TWO graduate students from the University of San Carlos participated in a five-day academic training program at Chiba University in Japan.

Ricky Salem and Ralph Magumpara, both from USC’s Doctor of Philosophy in Science Education program, attended the training under Chiba University’s Twin College Envoys Program.

The initiative promotes Japanese-style science education by equipping young professionals with skills in designing innovative teaching materials.

Salem and Magumpara joined participants from Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Taiwan, Laos, and Indonesia in hands-on physics experiments led by Chiba University professors.

The program aimed to introduce alternative methods for illustrating physics concepts and inspire the development of new hands-on activities for physics courses.

In addition to the training program, Chiba University hosted the Annual Meeting of the Asia and ASEAN Center for Educational Research, featuring International Research Sessions and an SDG Workshop.

Dr. Rolando V. Obiedo, Dean of the USC School of Education, and Andrew S. Dy, Principal of the USC Senior High School Department, were among the USC delegates at the event.

During the research sessions, Salem presented a study on the challenges faced by pre-service science teachers in junior high school physics, while Magumpara introduced a card game intervention for teaching electromagnetic and seismic waves to Grade 7 students.