STEM Blog

November 18, 2021
by C. Gillespie
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Royal Zoological Society of Scotland’s FREE Science Summer School

The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS)’s FREE Science Summer School this year has 80 free places available to 16-18 year olds.

This week long course has been held for school pupils during the summer holidays at Edinburgh Zoo or the Highland Wildlife Park since 2006. Ideal for any student keen on pursuing a STEM career wanting to gain experience in the fields conservation, behavioural research, animals welfare or zoo design. It is genuinely a free course delivered onsite, for the purpose of inspiring the next generation of conservationists, free from financial barriers. Over 1000 students have benefitted since the course began back in 2006, however places are limited and it is regularly oversubscribed, so please encourage your student(s) to take their time when completing their application form.

The application process is open already ahead of the March 7th application deadline ahead of it running in August 2022, and interested students can apply here.

On-site visits at both sites are picking up again also for anyone interested/able to venture out.

 

November 16, 2021
by C. Gillespie
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Welcome to our fortnightly STEM planner. Keep reading to find out more about exciting STEM developments across Scotland. Please feel free to share this planner with colleagues and school partners.

Midlothian Early Years STEM Network

Join us tomorrow 4-5pm to develop a Midlothian Early Years STEM Network building on local, regional and national activity.  This participative session will explore STEM in Midlothian Early Years with Education Scotland STEM Education Officers.

Contact Kristina.Robb@midlothian.gov.uk for more details and to register.

STEM in the North professional learning

Practitioners from other regions are most welcome to join these PL sessions.
STEM Industry in the North has been developed in partnership with the UHI STEM partnership, specifically HIE, Science Skills Academy, SSERC STEM Ambassadors and SDS. These sessions will focus on specific STEM sectors that are growing in the region. Professionals in these sectors will speak about their role, their career pathways and the future of their industry.

The first session on 17 November examines the big picture of STEM Industry in the North; the context within the region, the economy and changes in the last few years and an overview of the current & projected Labour Market Information (LMI) and what this means for your learners.

STEM Industry in the North Tickets 17 Nov 2021 at 17:00

STEM in the North is a varied programme with inputs from Numeracy & Maths, Creativity and IGBE colleagues. Please see the PDFs below for more information and tickets.

Improving Gender Balance and Equalities

The Improving Gender Balance and Equalities team are excited to announce the launch of their IGB Self-Evaluation Framework. This framework is designed to support schools and settings to take a long term, whole setting approach to addressing gender imbalance and creating a more equal learning environment. The framework consists of five main sections, which encourage both changes to classroom practice, alongside changes to school ethos and policy. The framework is designed to provide a foundation for schools to explore issues relating to gender balance and equalities in a way that suits the specific needs of each setting, whilst also providing a springboard for schools to explore wider inequalities and barriers. The team will also be providing professional learning for senior leaders looking to use the framework in their setting, and any practitioners leading on specific aspects of the framework.

Self evaluation framework

IGBE self evaluation framework professional learning January 27 2022

IGBE self evaluation framework professional learning February 2 2022 

 

Improving gender balance and equalities – looking at data through an equalities lens.

This workshop will provide the opportunity to look at the IGBE data guides (primary/ELC and secondary) in more detail. Whether you have used them already, or are just starting to consider data in this way, come along to discuss and learn.

Thursday 24th February 16:00 – 17:00 (click here to sign up via Eventbrite)

Repeated Wednesday 2nd March 16:00 – 17:00 (click here to sign up via Eventbrite)

Education Scotland Annual STEM Professional Learning Practitioner Surveys

Help shape the future of STEM professional learning by completing our 10 minute online survey by Monday 20 December.

The Scotsman Annual Life Sciences Conference

The theme of this year’s Scotsman Annual Life Sciences Conference is Realising the COVID Legacy.

Examining key areas such as accelerating science, data, digital redesign, digital biology & skills: realising potential, the conference takes place on 2 December.

Book your free place here.

 

Dates for your diary

STEM in the North Professional Learning September 21 – June 22

November 10, 2021
by Janey Irving
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STEM in the North – Professional Learning Opportunities

In our North regional team we have developed two streams of professional learning specifically targeted towards those working in the Northern Alliance region (in terms of contexts and examples).
They are online sessions though so practitioners from other regions are most welcome to join us!
STEM Industry in the North has been developed in partnership with members of the UHI STEM partnership, specifically HIE, Science Skills Academy, SSERC STEM Ambassadors and SDS. We are really excited about these sessions which will focus on specific STEM sectors that are growing in the region. We will hear from people in these sectors about their role, their career pathways and the future of their industry.

