Fundi Bots: Enhanced Teaching Tools for Science Educators

Improving learning outcomes and accelerating innovation for science educators and students in Africa through low-cost, hands-on practical science learning tools.

Problem

Uganda delivers education within the Universal Primary and Secondary Education system which promotes theoretical practice, values quantity over quality, and focuses on final examinations as the sole determination of a student’s education merit.  It provides little emphasis on well-trained educators and doesn't place importance on continuing education or providing strong teaching aides and resources for teachers. Subsequently, sciences subjects see the worst performance at all stages of education in Uganda.

50% of the students in urban schools passed sciences while 80% of their rural counterparts had low grades or failed sciences altogether. Urban schools balanced their performance in both arts and science subjects, but these represented only about 20% of the schools that sat UACE in 2007. (Quality of Science Education in Uganda, UNCST 2012).

Additionally, learning facilities for science classrooms are poorly resourced or completely unequipped in both laboratory infrastructure and instructor skills. A parliamentary committee found in 2009 that only 50% of USE schools had functional science laboratories and 79% do not conduct practical science lessons.

Schools in rural areas have inadequate science teachers (quality and number), equipment, exposure, and some [of the students] get to handle laboratory glassware for the first time during their final national examinations. (Quality of Science Education in Uganda, UNCST 2012).

Our Solution

Our over-arching goal is to provide teachers with high-impact, hands-on and practical teaching tools and methods to innovate and to improve learning outcomes for science, technology and engineering students in Uganda and the rest of Africa.

Enhanced Science Curriculum: We are proposing to fill in the critical gaps in practical learning by developing low-cost, locally relevant teaching aids that are more engaging, practical and have strong connections to real-world usage. We’re also developing parallel learning tools in robotics, computer programming and general science to extend learning beyond the classroom.

Our project proposal aims to build on our own ongoing work, influence existing policies and priorities for student learning while enhancing teacher capacity and professional development.  In accordance with targets in the Sustainable Development Goal 4, our solution provides practical knowledge, skills building, enhanced critical thinking and problem solving skills to increase job prospects, accelerate potential for technological innovation, and develop long-term solutions to multiple sector challenges. 

Changing The World

By utilizing high-impact, visually exciting, project-based learning tools like robotics and by enhancing the science curriculum through the development of highly efficient, modern and practical teaching aids, we will transform both teaching and teacher training to better prepare children with the 21st century skills needed to succeed in the future.

Since 2014, we’ve worked with more than 5,000 students and have grown our network to 75 schools across Uganda.

We are confident that scaling up and mainstreaming our tools into more classrooms across Africa will have the following innovative benefits: i) provide a curriculum that is adaptive to change and future growth, ii) help to raise achievement in the classroom, sparking scientific curiosity, creativity and innovation, and iii) provide early exposure and skills training for future careers.

Since 2011, Fundi Bots has been a pioneer in robotics and ICT training in Ugandan schools. We’re building on this strong research and development experience, delivery model, extensive school network and curriculum skills to expand and extend this learning model into the official government curricula.  

The Fundi Bots Enhanced Science Curriculum takes a hard look at the practical learning aspects missing from the government curriculum and develops new, modern, high-impact project-based learning tools that teachers can use to accelerate learning. We work closely with young educators and schools to build and test these tools in classrooms communities.

Fundi Bots is a technology company and we are powered by technology. Our current high-impact learning model is centered around building robots, programming, electronics and mechanics engineering concepts. While this model is significantly advanced compared to the official curriculum, it still covers some concepts used by teachers in their classrooms.

The Fundi Bots Enhanced Science Curriculum is being developed through our Applied Sciences division that does extensive research and development so that we can use advanced technology concepts like 3D-printers, CAD design, laser-cutters and robots to create low cost learning tools that have strong local context and curriculum content.

Over the next 12 months, we will:

1. Develop at least 25 practical learning modules and teaching aids in various science disciplines including fluid/aerodynamics, electricity, chemistry, magnetism, etc.
2. Open two new country-wide outreach centers (Fundi Spaces) in Northern and Western Uganda to scale and grow our school outreach
3. Establish partnerships with schools in Rwanda and Tanzania to pilot, scale and evaluate our learning model in new countries
4. Train 225 science teachers from at least 50 schools in the use of the enhanced science teaching aids
5. Extensively monitor and evaluate the impact of our enhanced science curriculum.

