Welcome to the 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.

Meet the STEM Partners – Science centres and Science Skills Academy

During this online opportunity for primary teachers, you’ll hear from Scotland’s four Science Centres in Glasgow, Aberdeen, Dundee and Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh – as well as the Science Skills Academy – to explore how they can help you deliver inspiring STEM experiences through their exhibitions and learning programmes.

You’ll have the opportunity to find out more about what each organisation can offer you and your learners in-person and digitally, through visits to their centres or through outreach experiences. Join us to explore how we can support you in the delivery of national priorities for learners and make connections with Scotland’s national science centres.

Target Audience – Primary and Additional support practitioners

STEM Nation Awards Programme

Are your learners engaged in STEM leadership? Do you have a STEM plan or working group? Are staff taking part in STEM professional learning?

Explore how the STEM Nation Award can help you develop and share Leadership in STEM.  

Secondary Sciences Network – Save the date

Constructing assessments in the sciences

1645 to 1745 Monday 5 December

In this session, Andy Shield (SQA Qualifications Manager for Physics and Environmental Science) will provide insight into constructing assessments for Sciences National Qualifications. The session will include:

• Level of demand and A-type questions
• Distribution of questions
• Ensuring a sufficient breadth of content and skills coverage
• Importance of applying marking instructions.

Andy will also share observations and learning from the most recent appeals process. There will be opportunities to discuss and ask questions. Sign up here.

COP 27 – DYW Live

During this week of COP27, Education Scotland and eSgoil have been running DYW LIVE sessions for learners and teachers about climate change and green jobs. Don’t worry if you missed the inspiring input from employers on climate change and green skills within construction, fashion, energy and ethical finance – you can watch the recordings on the DYW LIVE site

Don’t miss out on the last two session running on Thursday 17 November

• AM – Agriculture and Forestry – LANTRA will explain how working the fields, forests and hills can mitigate against climate change.
• PM – Transport – Hear how FirstBus is reducing the impact of travel on the planet and creating green jobs in the process.

To register visit the DYW LIVE COP27 page

Other COP27 Opportunities

1. Live at COP27 Massive Open Online Course (MOOC).

Explore global issues during COP27 and be part of the call for collective action.

Find out more and sign up here.

2. Climate Ambassadors – STEM Learning has created a new subset of STEM Ambassadors called Climate Ambassadors. Employers and organisations can choose to be connected to Climate Ambassadors and filter requests of this type.

3. Royal Society of Chemistry Take Charge Global Battery experiment

4. Education Scotland COP26 legacy materials – recycling, reusing, repurpose materials from last year…because they were so popular and it’s good for the planet to use again!

IGBE Team

Improving Gender Balance Self-evaluation and Data Guides Workshop – Wednesday 16 November 4 – 5:15 pm

Are you a leader of gender aware practice in your setting? Come along to our session exploring how data can be viewed through an equalities lens and support self-evaluation.

We’ve updated our IGB Self-evaluation Framework –

Improving Gender Balance Self Evaluation Framework (education.gov.scot)

‘How does gender inequality affect attainment, wellbeing and participation?’

Another chance to find out!

Our next awareness raising session is on Thursday 1 December. If you’ve already attended one of these why not encourage others within your department/setting to come along? Sign up here

Dates for your diary 

18 Nov: Last day of COP27

5 Dec: Secondary Sciences Network – Constructing assessments in the sciences

1 Dec: World AIDS Day

7 -19 Dec: UN COP15 Biodiversity Conference, Montreal Canada

Thank you to all those who managed to attend the Secondary Sciences Network Meeting (Teams on Glow) on 05 October.

Those attending identified the following priorities for the network for the year ahead:

• BGE – curriculum design and assessment
• Skills progression and tracking
• Improving career and course advice (including pathways such as Environmental Science/ NPAs/ Apprenticeships
• Multi-level teaching
• Pedagogy
• Designing A-type questions
• ASN – differentiation and resources

We hope to theme the live sessions and discussions around these topics over the coming months. The purpose of the network is to facilitate sharing, dialogue and collaboration between schools so if you have resources, approaches or practice to share on the aspects listed above then please email: stem@educationscotland.gov.scot – we’d be very keen to hear from you.

