This study examined the impact of the Rwanda African Institute for Mathematical Science, Teacher Training Program (AIMS-TTP) on 228 secondary school students’ interest to learn Mathematics and science taught by 7058-trained teachers over 5-years across 14 districts. Students were exposed to various AIMS-TTP interventions, including industrial visits, science hours, and international day for women and girls in science, mathematics competition, robotics and mathematics challenge, and the Pan African Mathematics Olympiad (PAMO). A survey research design was employed to collect data about students’ interest to learn Mathematics and science, and data on students’ choices of combinations were obtained from the National Examination and School Inspection Authority (NESA) for the academic years 2017 to 2022. Data analysis using bivariate correlation and regression analyses revealed a positive and significant relationship (p<.05) between AIMS-TTP interventions and students’ interest to learn Mathematics and science. Besides, linear regression model indicated that hands-on activities, exposure to mathematics and science role models, science hour and smart classroom were the best predictors of students’ interest to learn mathematics and science (β=.197, p< .05; β=.217, p<.05; β=.234, p< .05; and β=.218, p<.05 respectively). They contributed 66.7 % (Adjusted, R2 = .667, p < .05) of the variance in students’ interest in learning mathematics and science. The AIMS-TTP interventions significantly improved students’ interest to learning mathematics and science. Recommendations include comprehensive training programs with direct student engagement, diverse competitions, and ongoing teacher support through professional development. Future research should focus on students’ STEM interest in Technical, Vocational Education, and Training schools.

This study explores how mentor teachers in specialized teaching areas, particularly chemistry, interact in an Online Professional Development (OPD) program. The Mentor Teacher Professional Development (MeT-PD) program was designed to improve mentoring practices by creating opportunities for collaborative learning through various online activities, such as Individual Response (IR), Interactive Individual Response (IIR), Small Group Discussions (SGD), and Large Group Discussions (LGD). Using a qualitative case study approach, the research analyzed data collected from Zoom recordings and Nearpod activity logs. The findings indicate that while LGDs were useful for interactions between facilitators and learners, they were not as effective in fostering interaction among learners themselves, mainly due to the cognitive demands and how these discussions were structured. On the other hand, SGDs seemed to foster stronger participant interaction, probably because the smaller group settings led to more valuable exchanges. These findings highlight the need of thoughtful planning of OPD activities, with particular focus on group size management and selection of suitable discussion formats to improve both interaction and learning outcomes.