January 13, 2021
by Hazel Gardner
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SQA Higher Applications of Mathematics – Virtual meeting with FE/HE

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

January 12, 2021
by C. Gillespie
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STEM Fortnightly Planner 11/01/21

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.

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

January 10, 2021
by I. Menzies
1 Comment

Remote learning resources for ELC and primary science and STEM

Updated 19 January 2021

Education Scotland has been working with E-Sgoil, ADES and other partners to develop the three aspects of the National e-Learning Offer: live lessons, supported resources and recorded lessons. These resources have been created and curated to support practitioners when planning for remote learning.

This blog post provides resource links for primary science and STEM at early, first and second level. For information about resources for secondary science, please visit: Secondary sciences update – National e-Learning Offer | (glowscotland.org.uk)

Supported resources

Education Scotland would like to thank those authorities participating in the Raising Aspirations in Science Education (RAiSE) Programme for their support in developing many of the supported resources below.

Context planners

The planners below provide suggestions for learning around a range of contexts. They have been developed to incorporate learning opportunities from across several curricular areas. Some activities have been developed specifically for learning at home. Each planner includes links to relevant resources including PowerPoints and activity sheets. They also provide interdisciplinary learning opportunities for young people to explore.

People who help us EARLY LEVEL

The Day the Crayons Quit EARLY LEVEL

Weather FIRST LEVEL

Matilda FIRST LEVEL

The Twits FIRST LEVEL

World War II SECOND LEVEL

Rainforests SECOND LEVEL

Harry Potter and the Philosopher_s Stone SECOND LEVEL

Game design SECOND LEVEL

Science planning resource
The RAiSE Science Planning Resource provides comprehensive support for practitioners planning sciences learning from early to second level. Each planner outlines suggested learning activities, useful online links, vocabulary, questions, ‘How to’ videos and much more to support planning for science.

Highland Primary Science Framework

Available through GLOW, the Highland Primary Science Framework has detailed lesson plans for each sciences EO (early to second level) as well as helpful links to associated learning materials.

Science and STEM Wakelet

Education Scotland’s Science and STEM Wakelet contains a range of useful curated web links for early, first and second level.

Recorded

The West Online School, in partnership with ADES, E-Sgoil and Education Scotland, has now recorded 500 video lessons for a number of curriculum areas and levels. These are being made available through the Clickview Platform. To find out more about how you can access these resources then please visit this page on our National e-Learning blog: https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/glowblogs/nationalelearning/westos-access-recorded-materials/

Live lessons

Daily, live sessions are being hosted on the e-Sgoil website. Monday to Friday at 10 am for P2-P7, 11 am for S1-S3 and 2 pm for S4-S6. No prior sign-up required – simply direct learners to e-sgoil.com at the appropriate time. Further details, including a weekly schedule, past sessions and associated resources, can be found at: http://www.e-sgoil.com/lockdown-live/
Gaidhlig Bheo. An extensive programme of live lessons for Gaelic Medium and Gaelic Learners – from P2 to S6. Class teachers can view the full schedule and register interest (Teacher Glow account required) at: http://www.e-sgoil.com/gaidhlig-bheo/
Early years, including Primary 1. Meet internet sensation Dug in his Discovery Den – an ever-evolving online learning environment for our youngest learners. No prior sign-up required. Visit Dug at: http://e-sgoil.com/earlyyears20/

e-Sgoil will continue to provide support to schools significantly impacted by Covid-19 (Coronavirus) as its own resources allow. This may, for example, be due to a high number of staff being absent. For further details and to enquire about this emergency provision, please access: http://e-sgoil.com/covidprovision/

In addition to the above, the BBC will be broadcasting educational content to support learning at home: www.bbc.co.uk/lockdownlearningscotland. We are pleased to be working with the BBC to build on our support already available nationally.

December 21, 2020
by Janey Irving
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New tool to support Scotland’s seas

A new online portal which assesses the health of Scotland’s seas has been launched.

Scotland’s Marine Assessment (SMA) 2020, brings together the work of more than 250 scientists to provide an up-to-date review of our marine environment and the human activity it supports.

The portal includes 162 studies which cover climate change, how clean and safe our seas are and the diversity of our marine species. In the new year, 21 regional assessments will also go live bringing the total studies to 183, allowing people to get an understanding of the condition of the seas in their area. The project involved scientists from across a range of disciplines including oceanographers, chemists, biochemists, mathematicians, statisticians, physicists, biologists, ecologists, economists, sociologists and bacteriologists.

As well as being of benefit to scientists and industry partners that are working together to improve the state of Scotland’s seas; we hope that this resource could be used by schools and communities to deepen their understanding of the conditions of the seas in their area. The case studies from the portal would give pupils real life data and examples to contextualise their learning in numerous curricular areas and in particular link to the cross cutting themes within Learning for Sustainability. With 2020-21 being the Year of Coasts and Waters and the UN Climate Change Conference (COP 26) being held in Scotland this coming year; we know that the impact of human activity on our environment will be foremost in the minds of many young people and their families.