NEXT up: Environmental sciences webinar on 15 November (4.45pm to 5.45pm)

The session will be hosted on the Secondary Sciences Network Team (Joining code: uh9sf32). To register: https://bit.ly/3ft8YXt

During the session, SQA colleagues will share an update and teachers will share their experience of delivering Environmental Science courses.

Network focus for November: New qualifications and assessment consultation

The Scottish Government consultation on the new qualifications (Hayward Review) is now open: https://www.gov.scot/publications/professor-haywards-independent-review-qualifications-assessment/pages/2/ .  Responses to this consultation should be submitted by 16 December 2022. Our network discussion will focus on this theme throughout November. What are your hopes, ideas and suggestions for the review and the future of sciences qualifications? How can sciences qualifications best meet the needs of all learners? Please post your thoughts and ideas into the network chat.

STEM Nation Award

Passionate about STEM and looking to make a whole school commitment? Education Scotland’s STEM Nation Award Programme can help you on your journey. To register and find out the support that is available visit: https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/glowblogs/stemnation/stemnation-awards/

DYW LIVE Programme for COP27 (14^th to 17^th November)

Sustainability and climate change will be key to all jobs in the future. Join our COP27 DYW Live Programme to hear from six inspiring employers who are putting climate change at the heart of their business including construction, transport, energy, fashion, finance, agriculture and forestry: https://www.e-sgoil.com/dyw-live-cop27-homepage/

Resources

• Handy resource guide – download these handy sciences resources guides for teachers and learners:

Secondary Sciences Resources for Teachers Nov 2022

Secondary Sciences Resources for Learners Nov 2022

• STEM resources directory – a full listing of all the professional learning support and resources for STEM in Scotland for this term: https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/glowblogs/stemnation/stem-resources/
• See our fortnightly planner for a fuller list of resources: https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/glowblogs/STEMcentralinmotion/2022/11/01/fortnightly-planner-1-11/

 SQA Connections (7 – 10 November)

A series of free online information sessions which will help you learn about qualification updates, get insights into new developments, and develop ideas for the future. More than 20 sessions are available – some have a subject-specific focus while others consider broader topics such as meta-skills, SCQF learner pathways, systems verification and the SQA Centre Hub. Full list of sessions: https://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/files_ccc/QualityNetwork-Programme-2022.pdf . To book: https://bit.ly/3FKfHH5. New users will need to register first.

Welcome to the 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.

STEM Networks Early Years, Primary and ASN

Join us on Thursday 3 November at 4 15pm for a focus on family learning & STEM. Hear from North Ayrshire Family Learning Team on how they support families & develop their love for STEM. Breakout rooms for Early Years, Primary & ASN will also be held.

Secondary Sciences Network

Join us for our Secondary Sciences Network session on Tuesday 15 November 4.45 – 5.45pm with an Environmental Sciences focus.

Hear from Donna Clark (SQA) and also teachers who’ll be sharing their experience of delivering Environmental Science.

COP 27 – DYW Live

Get set for COP27 – learn about climate change and help develop skills in Scotland’s future workforce.  Learning about climate change and sustainability is a pathway to the future; relevant for all future jobs. As part of COP27 Week 2022 DYW Live, Education Scotland and e-Sgoil are excited to offer a range of activities around climate change and its impact on future jobs and future skills.

Collaborating with six industry partners sharing what they are doing to prevent climate change, join us for an industry-led inspiration talk followed by a climate lesson on Teams which can be used to enhance learning from the webinar or as a standalone activity.

14 November

• AM – Net Zero Construction – hear from Built Environment, Smarter Transformation (BE-ST) as they seek to accelerate the built environment’s transition to zero carbon emissions.
• PM – Ethical Finance – Shared Interest is an ethical investment organisation which aims to alleviate poverty by helping people in remote and disadvantaged communities, to trade and earn a living.