In the first session on Wednesday 17 November we are joined by Morven Cameron from HIE and Allison Carrington from SDS giving us the big picture of STEM Industry in the North; the context within the region, the economy and changes in the last few years as well as giving an overview of the current & projected Labour Market Information (LMI) and what this means for your learners. They will highlight some of the key growth sectors in the region such as the Blue Economy, Space, Life Sciences, Energy and Digital.

STEM Industry in the North Tickets, Wed 17 Nov 2021 at 17:00 | Eventbrite

This initial session will be followed up with a series of focussed webinars exploring the specific sectors listed and giving you the opportunity to hear from people working within them.

STEM in the North is a varied programme with inputs from our Numeracy & Maths, Creativity and IGBE colleagues. Please see the PDFs below for more information and all Event Brite Links.

November 4, 2021
by C. Gillespie
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Edinburgh Infectious Diseases Winter Lecture 2021  

Sir Jeremy Farrar, Director of the Wellcome Trust

Tuesday 16 November 2021 at 5.30 pm on Zoom 

Register here for this free event on Eventbrite

From his perspective as Director of one of the world’s most influential medical research charities, Jeremy will talk about what we need to learn from the current pandemic and the priorities he sees for a post-pandemic society.

Jeremy’s whole career has been dedicated to protecting and improving global health. As a researcher he specialised in infectious diseases, and he has published more than 600 papers.

As part of the response to the Covid-19 pandemic, he was a member of the UK government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), and the UK Vaccine Taskforce.  As well as sharing his expertise, Jeremy champions rapid investment in research on Covid-19 testing, treatments and vaccines, and argues that everyone – not only people who live in rich countries – should benefit equally from the discoveries that result.

Jeremy’s talk will be relevant for H and AH Biology, Human Biology, Modern Studies and Geography.

November 2, 2021
by C. Gillespie
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STEM surveys

Education Scotland works with Scotland’s educators for Scotland’s learners. With this in mind each year we ask Scotland’s practitioners and STEM professional learning providers for:

  • their views of STEM and in particular access to STEM professional learning and confidence levels
  • their experience of STEM professional learning
  • future STEM professional learning needs
  • the actual numbers of hours of STEM professional learning provided.

Annual STEM Professional Learning Practitioner Surveys 2020-2021

Help shape the future of STEM professional learning by completing our 10 minute online survey by Monday 20 December 2021.

See the STEM Nation Blog  for more details.

October 29, 2021
by C. Gillespie
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STEM Ambassadors in Scotland – New Events and Resources

 

The STEM Ambassadors in Scotland Hub is a hive of activity over the next short while, and they want you to be involved.

First up, on Monday 15 November from 9.15-10am as part of Book Week Scotland they’d love you to come to their “STOP DROPPING LITTER” event which will include a reading, presentation and Q&A session about sustainability and engineering for learners in P3-P6. The3Engineers team will be showcasing their new series of books raising awareness of environmental issues.

Also in November, their Forestry and Aquaculture in STEM Week is running from the 22nd to the 26th, and will be showcasing the unique people and careers in these sectors, with opportunities to engage with STEM Ambassadors from a range of related careers. Two exciting schools competitions are also being launched so head to their website to find out more.

Not an event but a new resource from the Hub are their Sustainability Cards. Currently featuring over 20 Ambassadors, with more to be added, the cards demonstrate how the work carried out in various roles support the Sustainable Development Goals. There’s also some suggestions of ways the cards could be used with learners.

Lastly they’d love you to save the date in your diary for the next STEM Ambassadors in Scotland Week, taking place in 2022 from 31 January to 6 February. This will be a great chance to hear from and work with Scottish STEM Ambassadors from a huge range of backgrounds and sectors and you won’t want to miss it, make sure to express your interest in being kept up to date with all the details.

October 26, 2021
by C. Gillespie
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Fortnightly Planner 26/10/21 – COP26 edition

Welcome to this COP26 edition of our fortnightly STEM blog post. Keep reading to find out more about exciting events taking place before & during COP26, 1 – 12 November 2021, across Scotland. Please feel free to share this post with colleagues and school partners.

 

COY16 – The 16th UN Climate Change Conference of Youth 28 – 31 October

VCOY – the virtual conference for COY16 – be part of one of the biggest youth gatherings all around the world in the run-up to COP26. Register for online workshops and talks – also livestreams open to everyone.

 

Tuesday 2 November 6pm – 7pm Secondary Sciences Network

Join us as Linlithgow Academy Science Team share their thoughts and experiences about how they have developed their BGE Science curriculum, their successes and plans for the future.

BGE Science Curriculum Rationale, led by staff from Linlithgow Academy, supported by the Education Scotland STEM Team.

