With the largest population and economy in Africa, Nigeria’s youth offer tremendous potential. At the same time, equitable access to education remains a formidable challenge. According to UNICEF, about 10.5 million of the country’s children aged 5–14 years are not in school—one in five of the world’s out-of-school children. Gender norms, geography, economic barriers, and conflict all contribute to the challenge of ensuring educational provision to all of Nigeria’s children.
At LabXchange, we aim to recognize and support the STEM educators who serve and inspire Nigeria’s youth in the face of structural and material challenges. In July 2024, we concluded our first Teacher Ambassador Program cohorts in Nigeria, which brought together 54 educators and 6 master teachers for rigorous, hands-on teacher training with the LabXchange team. Participants were divided into six cohorts to reflect the six geopolitical regions of Nigeria.
In a new approach, four of the Nigerian teacher ambassador cohorts learned to design pedagogically aligned lessons in biology, chemistry, physics, and other STEM subjects, enriched with engaging virtual learning experiences on the LabXchange platform. They also worked tirelessly as advocates and shared LabXchange in their own schools, communities, and networks.
Meanwhile, two cohorts collaborated with LabXchange to begin aligning the platform’s 28,000+ free online learning resources to Nigeria’s Basic Education Curriculum (BEC) for biology and chemistry in secondary class levels 1, 2, and 3. Each ambassador assessed and rated the relevance of 50 learning resources, helping to understand their usefulness, the subject and grade level for which they are appropriate, and how they align with the BEC. This feedback was crucial in ensuring that LabXchange content aligns with the BEC, saving Nigerian educators time in searching for relevant teaching materials. The teachers also shared insights on how they utilize online content in their classes, highlighting their challenges and successes.
Educator feedback is invaluable in helping us enhance LabXchange for educators and students worldwide. Mapping LabXchange content to local educational standards ensures that it is relevant to educators. It also helps solve a challenge shared by educators everywhere: conveying knowledge to learners under the strict parameters of a national curriculum.
“LabXchange is quite interesting and it solved the majority of the challenges we have in teaching chemistry effectively. Looking at the simulations and pathways, they streamline the teaching process. You can teach effectively using this content. I hope that LabXchange will liaise with the Nigerian government to integrate into teaching and learning in Nigeria.”
—Ashiat Muhammed, Teacher Ambassador, Nigeria
With our shared mission of making high-quality science education accessible to learners and educators everywhere, we were grateful to work with the 2024 Nigeria Teacher Ambassador Cohorts. We look forward to continuing to support science educators and their learners in Nigeria!
LabXchange is built on global collaboration, and educators give our efforts purpose. Help us make high-quality STEM resources available to everyone, everywhere, by getting involved!
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