15 November

• AM – Energy transition – Hear from Catapult Offshore Renewable Energy and their plans to harness nature’s energy in sustainable ways.
• PM – Sustainable fashion – ACS’ mission is to be the leading enabler of the fashion industry’s circular economy in the UK and Europe.

17 November 

• AM – Agriculture and Forestry – LANTRA will explain how working the fields, forests and hills can mitigate against climate change.
• PM – Transport – Hear how FirstBus is reducing the impact of travel on the planet and creating green jobs in the process.

To find out more and register visit the DYW LIVE COP27 page: https://www.e-sgoil.com/dyw-live-cop27-homepage/

The webinars will be recorded and made available afterwards on the e-sgoil webpage.

Other COP27 Opportunities

1. Live at COP27 Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) – Starts 07 November

• Explore global issues during COP27 and be part of the call for collective action.
• Find out more and sign up here.

2. Climate Ambassadors – STEM Learning has created a new subset of STEM Ambassadors called Climate Ambassadors. Employers and organisations can choose to be connected to Climate Ambassadors and filter requests of this type: https://www.stem.org.uk/climate-ambassadors

3. Royal Society of Chemistry Take Charge Global Battery experiment: https://edu.rsc.org/global-experiment

4. Education Scotland COP26 legacy materials – recycling, reusing, repurpose materials from last year…because they were so popular and it’s good for the planet to use again! https://education.gov.scot/improvement/learning-resources/countdown-to-cop26/

IGBE Team

Not sure where to start with gender aware practice? Look no further as we have just published our updated ‘Sharing Practice’ resource which offers lots of ideas for starting out and for continuing the journey in Early Learning, Primary and Secondary settings.

Here’s the link: Sharing practice (collated) October 2022

Children issue call to action on Learning for Sustainability and outdoor learning

This latest report from the Children’s Parliament contains a clear call to all educators in all subject areas – our children want to receive their entitlement to Learning for Sustainability including learning about climate change, more frequent opportunities for outdoor learning and contact with nature. These findings echo the findings of other consultations such as the response to Prof Ken Muir’s Report: Putting Learners at the Centre. Hear what our children have to say:  https://www.childrensparliament.org.uk/learning-for-sustainability/

FREE Science Storytelling CLPL 

Dynamic Earth are offering a new CLPL series to help grow confidence, knowledge & skills in developing & delivering high-quality storytelling practice on a range of science themes.
The specialist team and special guests will take you through different aspects of storytelling practice in each session with activities and examples to take back to your learners.

November 23rd Diving Deep: Earth’s Ocean
December 14th Galaxy Quest! Space Exploration
January 18th Rumble in the Jungle
February 23rd Puffin Power! Exploring the Climate Emergency
March 22nd Outdoor Stories

Ideal for:
– ELC and ASN practitioners
– Teachers with Early Level learners

Find out more and register for free

Opportunity for your pupils to be air quality scientists

SAMHE (Schools’ Air quality Monitoring for Health and Education) is a DfE supported project to understand indoor air quality in UK schools. Schools get a free air quality monitor linked to an interactive web app. The app will enable pupils aged 5-18 and teachers to view and interact with data from their monitor. Schools are needed to help test the initial version of the web app before it is launched more widely early in 2023.  If your school would be interested in getting involved, and is available to help with testing starting in November, sign up now using the registration form.

Dates for your diary

STEM Networks Early Years, Primary and ASN,   3 November

Outdoor Classroom Day, 3 November

Secondary Sciences Network,  15 November

COP27, 6 – 18 November

The STEM Nation Award drop-in sessions provide an opportunity for STEM Nation Award applicants to ask questions or seek support with their application from the Education Scotland STEM team. These sessions are also open to practitioners from ELC settings, schools and CLD settings who are interested in learning more about the STEM Nation Award programme.

