Twenty-three teachers and two Curriculum Officers from across 13 Caribbean states will participate in a three-day boot camp hosted by the Caribbean Examinations Council from April 4 to 6 at the Iberostar Hotel in Montego Bay, Jamaica.

Sponsored by GIZ REETA of Germany and the Organization of American States (OAS), the boot camp is designed to equip and familiarise teachers of CAPE Green Engineering to use resources that have been created to support the implementation of the syllabus, which was launched in 2016.

At the completion of the Boot Camp, participants are expected to have a clear understanding of the requirements of the CAPE Green Engineering Syllabus; have a clear understanding of the resources developed to support the implementation of the CAPE® Green Engineering Syllabus; be able to use resources to guide students in the completion of the CAPE Green Engineering Syllabus; be aware of the importance of resources to facilitate the formative assessment process; and, acquire first-hand information on the operations of a renewable energy facility.

They should be able to demonstrate an understanding of the requirements of the syllabus; demonstrate an understanding of how to implement resources in the teaching and learning process; and, use a range of resources to support diverse assessment strategies.

For the first two days, participants will explore the integrating of resources in lesson planning, while on the final day, they will do a study tour of Wigton Windfarm. Wigton Windfarm Limited, is the largest wind energy facility in the English-speaking Caribbean, located in Rose Hill, Manchester.

Dr Paulette Bynoe, project consultant will lead the Boot Camp. At Wednesday’s opening, Dr Devon Gardner, Programme Manager, Energy Unit at the CARICOM Secretariat; Ms Amanda Harris, Project Officer, GIZ REETA Programme, CARICOM; and Mr Juan Cruz Monticelli, Senior Energy Specialist, Department of Sustainable Development, Organization of American States will give remarks.

Teachers participating in the boot camp will come from sixth-form schools and colleges in Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago.

“Green Engineering can be defined as environmentally conscious attitudes, values, and principles, combined with science, technology and innovation directed towards improving local and global environmental quality,” according to the CXC syllabus. “It is the design of materials, processes, systems and devices with the objective of minimizing overall environmental impact over the entire life cycle, whilst meeting required performance, economic and societal constraints.”

According to the syllabus, students studying Green Engineering will acquire knowledge, skills, values and attitudes needed to sustain the natural environment. In addition, Green Engineering will provide students with a suite of tools to improve their approach to, and effectiveness at, solving real world problems.

“This course of study will enable students to apply Scientific, Technological, Engineering and Mathematical (STEM) principles to improve their environment at the local, regional and global levels,” the syllabus states. “This inter-disciplinary and cross-disciplinary course of study will contribute to a Caribbean person who is empowered to finding solutions to current and future environmental problems.”