The headlines and next steps area of the portal sets out the key findings from studies and what work is needed to improve our marine environment.

The portal finds that climate change is the most critical factor affecting our seas and is impacting on coastal flooding, erosion and our marine species. It shows that progress is being made to improve the health of our seas, with the levels of nutrients and contaminants reducing, while marine protection measures and work to tackle marine litter needs more time to be fully effective.

It also sets out that collaboration with coastal communities, local areas and international partners is essential if improvements are to be made to the state of Scotland’s seas.

SMA 2020 has been produced by the Scottish Government, NatureScot, Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) and the Marine Alliance for Science and Technology Scotland.

It builds on the data first presented in Scotland’s Marine Atlas in 2011.

Background

SMA Launch film – YouTube

Scotland’s Marine Assessment (SMA) 2020

December 18, 2020
by I. Menzies
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Secondary sciences update – National e-Learning Offer

This blog post provides an update (19 January 2021) in relation to the three aspects of the National e-Learning Offer for senior phase sciences: supported, recorded and live.

For information about resources for early, first and second level science, please visit: Remote learning resources for ELC and primary science and STEM | (glowscotland.org.uk)

Supported resources

Resource spreadsheets for physics, chemistry, biology and human biology are available from our National e-Learning site: https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/glowblogs/nationalelearning/resources-2/

These spreadsheets build on all the excellent work that was supported by the sciences networks during the initial period of lockdown. The spreadsheets now contain links to a wide selection of videos, PPTs, calculations, lessons, activities and assessments that have been shared by practitioners. The number of resource links in each spreadsheet are as follows:

Physics including IoP spreadsheet (1041) and Physics Scholar links (958)
Chemistry (540) and Chemistry Scholar links (1103)
Biology (352) and Biology Scholar links (500)
Human Biology (119) and Human Biology Scholar links (348)

Important guidance: A video is available to demonstrate how the spreadsheets can be used: https://bit.ly/3akKNFC . Please note that you may find it helpful to zoom out to about 80% view to see more rows of the spreadsheet. You also have the option of opening the Excel spreadsheet in the desktop app rather than viewing online. This link to the blog page should be used when pointing people to the spreadsheets: https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/glowblogs/nationalelearning/resources-2/ . It is advised not to use the direct URL link to a specific spreadsheet as this may result in a Sharepoint access error message.

The development of the resource spreadsheets has only been possible because of the collaborative and generous way that teachers have shared resources to date. The continuation of this will be crucial in supporting the next phase of developments. Education Scotland has now established teacher groups to further support the curation of resources to fill identified gaps. We would be really grateful if teachers would consider submitting useful resource links to fill gaps in the subject spreadsheets. If you are willing to submit resource links, for either Senior Phase or BGE, then this can be done through our National e-Learning Offer website: https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/glowblogs/nationalelearning/suggestions/

An updated version of each sciences blog will be posted each Monday.

Practical science videos

Education Scotland has been working with BBC Bitesize, Napier University, SSERC and other partners to film practical science experiments. The first 30 videos have now been published. A further 20 are being edited and are due to be published by the end of January 2021. We have also developed interactive assessment resources to accompany each of the videos and these will also be going live by the end of January. Further details and links are included in the attachment below. Additional filming of practical science experiments is being planned.

Practical Science Videos Publication Schedule 11Jan21

Recorded

The West Online School, in partnership with ADES, E-Sgoil and Education Scotland, has now recorded over 600 video lessons for a number of curriculum areas, including sciences. These are being made available through the Clickview Platform. To find out more about how you can access these then please visit this page on our National e-Learning blog: https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/glowblogs/nationalelearning/westos-access-recorded-materials/

Live lessons – E-Sgoil Lockdown Live

Daily, live sessions are being hosted on the e-Sgoil website. Monday to Friday at 10 am for P2-P7, 11 am for S1-S3 and 2 pm for S4-S6. No prior sign-up required – simply direct learners to e-sgoil.com at the appropriate time. Further details, including a weekly schedule, past sessions and associated resources, can be found at: http://www.e-sgoil.com/lockdown-live/
Daytime study support. A range of Advanced Higher, Higher and National 5 courses on offer. This is in addition the 25 courses already available in the early evenings. For further information and to register, young people can access (Pupil Glow account required to register): http://e-sgoil.com/studysupport2020/
Gaidhlig Bheo. An extensive programme of live lessons for Gaelic Medium and Gaelic Learners – from P2 to S6. Class teachers can view the full schedule and register interest (Teacher Glow account required) at: http://www.e-sgoil.com/gaidhlig-bheo/

Other resources

Additional work to develop the supported, recorded and live elements of the National e-Learning Offer in 2021 is already being planned. Education Scotland is also working in close partnership with the BBC to coordinate with their lockdown learning offer for schools: BBC Scotland – Lockdown Learning

I’d like to conclude by thanking all those who have contributed so generously to the development of the resources listed above. A special thank you too to those teachers who volunteered to be part of our secondary science working groups and curation groups who have continued to do so much behind the scenes.

