STEM Blog

The NQ Sciences supported spreadsheets contains resource links for National 4 through to Advanced Higher for Biology, Chemistry, Human Biology and Physics and are being updated on a regular basis.

All subjects include:

• Teacher created resources – narrated PowerPoints; activities, formative assessment
• Practical science videos
• Links to recorded lessons for National 5 and Higher from West Online School and e-Sgoil
• A tab for recently-added links to BBC content
• Scholar content also available so teachers can access the full suite of supported resources in one place.

Updates to the Biology supported spreadsheet this week include:

• links to fascinating TEDEd and Amoeba Sisters videos
• National 4 and 5 Biology resource links including auto and teacher marked Google Forms which can be sued for diagnostic assessment

Updates to the Chemistry supported spreadsheets this week include:

• Past paper questions and answers for Units 1,2 and 3 at National 5 and Higher
• New PowerPoints for National 5 Units 1, 2 and 3
• Advanced Higher – homework with answers and past paper questions with answers

Updates to the Physics supported spreadsheets this week include:

• Activity on the IOP Scotland Shared resources sheet  https://www.shorturl.at/kruL2
  • Screencasts of uncertainties at AH level and Nat 5 past paper revision question banks
  •  a set of homework questions for AH for most units.
  • a good number of eSgoil videos which do require a Glow login
  • It’s always good to see suggestions on the public access ‘right hand side’ which are usually moved to the left ‘protected’ cells once they have been verified by IOPS coaches.  Sometimes this process can take a few weeks. As the sheet is nearly one year old some of the links may change etc. If you do notice broken links please get in touch with Matthew Burke (email on the first tab of the sheet) or Martyn Crawshaw

National e-Learning Offer

Two brand new interactive videos, created by the University of Edinburgh’s Easter Bush Science Outreach Centre and Roslin Institute, show the laboratory techniques Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and gel electrophoresis. They have been designed to contribute to Education Scotland’s National e-Learning Offer, supporting Higher pupils to develop their knowledge and understanding of specific lab techniques. They also include real-life examples of how the techniques are used by Roslin Institute research scientists and technicians.

The videos are linked to the Higher Biology & Higher Human Biology Scottish Curriculum for Excellence and are accompanied by additional teaching materials including hands-on activities and pupil assessments.

You can also visit the EBSOC website directly to access these resources https://edin.ac/3osd7ZS

There are lots of other exciting additions to the Biology and Human Biology resources section of  NeLO this week including links to new videos from West OS and Meet the Scientist videos from MRC Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine (IGMM)  at the University of Edinburgh.

Did you know that farming contributes around 67,000 jobs and a GVA of around £1.3 billion to our economy!

And across many rural areas, crofting delivers valuable local benefits, providing jobs and income. A successful crofting sector helps our rural communities to thrive, and it can be at the forefront of developing new and innovative practices which support our progress to net zero carbon.

In recent years, Scotland’s food and drink industry has been one of our strongest economic performers, particularly for our rural economy. In 2014 the Scottish Government published the national food and drink policy Becoming a Good Food Nation. The policy set a new vision for Scotland: that by 2025 Scotland will be “a Good Food Nation, where people from every walk of life take pride and pleasure in, and benefit from, the food they produce, buy, cook, serve, and eat each day.” Promoting sustainable production of food and drink means farming and manufacturing it in a way that helps to preserve and protect the environment for future generations.

STEM in Scottish Farming – Precision farming in Scotland uses a huge number of technologies to improve our farming practices  from mapping fields and soil scanning, to crop protection, variable rate fertilising (which reduces potential for overuse of fertilisers and issues with fertiliser leaching from the soil to fresh water) and even using drones to thermal image crops!

Future of Food & Farming Scottish Context Resources – here are just a few resources that could be used with your pupils as they learn at home.

• The Royal Highland Education Trust aims to provide the opportunity for every child and teacher in Scotland to learn about food, farming and the countryside. Resources for teachers and pupils are updated regularly and include materials with a focus on seasonal food, reducing food waste and climate change.
• SASA (Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture) – monitor pesticides including impact on wildlife, do seed testing and certification, check seed potatoes to make sure they are free from disease and also certify new varieties and conducts a wide range of activities monitoring wildlife and the environment.
• FDF Scotland: A Future in Food aims to inspire young people to consider the food and drink industry as a career choice.
• The Love Food Hate Waste campaign by Zero Waste Scotland highlights why it is important to reduce food waste and how to get involved. Love Food Hate Waste education pack
• Royal Horticultural Society – Campaign for school gardening. This free online resource is designed to help schools make the most of their school gardens – I’ve also used it to help me with my home gardening!
• REHIS®, a Scottish charity that works to promote the advancement of environmental health through education and training. They have a number of courses for learners of all ages!
• Keep Scotland Beautiful Food and the Environment resources, and related Eco-Schools Scotland topic, supports people towards awareness of and action towards more sustainable food choices and systems.
• Food Standards Scotland works with the education sector in Scotland to provide support and resources that encourage healthy eating, good food hygiene practice and food safety knowledge.
• At Dumfries House in Cumnock, Ayrshire, children have the opportunity to explore food growing, farming and horticulture. Children can plant, nurture, harvest and prepare vegetables in the education garden, and find out more about where food comes from with a visit to the education farm. Parts of the estate are still open for socially distanced visits from families in the area.
• British Nutrition Foundation – The Remote learning area on the Food – a fact of life website is specifically developed to support pupils learning at home. The area comprises approximately 600 ideas, activities and resources around food, cooking, healthy eating, and where food comes from.

