Computational Thinking CLPL

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Here is our Computational Thinking CLPL.  This came back in our practitioner surveys as an area  which required support and training.  We can understand why as it sounds like a really complex and difficult concept.  In the creation of this CLPL we have found some great examples of practice and some excellent support resources.  Hopefully you will agree.  If you click on the links below you should be taken to each of the presentations for this CLPL.  This will work better on a laptop than a phone or tablet.

Computational Thinking Early Level

Computational Thinking First Level

Computational Thinking Second Level

Engineering CLPL

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Hi All

Here comes our engineering CLPL.  This session has been created using Microsoft Sway instead of our usual medium of video.  The session is split into 3 sections: Whats is Engineering?; Engineering Skills; Resources for Teaching Engineering.  The aim of these sessions is to demonstrate where engineering already appears in your lessons right across the curriculum.  Also to highlight where engineering skills are being created in the curriculum.  This is in a bid not to add to workload but instead offer opportunities to capitalise on opportunities to mention and recognise engineering as part of what is already going on.

First off what is engineering and what does it look like in our curriculum?  If you click on the full screen option (four arrows pointing outwards) then you can navigate through the sway.  You can click on images to enlarge them.

The next sway is on recognising engineering skills in our curriculum.  As you will see you will already be teaching these skills.  Perhaps as the lesson practitioner being able to relate the skills to engineering might help pupils to relate to what engineering might look like as a career and that it could be something they would be good at.

The final presentation contains links to resources to support the teaching of engineering and engineering skills.  This will remain as a live document and we will continue to update it with new opportunities as we find them.

We hope you have found these presentations helpful.  If you need any further support with these topics please get in contact.

 

Context planners for our ‘new normal’

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Hi All 

We hope you have managed to enjoy a break in some form over the summer.  As we are all returning to a new normal and finding our feet, we are taking a break from providing CLPL for a short while.  We are working in the background to develop more CLPL sessions and other exciting STEM opportunities which we hope to bring to you later in the term.  For now, we would like to reassure you we are still here for any advice/support you may need, please feel free to contact us. 

We would like to share with you some resources you may find useful in this new normal.  Prior to the summer we worked as a team with all the RAiSE officers across Scotland to produce a resource for use by teachers on return to school.  The reasoning behind the creation of these resources was that pre-summer, there was the possibility teachers could return to a blended learning model.   We set to work trying to provide support for this model.  As it turns out we are not in a blended learning model, however, the resources created are still valuable in the teaching context we now find ourselves with some limitations on group work, resource sharing and potentially lengthy pupil absences.  As a result, we are publishing these resources now for use as you wish. 

These context planners are for Early, First and Second level to include Es and Os from across the curriculum (not just STEM).  The planners provide opportunities and complete resources for: home based learning, classroom working and IDL (Inter Disciplinary Learning) experiences.  Consideration has been given to pupils having to work relatively self-supported, potentially without access to technology and individually rather than in groups for practical work.  These resources could prove useful in completing practical work outside of group work.  They could be used to support pupils in periods of extended absence or fully in a classroom context and simply provide resources for learning. 

Each planner has an overview which outlines the whole context for learning and all the experiences which could be taught.  It shows the Es and Os which would be covered, highlights where tasks could be complete at home and which tasks are IDL.  The links to the resources for these tasks, worksheets, powerpoints, videos are all in the overview. 

Please use an up to date browser to access this resource ie Firefox, Chrome or Edge (not Microsoft Explorer) 

If you are in an up to date browser then you can access the resources by clicking on the images below.  If you are internet explorer then please copy the link to this post into one of the other browsers and then you can click on the images for the resources. 

Early Level

First Level

Second Level

The full resource can be found here. Context planners

Any feedback or questions you have on these please feel free to contact us: Barbara Hanning gw14hanningbarbara@glow.sch.uk or Laura McCafferty gw11mccaffertylaura@glow.sch.uk

Improving Gender Balance and Equalities CLPL

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This week when creating an early level resource on people who help us in the medical field I put some clip art in. I searched for doctor and chose one of the first images. Then the same for nurse.


‘So what?’ you say.  All I did was pick the first images returned in a search. But when I looked at the search results mostly they return a stereotype.


On reflection I started thinking, as I am potentially influencing pupils ideas of what a doctor or nurse is.  Perhaps even influencing what pupils feel they can or cannot aspire to.  Should I have thought more carefully about the images I chose? 

To help us think about the influence we may be having on pupils and therefore who thinks STEM is right for them, this weeks CLPL is from the Improving Gender Balance and Equalities (IGBE) team at Education Scotland. Fiona Shaw is the IGBE officer who covers Falkirk and her contact details are in the presentation.

STEM Self Evaluation Framework CLPL

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Hi All

This week’s CLPL is on the STEM Self Evaluation and Improvement Framework.  This framework has been provided by Education Scotland to support schools with developing their STEM practice by evaluating their current work and giving focus for next steps.  We are very aware that we are in an ever changing and somewhat uncertain times.  The last thing we want to do is to create more work for practitioners or place importance on tasks which may not seem pressing.  The current situation is far from ideal and has pushed us down paths in providing education we may not have chosen.  However it is apparent that some excellent work is being done and as enthusiasts for STEM, multiple opportunities to engage our pupils and colleagues in STEM have presented themselves.

Family learning has been the status quo for most pupils for the last 3 months and this may continue to be the case for some in part at least.  Are we making the most of this family learning to engage parents in STEM?  Are we providing equity for our families with the provisions we are making?  If so can we continue to build on this?

Outdoor learning lends itself so well to covering STEM Es and Os, as outdoor learning seems to be being encouraged as we return to school can we capitalise on this to support STEM work in our school? Could we lead the outdoor learning through STEM?

We have been engaging with technology in ways we probably never imagined.  Pupils and practitioners alike are up skilled, can we continue to build on this? Are we going to change the way we teach?

Pupils are working in a very different way at home with different timescales, is this increasing their higher order thinking and creativity? How do we continue to support this in school? Could this be through STEM?

The framework allows us to evaluated these exact topics.  Perhaps as this is where we are for now and these are the opportunities we have been afforded we could work to take advantage of this and find ourselves in a better place at the other side?

To help you engage with the framework and provide examples of good practice we have asked Gayle Duffus, National Education Officer for Primary Science and the RAiSE program to provide this CLPL.   Some of you may know Gayle from our Friday Q and A sessions.  Below you will find Gayle’s video for this.  The associated resources are in the teams drive in the CLPL folder.

 

Vibrations and Waves CLPL

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Hi everyone!
The focus of CLPL for the Falkirk RAiSE team this week is vibrations and waves with a particular focus on sound.
As always, there are resources saved on our Teams page which you are more than welcome to use/adapt/add to as you wish.  If you are already a member of the team click  here for resources.

To join our STEM – RAiSE Falkirk Team type the code is188td

 

 

 

 

 

We would really appreciate your feedback.  Thank you!