Ian Menzies

Senior Education Officer

Education Scotland

Updated 10 January 2021

December 17, 2020
by C. Gillespie
0 comments

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. 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.

December 17, 2020
by C. Gillespie
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Mindset in Primary Science programme – apply by 18 December

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

December 15, 2020
by C. Gillespie
0 comments

STEM Fortnightly Planner 15/12/20

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.

STEM Learning have announced two new STEM career resources, packed full of ideas and strategies to help teachers and Career Leaders bring STEM careers into the classroom.
Each resource is free to download and comes with guidance and training to help embed ideas into lesson planning.

The STEM Careers Toolkit is packed with creative ideas and practical suggestions and explores how to help build STEM specific content into your careers strategy.

Developing career learning in STEM is aimed at teachers who are passionate about providing STEM career experiences for young people. It offers immediate ideas to try, longer term strategies and resource recommendations to help bring STEM career learning into lessons.

Celebrating scientists with disabilities – to mark International Day of People with Disabilities, The Royal Society highlighted a selection of scientists with disabilities, from historical figures to current experts working in the fields of experimental physics, volcanology, assistive technology, and more.

National e-learning offer – Education Scotland, working with practitioners, has posted subject spreadsheets (for NQ subjects) with links to resources for practitioners and learners. Sciences and Mathematics spreadsheets are among 14 subjects that have been uploaded to the blog. We would encourage practitioners to send any resource suggestions via the suggestion form located within the National e-learning offer blog.

Engineering Scotland school competition – suggest a name for the Engineering Scotland dinner, naming the dinner after a famous Scottish engineer and win a £50 Amazon voucher for your school. Class entries are permitted. Email your details, name suggestion and reason for choosing to climate@engineeringscotland.org

Dates for your diary

21 January 2021 Teacher information session for STEM Ambassadors in Scotland Week

28 January 2021 Introduction to STEM Ambassadors for CLD practitioners

1 – 5 February 2021 STEM Ambassadors in Scotland Week – Week long celebration of STEM Ambassadors in Scotland. Including Live virtual Careers Event, company career events, offers from STEM Ambassadors for teachers to take up during this week and beyond. Create a teacher account at www.stem.org.uk to access.

4 February 2021 STEM Ambassadors in Scotland Week Celebration Event

23 February 2021 CyberScotland Week – Networking Session for STEM Ambassadors and Teachers

STEM Fortnightly Planner 01/12/20

December 11, 2020
by C. Gillespie
0 comments

Science Planning resource

To support learning, teaching and assessment of science in early learning and childcare settings and primary schools, home learning links have been extracted from the Science Planning Resource. Glasgow Science Centre, Aberdeen Science Centre and Easter Bush Science Outreach Centre have recently produced learning at home STEM videos. We’ve mapped these into the relevant experiences and outcomes for early to second level and share these in this document. Many of the videos could also be used to support learning in the classroom.

This resource has been developed through the RAiSE Programme with support from Education Scotland and Scottish Government. Raising Aspirations in Science Education (RAiSE) is a programme of The Wood Foundation, Education Scotland, Scottish Government and participating local authorities which enhances the delivery of STEM education in primary schools.

View the full Science planning resource here.

December 10, 2020
by Hazel Gardner
0 comments

Mathematical Futures programme – Call for Views

See the source image

A strong foundation in mathematics and numeracy skills is fundamental to our children and young people’s learning in STEM and to support them in their pursuit of future STEM careers. In line with this, the Royal Society have launched the Mathematical Futures programme which aims to support the role of “mathematics for individuals, economies and society, strengthening diversity and reducing inequity.”

The programme seeks to answer two core questions:

What mathematical competences will be needed by citizens to thrive in the future?
How should education systems develop these mathematical competences?

We encourage you to think about what this looks like in your context. For example: Which aspects of numeracy and mathematics in the Broad General Education are key for progression in Senior Phase STEM subjects? Has the increase in online payments and the prevalence of “loot boxes” in online games had an impact on learners understanding of money? Two of the key skills from SDS’s Skills 4.0 paper are sense making and critical thinking – can mathematics education support the development of the associated skills of pattern recognition, analysis and logical thinking?

The Numeracy and Mathematics team at Education Scotland have already canvassed the views of the national numeracy and mathematics networks and invited individual survey responses from interested parties. However, we are keen to encourage practitioners working across all areas of STEM education to contribute to this survey and have your views heard.

The call for views closes on 11 January 2021.

The survey can be accessed here:

Mathematical Futures programme Call for Views | Royal Society

The call for views is open to: