-term outcomes will be changes in students’ inclination to choose the science stream compared with baseline data collected prior to the intervention.
Under this collaboration, Universiti Malaya will coordinate and implement the scientific content of the programme, provide experts and facilitators, manage laboratory facilities and activity materials, conduct data collection and analysis, and prepare progress and final reports. Meanwhile, the ACS Malaysia Chapter will provide project funding, support the implementation of outreach activities, and receive and assess the project’s progress and final reports.
The collaboration reflects the commitment of both parties to strengthening the STEM education ecosystem through a combination of academic expertise, science outreach experience, and evidence-based impact assessment.
‘Universiti Malaya is committed to strengthening STEM education through innovative, practical, and evidence-based learning approaches. This collaboration with the ACS Malaysia Chapter not only provides students with opportunities to explore science through real-world experiences, but also enables us to measure the programme’s impact on their interest, learning, and inclination to pursue STEM pathways. We hope this initiative will serve as an impactful STEM outreach model that can be expanded in the future,’ said Professor Dr Geok Yuan Annie Tan, Deputy Dean of Research and Innovation at the Faculty of Science, Universiti Malaya.
The programme primarily targets secondary school students and teachers involved in STEM activities. Through interactive sessions conducted in university and school laboratories, participants will be guided by academics and scientists from Universiti Malaya to explore the connections between chemistry, biology, the environment, and product development.
Expected outcomes include increased student interest in and understanding of STEM, the development of basic skills in essential oil extraction and product development, enhanced capacity among teachers to conduct experimental STEM activities, and the generation of impact data that can support the improvement and expansion of future STEM outreach programmes.
The programme is also expected to contribute to increasing students’ inclination to choose the science stream and pursue further education and careers in STEM, in line with Malaysia’s aspiration to develop a highly skilled, innovative, and competitive workforce.