Sign up via the Eventbrite link HERE

 

🌍 Tuesday 9 November 11 – 11:45am  Confident Coders – Save the Oceans! 

Join Code Club for this massive Scotland wide live ‘Code Along’ session based on the Save the Shark project; suitable for P4 upwards. Register here . Learners will need a laptop or computer with access to Scratch online.

🌍 Friday 5 November 11am  Tweet Storm – Schedule Copy and Paste from below:

“#OurDearGreenPlace #COP26 We are pledging to undertake actions to #EngageTheWorldToChangeTheWorld by signing Glasgow’s Children and Young People’s Climate Charter. Join with us by sharing this tweet.”

🌍 Beginning 1st November #COP26 – What is it all about and what it means for me – a series of sessions for GME Primary classes at Level 1 or 2. Live, interactive weekly sessions delivered through Teams in Glow which will help pupils understand more of what COP26 is all about. Register here

🌍 Live now – Young Enterprise Scotland have launched their COP26 Learning for Sustainability Circular Solutions Challenge for primary and secondary schools across Scotland. Students are asked to design a world without waste. Full details here.

🌍 1 – 12 November  Learning for Sustainability ScotlandLive at COP26 course will explore the contemporary issues discussed at COP26 as it happens.

 

🌍 Visit our Countdown to COP page on the LfS blog for resources and ideas around COP26 and Countdown to COP on the National Improvement Hub for support, resources and programmes organised by Education Scotland.

 

Dates for your diary

STEM in the North Professional Learning September 21 – June 22

COY16 – The 16th UN Climate Change Conference of Youth 28 – 31 October

COP26  Glasgow   1 November – 12 November

Secondary Science Network Linlithgow Academy  2 November

 

 

 

 

 

October 21, 2021
by C. Gillespie
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Techfest update

TechFest Digital Science Festival 2021 

Techfest are holding their Digital TechFest again this November. Techfest Digital Science Festival 2020 had presenters from as far away as San Francisco, USA and reached an international audience from the UK, France, Canada, South America, USA, Cyprus, Lithuania, the Netherlands and Slovakia. This year TechFest aim to reach even bigger audiences across the globe. Dates for this year are 5 – 25 November, the programme will be online soon.

Techfest are excited to announce a strategic partnership with Skills Development Scotland and will be holding Scottish Careers Week from 15-19 November as part of the Festival schools programme. This week will promote the skills needed to ensure Scotland’s young people are equipped with the tools to thrive in the digital world.

TechFest Talks – Podcasts by students for students 

A new venture for TechFest, as part of the Festival and the Scottish Careers Week – a series looking at new technologies influencing our future careers, not only in the energy industry but in agriculture, manufacturing and transportation.  A recent series of podcasts linked to Explorathon 21, which looked at the 100th anniversary of the discovery of Insulin, are still available, more details here.

Explorathon 

Explorathon 2021, is an initiative with researchers from universities across Europe joining together for events and presentations.  TechFest were invited by the University of Aberdeen and The Rowett Institute to collaborate with Explorathon 2021.

The Rowett Institute delivered a series of workshops for schools on the discovery of insulin.  TechFest also curated a podcast series with students interviewing researchers involved in developing new diabetes treatments and helping to better understand how this condition develops, and the factors that influence it. They also interviewed people living with diabetes who had experienced the changes in technology and influenced the management of their condition. These podcasts are still available online.

October 19, 2021
by I. Menzies
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Annual STEM Professional Learning Practitioner Survey 2020-2021

Help shape the future of STEM professional learning by completing our 10 minute online survey by Monday 20 December 2021

Education Scotland is inviting you to complete our Annual STEM Professional Learning Practitioner Survey for 2020-21. The information you provide will help improve the access that practitioners in relevant sectors, and in various geographical locations, have to high-quality professional learning that meets their needs. It will also help us to track improvements in the provision of professional learning over the lifetime of the STEM Strategy (2017-2022) and will enable us to identify where further support may be required.

Your individual response will not be shared with other organisations. However, the anonymised analysis from the survey will be shared widely to help STEM partner organisations align their programmes to your priorities.

Who should complete this survey?

Separate surveys have been developed for specific sectors. You should only complete one of the surveys below:

Practitioners in early learning and childcare, primary, additional support needs and secondary sectors (all subject areas including those not normally associated with STEM) are invited to complete this survey:

https://forms.education.gov.scot/i/STEMPractitioners2021

School-based technical support staff should complete this survey:

https://forms.education.gov.scot/i/STEMTechnicians2021

Community learning and development practitioners should complete this survey:

https://forms.education.gov.scot/i/STEMCLD2021

Did you know?

We would be very grateful if you could take a few minutes to complete our online survey to help us get the STEM professional learning offer right for you and your setting.

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