Registration Now Open: Integrating Virtual Labs in STEM Teaching 

Educators, instructional designers, and policymakers across the Commonwealth can now register for the “Integrating Virtual Labs in STEM Teaching” course. This open, online course will run from 1 December 2025 to 28 February 2026.  

Through the course, participants will: 

• Deepen their understanding of the fundamental principles and practical approaches to technology-supported teaching and learning across a range of STEM disciplines, at all levels of education, from primary and secondary to post-secondary. 

• Gain insights into the latest advancements in virtual labs and learn how to integrate these tools into their STEM teaching through innovative and enriched pedagogical practices. 

Support for Integrating Virtual Labs in STEM Teaching 

The initiative to integrate virtual labs into STEM education has received strong international support. In Africa, the project was led by the Botswana Teaching Professional Council, the South African Council for Educators, and the Uganda National Institute for Teacher Education. From the Caribbean and the Americas, key partners include Clarence Fitzroy Bryant College in St. Kitts and Nevis, COL, the Jamaica Teaching Council, and the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology in Belize, working through the Teacher Learning Institute. 

Building on PCF11 Recommendations  

The Commonwealth of Learning (COL), in collaboration with partners co-developed the course to implement the recommendations from the Eleventh Pan-Commonwealth Forum on Open Learning (PCF11) pre-event workshop on STEM teach education, which was held on 9 September 2025 in Gaborone, Botswana.  

The prevent workshop brought together representatives from education ministries, national teacher councils, research institutions, and schools – to share experiences and discuss how virtual labs can be used as a pedagogical tool to improve the quality of STEM teaching and learning. From sub-Saharan Africa (Botswana, Cameroon, Nigeria, and South Africa) to the Caribbean and Americas (Belize, Canada, and Jamaica), workshop participants explored strategies to strengthen teachers’ pedagogical skills and digital competencies, establish STEM Teacher Communities of Practice across the Commonwealth, and support professional development and self-accountability using e-portfolios. The initiative also aimed to increase the participation of both women and men, including girls and boys, in STEM education. In addition, the participants agreed to conduct follow-up research to document STEM teachers’ experiences and generate insights on building sustainable communities of practice in open and distance learning across diverse cultural contexts. 

Register now! 

The course is open to teachers, student teachers, teacher educators, and instructional designers. Upon successful completion, participants will receive a certificate of completion. 

For further information about the course and the registration process, please visit http://vlabsinstem.org   

The course brochure may be downloaded from the link: http://vlabsinstem.org/IVLST-brochure.pdf  

Details:

• Length of the Course: 5 Weeks
• Schedule: 1 December 2025 to 28 February 2026
• Workload: 3 to 5 hours per week
• Level: Introductory
• Language: English
• Prerequisites: None