Report on the Progress of the IN-STEP Pilot Program, 2008-2009

This is the second report on the progress of the Inquiry Based Science and Technology Education Program (IN-STEP), an innovative science education initiative being implemented in the lower secondary schools of Phang-nga province. Sponsored by MSD Thailand, a pharmaceutical company, and supported by funding from its parent company, Merck & Co., Inc., IN-STEP is being implemented by a public-private partnership led by the Kenan Institute Asia (K.I.Asia), which, besides MSD Thailand and Merck & Co., includes the Thai Ministry of Education (MOE), the Merck Institute for Science Education (MISE), the Educational Services Area Office (ESAO) in Phang-nga province, the Institute for the Promotion of Teaching Science & Technology (IPST), the National Science and Technology Development Agency, the Science Society of Thailand, Teachers College, Columbia University, and, most importantly, the science teachers and principals working in the lower secondary schools in Phang-nga. These organizations have worked together to develop a shared vision of good science teaching and to develop the IN-STEP design.