Our primary growth, scale and impact vision involves training teachers and educators. We will provide training and development of teaching aides for science subjects in order to provide a solution that supports systems-changing educational development.

Our growing partnerships with government institutions can lead to national curriculum integration - our ultimate goal - which will scale impact across multiple countries and regions to reach millions of children.

And ultimately, we plan to open-source all our tools so teachers, educators, students and parents all over Africa can create and accelerate better ecosystems for learning sciences and STEM.

Since 2014 we have reached more than 5,000 students by building a network of 75+ partner schools. The sustainability of the learning model has been a central aim of the curriculum programme. By supporting and training local teachers through our programme we help these teachers in turn to develop their own practical learning tools for their classrooms. Fundi Bots embeds itself within and alongside the education system to create positive sustainable change for the education system itself and for non-school-going youth as well. Our regional centers (Fundi Spaces) are strategically located to offer training and outreach to underserved communities.

We work with 6-25 year-olds and science educators. Since 2014 we have reached 5,000+ students and built a network of 75+ partner schools through our robotics program. 

As we develop the Enhanced Science Curriculum, we’ll be rolling it out in these schools. We are also beginning to train and support local teachers within our network in the use of the teaching aids and to help them develop their own practical learning tools for their classrooms.

Overall, we're seeing improved understanding of science, improvements in class, and a deeper attitude change towards possibilities and career perspectives in STEM. 

In the next 12 months, we will reach at least 5,700 students directly and train 225 teachers. Indirectly, we will reach at least 27,000 students assuming 120 students per teacher.

Through the Enhanced Science Curriculum and increased teacher training, the teacher-centered model will allow for faster adoption, stronger local ownership by teachers, and government collaboration.

We are building our funding base to achieve the following over the next three years:

i) Train 750 teachers leading to direct impact of at least 100,000 students

ii) Build a network of 500 schools (extended impact of at least 250,000 students)

Since 2014, we have been consistently testing and improving our training program. We’ve grown into a passionate and knowledgeable technical and pedagogical team that learns each day, improving tools and working closely to understand what it takes to truly transform learning.

We have successfully raised significant capital over the past four years through fundraising and revenue generation. Our founder also has 15 years in business building, having founded multiple organizations over the past decade.

Finally, we are part of several fellowship and funder networks like Ashoka, Echoing Green and Segal Family Foundation that provide logistical and financial connections.

Fundi Bots is a non-profit education initiative funded through grants, donors and individual giving. We also generate revenue through paid school training to help us reach underserved regions.

Our funding for 2016/17 was:

• 67% Institutional Donors
• 21% Earned revenue
• 7% Individual Giving

Our growth, scale and impact sustainability model involves creating highly trained and highly qualified teachers who use demonstrative and illustrative learning methods, and innovate within their own classrooms. We will build a network of champion science teachers who can pass on their skills and knowledge to educators in underserved communities.

We are also embedded within and alongside the education system to create positive sustainable change for the education system itself and for non-school-going youth as well.

As a result, we have increased support and partnerships with teachers, schools and community organizations. We have shared our findings with Commissioners of Education from the Ministry of Education and Sports and been invited to discuss with the National Curriculum Development Center and the Secondary Science and Mathematics Teachers Association.

Our ultimate long-term goal is to develop strong tools, teaching aids and curriculum material that can be adopted and integrated into the government school curriculum. 

We are requesting funding towards the Fundi Bots Enhanced Science Curriculum to continue developing a full suite of teaching aids for science and ICT learning for teachers and students.

Our partnership with Solve could significantly accelerate the creation of practical, technology-based learning models to help science students; i) perform better in classrooms, ii) gain technical, soft skills and confidence to pursue strong careers in STEM and iii) become innovators and change-makers transforming communities through science. 

Additionally, MIT would be a strong technology advisory partner whose tools we are already using across most of our schools (Scratch).

• Schools may not provide the time and support needed to see long-term impact. We will engage multiple stake-holders across Ministry of Education and Sports to provide support and recognition. 
• Existing social biases towards girls’ education in STEM. We’ll work with community based organizations working in gender to garner support 
• Field Staff capacity limitations, mitigated by engaging our network of volunteers and university interns to fill support gaps and transition into technical roles which the Solve grant will support. 
• Continuity and legacy for innovation and learning in schools. Solve supported activity will focus on improving skills and attitudes of teachers