Garifuna College Student Brings Lego Toys to Young Students in Honduras for Innovative Approach to S.T.E.M Education There
Miss Johana Elizabeth Thomas Zapata is a Teaching Assistant at Washington State University
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Copyright 2024 by Teofilo Colon Jr for Being Garifuna. All Rights Reserved.
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Pullman, Washington – In July of 2022, College Student of Honduran Garifuna Heritage, Miss Johana Elizabeth Thomas Zapata, traveled to Cusuna, Iriona, Colon, Honduras on an interesting education project.
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A Fulbright Scholar, Miss Johana Thomas Zapata brought Lego Toys to 4th, 5th and 6th Grade students attending The Rodolfo Rojas Basic Education Center as part of The First Creativity and Innovation Workshop.
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The students were selected by their teachers based on their creativity and academic performance.
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These 4th Graders, 5th Graders and 6th Graders spent 7 Hours over 3 days with Miss Johana E. Thomas Zapata learning how to use Legos.
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Miss Johana Thomas Zapata conducted a survey and discovered that only one in twelve students had any experiences exploring and building with Lego Blocks.
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Why Legos? According to Miss Zapata, it all coincides with this innovative approach to S.T.E.M (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Education.
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Using Legos Blocks serves as an Introduction to Robotics, Engineering and Construction, all of which have elements of S.T.E.M Education.
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Learning to use those Lego Toys are the beginning of the creative use of instruments that may help them in the future. Miss Zapata adds that while using the Lego Blocks is a playful activity, a game if you will, it has an intrinsic learning process.
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In video and photos included in this post, you will observe these children working with these Legos within the cultural context of their community, in their Garifuna Language and with their classmates.
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Miss Zapata explained that the buildable toys have proven valuable in creating a unique learning experience that encourages creative and structural thinking at the same time.
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Its design gives children the freedom to build whatever they want. But its assembly helps them think in an orderly and logical way to form different figures, buildings, bridges, cities and even machines with Lego pieces.
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This playful experience is tied to the game, which speeds up the learning process and makes it fun. Vice-Principal of The Rodolfo Rojas Basic Education Center, Mr. Edson Obed Suazo Mejia, talked about what he noticed with the children as they immersed themselves in this activity.
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“The children are very focused. And when I see them so focused, it means that there is learning. However, they take it as something very personal.”
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“When I see that attitude of personalizing objects, When I see the dynamism with which they strive, that gives me the impression that there is enthusiasm.”
“I have faith that at some point that game will help them to build a building, to build a bridge, to build robots.”
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This S.T.E.M Education Workshop took place in July of the year 2022. I do not know if there have been any follow-up workshops with the children in Cusuna, Honduras but a deep Inebesei (“Respect” in the Garifuna Language) and Salute to Miss Johana Elizabeth Thomas Zapata for using the resources that she had access to and bringing this Workshop to Garifuna Children in Cusuna, Honduras.
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Below is a short video by Miss Johana Elizabeth Thomas Zapata about her Workshop. It is in Spanish.
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ABOUT Miss Johana Elizabeth Thomas Zapata
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Miss Johana Elizabeth Thomas Zapata is a Teaching Assistant at Washington State University, Pullman. She is the recipient of a Fulbright Scholarship and a Mathematics Educator of Garifuna Heritage from Honduras.
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Johana is a Full time Graduate Student in the Mathematics & Science Education Doctorate Program at Washington State University, Pullman.
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Before beginning her Doctoral Studies, Johana pursued a B.Ed in Mathematics at the National Teaching University in Honduras and continued her studies at University College Cork, Ireland with a Master’s in Applied Mathematics.
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