SASEP 2026 Reflective Journal – Final Day

Date: Tuesday, 7 July 2026

Venue: Founder's Hall, Paro, Bhutan
Programme: South Asian Science Education Programme (SASEP 2026)
Participant: Ugyen Dorji, Babesa Higher Secondary School, Bhutan

The final day of the South Asian Science Education Programme (SASEP) 2026 brought together all participants and facilitators in the Founder's Hall for a collaborative reflection and closing ceremony. Unlike the previous days, where participants rotated through different modules in smaller groups, the concluding day was designed as a collective learning experience that encouraged participants to synthesize ideas from all six modules completed during the programme. By the end of the training, each participant had successfully completed six professional learning modules comprising approximately 30 hours of intensive training, covering inquiry-based science, concept-based learning, critical thinking, STEM education, educational technology, and learner-centred pedagogy.

SASEP 2026 Reflective Journal – Day 3

Date: Monday, 6 July 2026

Venue: South Asian Science Education Programme (SASEP 2026), Paro, Bhutan
Participant: Ugyen Dorji, Babesa Higher Secondary School, Bhutan
Group: C

According to the official SASEP programme schedule, Group C attended Module 5 – Critical Analysis Workshop during Session 5 (9:30–11:30 a.m.), followed by Module 4 – Design, Technology and STEM Project-Based Learning during Session 6 (1:30–3:30 p.m.). During the late afternoon, Group C participated in the Panoptes Citizen Science Workshop, while Groups D–F attended the CERN Cloud Chamber workshop.

SASEP 2026 Reflective Journal – Day 2

 Date: Saturday, 4 July 2026

Venue: South Asian Science Education Programme (SASEP 2026), Paro, Bhutan
Participant: Ugyen Dorji, Babesa Higher Secondary School, Bhutan
Group: C

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Session 3 (9:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.)

Module 1

Building Learner-Centred Classrooms through Concept-Based Teaching

Facilitator: Dr. Avis Beek (Canada)

The second day began with one of the most inspiring sessions of the programme. Dr. Avis Beek introduced the philosophy of concept-based curriculum and instruction, emphasizing that education should move beyond memorization of facts towards helping learners understand transferable concepts that can be applied across disciplines and real-life situations.

She began by presenting the learning objectives of the session, which included understanding learner-centred environments, designing concept-based lessons, developing inquiry-based questions, creating a culture of thinking, and integrating interdisciplinary pedagogical strategies into classroom practice.

SASEP 2026 Reflective Journal – Day 1

Date: Friday, 3 July 2026

Venue: SASEP 2026
Group: C
Modules Attended: Module 3 (Morning Session) and Module 2 (Afternoon Session)

The first official day of the South Asian Science Education Programme (SASEP) 2026 commenced with participants rotating into their assigned modules. As a member of Group C, I began the programme with Module 3 during the morning session and attended Module 2 in the afternoon, as outlined in the official programme schedule.

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Morning Session (9:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.)

Module 3

Facilitator: Professor Joe (Los Angeles, USA)

The first learning session was intellectually stimulating and focused on Science as a Process rather than merely a collection of facts. Professor Joe emphasized that scientific knowledge develops through continuous observation, questioning, experimentation, and refinement of ideas.

He began by discussing the historical development of our understanding of the universe. The session explored the transition from the Earth-centred (Geocentric) Model to the Sun-centred (Heliocentric) Model of the solar system. Through this historical journey, he illustrated how scientific theories evolve when new evidence becomes available. One of the key concepts discussed was stellar parallax, which eventually provided strong evidence supporting the heliocentric model and disproved many limitations of the earlier geocentric belief.

Professor Joe stressed that science is self-correcting. Ideas that were once widely accepted can be replaced when better observations and stronger evidence emerge. This discussion reinforced the importance of evidence-based reasoning and critical thinking in scientific inquiry.