Primary 7 pupils at Hermitage Primary School, Helensburgh took part in their Technology Challenge presentation evening on Thursday 4th December, which brought their interdisciplinary topic to a close.
The project incorporated all STEM subjects enabling learners to develop their knowledge and understanding of the concepts and skills in Technologies, Maths, Language and Science. This also included aspects of PSD.
The Technology Challenge required pupils to work in cooperative groups, to plan and design a working electrical vehicle which was supported by a good business plan. Their progress was recorded in the form of a booklet and i-pad presentation.
Vehicles had to move forwards, backwards and have working lights and were to be created within a given budget. In addition, pupils were granted an additional £10 by the Head Teacher in order to add extra technology such as LED lights, pulley operated doors, a working lift and even a moving dragon’s head!
Following weeks of hard work the 10 teams of 6 pupils spoke to a panel of 3 judges and an audience of invited guests.
Each team gave a presentation about their vehicle detailing their experiences of working as a team, planning and designing, working to a budget and what they felt they had achieved.
The judging panel were very impressed with the standard of work and the efforts of every team member and eventually selected U-PoP as the winning team.
U-Pop created a mobile recording studio which included a working recording and playback sound module.
The delighted team members were Max Kemp, Hamish Paterson, Annika Seitz, Shannon Beaton, Esther Lopez and Rory Frew.
The Scottish Education Awards celebrate the hard work and success which takes place in Scottish education. They recognise the achievements of people who dedicate their lives to children and young people and showcase the valuable work and innovation in Scottish classrooms.
This year a new award category for STEM, Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics, has been introduced.
This category recognises establishments who are helping children and young people develop STEM skills and apply these across the four contexts for learning – curriculum, inter-disciplinary learning, ethos and life of the school and opportunities for personal achievement.
Nominations should be able to evidence the following questions and describe the impact on learners, the school and wider community:
In what ways do learners in your establishment demonstrate successful application of STEM skills?
In what ways are learners using STEM to develop skills for learning, life and work?
In what ways do you work with partners/parents/wider community to support STEM?
An Education pack has been created by the makers of Interstellar that helps teachers with some of the topics covered in the film. In discussion with Professor Martin Hendry from Glasgow University it became clear that this deals directly with some core topics of the new revised Physics Higher.
Engaging with Scottish schools to promote STEM
10am to 3:30pm, 2nd February 2015
Venue: Deans Community High School, Livingston
The Commission for Developing Scotland’s Young Workforce states in its report that ‘a focus on sciences, technologies, engineering and mathematics (STEM) should sit at the heart of the development of Scotland’s young workforce’ and calls for long-term partnerships to be established between schools, colleges and employers to bring about significant change.
Similarly, higher education institutions and research groups are looking for ways to engage effectively with school communities to encourage learners to develop STEM skills and pursue further study in these areas.
There are many activities taking place nationally and schools are already engaging with a variety of partner organisations and institutions to enhance the learning and teaching of STEM within Curriculum for Excellence and to develop the employability skills of learners. However, more needs to be done to coordinate efforts and scale up successful approaches to bring about the transformative change that is required.
The purpose of this event is to:
• Share interesting and thought-provoking models of school partnerships with industry, higher education and colleges
• Create a forum for discussion regarding effective partnership working with schools to support learning and teaching in STEM areas
• Outline the national actions that are being developed by national bodies to address the recommendations from the Commission for Developing Scotland’s Young Workforce.
Audience: This event is aimed at key decision makers or a nominated substitute (persons with interest in STEM School engagement) in local authorities, professional bodies, colleges, higher education, research and industry.
Programme: The event will include a stimulating mix of keynote presentations, workshops and discussion. Further details regarding speakers and workshops will be provided in due course.
To register: This is a free event. Please email STS@SSERC.org.uk to book a place. It is advisable to book early as places are limited. When booking, please remember to send details of any special dietary or access requirements.
For further information please contact Scott Bryce at scott.bryce@sserc.org.uk.
‘SECRET ROLES OF SOIL’ Win £500* for your class!
Science-Art competition for S1, S2 and S3 pupils
Organised by Aberdeen Biodiversity Centre, University of Aberdeen
To celebrate the International Year of Soils 2015 Aberdeen Biodiversity Centre is inviting S1 to S3 classes to take part in a competition investigating the varied and important roles of soils in our environment.
The winning class entry will win £500* towards the cost of a field trip, or approved resources that will support classroom activities to help the pupils increase their understanding of this valuable resource. The Secret Role of Soils has been generously supported by the Mains of Loirston Trust.
The class will also hold the prestigious Aberdeen Biodiversity Centre Secondary School Shield at their school during 2015.
In small groups, pupils should create an A3 poster depicting at least one concept portrayed in the icons of our promotional flyer and show how the soil helps to achieve a healthy environment.
Copies of the flyer and guidelines can be downloaded from our website www.abdn.ac.uk/biodiversity
This competition aims to support cross-curricular links, not only in science and art but also with any pupils involved in eco-school activities etc. Learners will take part in this competition by representing their ideas in a poster (no larger than A3 size) which should be received by Aberdeen Biodiversity Centre no later than Friday 8th May 2015.
All entries should have the names of the pupils, their class, year and school clearly printed on the reverse of their poster and be addressed to: Aberdeen Biodiversity Centre, University of Aberdeen, Zoology Building, Tillydrone Avenue, Aberdeen, AB24 2TZ. If you require further information please contact Aberdeen Biodiversity Centre: Tel: 01224 274545 or email: biodiversity@abdn.ac.uk
The sciences Glow 365 site continues to develop and is being populated with many resources to support the sciences curriculum.
A tile entitled Primary/Early Years Science is now available on the site through which you can access our newsfeed, resources and blog page. All are easily accessible and provide up to date relevant information for practitioners in each sector.
Our latest blogs include details about grants from the British Science Association, how to access the new FREE primary ReachOut CPD programme and you can download the recent Supporting Primary and Early Years science Glow Meet.
The site is work in progress and further developments will be introduced as the Glow 365 platform takes shape
You can also access information and discuss the latest developments with colleagues through the Learning Together site www.bit.ly/learningtogetheredscot
Hopefully you will have had the chance to see some of the outstanding sessions available as part of the online Disruptive Innovation Festival which has been running from 20th October to 14th November 2014. For those of you that have not managed to catch any of the sessions or missed some due to other commitments we are delighted to announce that many of the events have been recorded and will be available to view for another 30 days.
Visit the DIF website archive at DIF Archive to access the sessions that are still available until 14th December 2014.
Here is a small sample of some of the events that will be available to view until 14th December:
• 3D Printed materials and the Circular Economy
• Internet of Things
• Circular Economy Classroom Activity
• Biomimicry Classroom
• William McDonough (Cradle to cradle): Redesigning the Future
• Jeremy Rifkin: The Next Industrial Revolution
• Mark Miodownik: Made to be Made Again
• TU Delft: Pioneers of Design -Longer Lasting Products
• Sir Ken Robinson: Inspiring a Generation
Please share this information with colleagues who might be interested: STEM subjects, Geography, Business Education, Economics, Modern Studies and anyone interested in inter-disciplinary learning.
If you are inspired to introduce your pupils to the circular economy but would welcome some help in getting started please do not hesitate to contact me by email at jen.barrett@ellenmacarthurfoundation.org
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