Do you work in Higher or Further Education? Does your sector/industry require an understanding of statistics, finance, project planning and/or mathematical modelling?

If so, you may wish to join us on Friday to discuss the SQA Higher Applications of Mathematics qualification being rolled out in 2021/2022. Members of Education Scotland’s STEM and Numeracy & Mathematics team will be joined by a range of HE and FE professionals and representatives from the SQA to discuss the new course. We will consider issues such as effective career information and guidance for school pupils, HE admissions relating to the new course, implications for gender balance in uptake of FE/HE courses and ways in which we may be able to support the development of professional learning opportunities and learning contexts/resources for practitioners in schools.

We are keen to seek representation from a wide range of faculties including STEM, social sciences, business, medicine, psychology and more.

• SQA Higher Applications of Mathematics – Virtual meeting with FE/HE
• Microsoft Teams
• Friday 15 January
• 10:00 am – 12:00 pm

If you are interested in attending please contact Hazel Gardner by email:

Hazel.Gardner@educationscotland.gov.scot

Welcome to our fortnightly STEM blog post. Keep reading to find out more about exciting STEM developments across Scotland. Please feel free to share this post with colleagues and school partners.

National eLearning offer:  Resource spreadsheets for physics, chemistry, biology and human biology are available from our National e-Learning site: National eLearning Offer secondary resources – more details available here.

IOP Scotland CLPL: Mars 2020 – Perseverance and Ingenuity – a NASA in Aberdeen workshop

The NASA Perseverance rover is due to land on Mars on 18 February. Its mission is to look for signs of ancient life and to collect samples of rock and soil. Perseverance carries with it the Ingenuity helicopter drone, the first powered vehicle sent to fly in the atmosphere of another planet. Find out about suitable classroom activities associated with this major mission. This event is suitable for primary and secondary teachers across all of the sciences. The fifth in a series of space science online CLPL events is produced and delivered as part of the NASA in Aberdeen project #inspiringthenextgeneration

19:30-20:15, Thursday, 14 January 2021

Skills Development Scotland  – Climate Emergency Skills Action Plan: responding to
Scotland’s declaration of a Climate Emergency and targets to meet net zero emissions by 2045,
The Climate Emergency Skills Action Plan sets out a clear direction for the reorientation of our skills system, and signals the role that businesses, communities and individuals across Scotland will play in achieving this.

Food, STEM & Sustainability Online Teacher Training: The Royal Highland Education Trust (RHET), The Rowett Institute, Food and Drink Federation (FDF) Scotland and Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) are offering teachers and educators online training opportunities highlighting the importance of food. The online training (endorsed by Education Scotland) covers four main subject areas –

Technology & Engineering, Health & Wellbeing, Math, Big Data and food and Food & Climate.

Webinars for each subject area will start with Technology & Engineering webinar focusing on the production of haggis, neeps and tatties on 20^th January at 3.30pm. The online training site will go live in February with webinars running in January, February and March. Register for online sessions and webinars here.

Creative Thinking Level 5 & 6 – The Pilot Programme : Working alongside Edinburgh Napier University and Edinburgh College, Daydream Believers have created a level 5 and level 6 award in Creative Thinking, useful for STEM learning and Learning for Sustainability. The workshop on 29 January is open to anyone interested in piloting the award in the 2020/2021 academic session.

Register here

IOP Resource for learning at home

Throughout 2020, the Institute of Physics has been creating resources to support home learning – Do Try This At Home. Before the Christmas break, they developed a winter-themed activity pack for upper primary ages that contains experiments, activities and literacy-building features to help enrich the science curriculum and build science capital within the family.

To view the activity pack and the range of materials developed for Do Try This At Home, please visit: www.iop.org/AtHome

The Do Try This At Home pack and videos are based on some of the always popular Marvin and Milo activities.  All 155 can be downloaded from IOP Spark at https://spark.iop.org/collections/marvin-and-milo

Dates for your diary

2021 – The United Nations has declared 2021 as the International Year of Peace and Trust, the International Year of Creative Economy for Sustainable Development, and the International Year of Fruits and Vegetables.

The World Health Organisation has designated 2021 as the International Year of Health and Care Workers

International Women’s Day 8 March 2021

British Science Week 5-14 March 2021

STEM Fortnightly planner 15/12/20

Working alongside Edinburgh Napier University and Edinburgh College, Daydream Believers have created a level 5 and level 6 award in Creative Thinking. This workshop is open to anyone interested in piloting the award in the 2020/2021 academic session.

This will be an opportunity to discuss the award in more detail and share your insights on how new resources can be developed and created to support creative thinking across the whole curriculum. Daydream Believers are also keen to get feedback on their new method of assessment and moderation.

This is an exciting opportunity for schools and colleges to shape a different way of thinking and for businesses to invest directly in their future workforce.

Register here

Not long left for primary schools in Scotland to join the ‘Mindset Teams’ blended learning programme, a growth mindset course funded by Education Scotland that is designed specifically for primary science teaching.

Mindset Teams is an accredited course from Winning Scotland Foundation, offering a blend of independent online learning, tutor guidance, collegiate discussion and supported project delivery. A limited number of free places are available for primary schools. To take part, schools must nominate a ‘team’ of:

• At least one ‘leader’ (e.g. a PT, HT or DHT) and
• Two or more classroom practitioners to complete the programme together.

A full programme descriptor is available here and a case study from Callander PS in Stirling is available here.

Course application deadline: Friday 18th December. Apply to take part in the course here

Course start date: Monday 11th January

More information / questions:

Contact aoife.barrett@winningscotlandfoundation.org