The regular drop-in sessions take place during morning and afternoon slots to suit the needs of practitioners working in different sectors.

The 30 minute sessions will be hosted on Microsoft Teams, which you can join using a Glow or non-Glow account.

There is no requirement to attend the full session – please feel free to register, drop-in to ask your question and then use the remainder of the time to work on your application… or grab a cuppa before your class returns!

Please register for these sessions through the Education Scotland Events page. The Microsoft Teams link will be shared with you after you have registered for tickets on EventBrite.

• Monday 16 January – 11:00
• Thursday 19 January – 16:00
• Monday 30 January – 11:00
• Wednesday 1 February – 16:00
• Thursday 23 February – 11:00
• Thursday 23 February – 16:00

Further support is also available from your regional STEM Education Officer. Please contact them at the email below and they will be happy to arrange a time to call or meet with you : STEM@educationscotland.gov.scot

Welcome to the 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.

Secondary Sciences Network

Join us for our Secondary Sciences Network 2022/23 kick-off session on Wednesday 5th October 4 30 – 5 30pm and help shape plans and the programme for the year ahead.

The joining code for the Glow Teams Group is uh9sf32 and the meeting will take place in the General Channel. If you can’t join us live then you are very welcome to use the group code to join the network anyway – there are over 670 members and growing.

STEM Networks Early Years, Primary and ASN

Join us on Thursday 6 October for a focus on equity and STEM. The EAL team in Glasgow will share their work with early years practitioners and bilingual learners on STEM. Breakout rooms for Early Years, Primary and ASN will follow.  The meeting will take place in the General channel of the STEM Nation Team within Glow.  Join the team to access the meeting.

FREE Science Storytelling CLPL 

Dynamic Earth are pleased to be offering a new CLPL series to help evolve confidence, knowledge and skills in developing and delivering high-quality storytelling practice on a range of science themes.
The specialist team and special guests will take you through a different aspect of storytelling practice in each session with activities and examples you can take back to your setting with learners.

October 26th Scotland Rocks: Scottish Geology, Dinosaurs and Extinction
November 23rd Diving Deep: Earth’s Ocean
December 14th Galaxy Quest! Space Exploration
January 18th Rumble in the Jungle
February 23rd Puffin Power! Exploring the Climate Emergency
March 22nd Outdoor Stories

Ideal for:
– ELC and ASN practitioners
– Teachers with Early Level learners

Find out more and register for free

RHET Teacher Update

To support SLF22 Interactions, Experiences and Spaces project, the Royal Highland Education Trust are delighted to share their new video highlighting the benefits to learners of engaging with food and farming in a variety of learning spaces.

To support STEM learning in school RHET have launched a new interactive resource for Level 2/3 learners covering a range of STEM involved in food production: New STEM Curiosities Learning Resource

The Royal Highland Education Trust (rhet.org.uk)

STEM the Flow – West Partnership

Keep Scotland Beautiful STEM the Flow

Marine litter pollution is one of the biggest challenges facing our natural world and has an effect on everything form flooding to air quality and even our food. Keep Scotland Beautiful, The West Partnership and STEM Glasgow would like you to be part of the solution, by tackling the problem upstream at the source.

STEM the Flow will consider engineering solutions to tackle source to sea litter in the River Clyde. Keep Scotland Beautiful are joining forces with industry experts to support Upstream Battle across the West Partnership, with this STEM challenge for P6/7 – S3 pupils.

KSB are looking for teams to research and develop their own ideas to tackle these issues, such as ways of collecting litter that is already in the Clyde, or preventing litter from getting into our waterways in the first place.

Work as a team to create a project plan, conduct research, draw conclusions and
build a model or produce a display to showcase your idea.

Projects will run from October 2022 until an exhibition event at the Riverside Museum in
February 2023, where you will see what other teams have come up with and present
your solution to a panel of judges. Select teams will be presented with awards at the
exhibition.

STEM Professional Learning events

Interactive list of webinars and network meetings planned for this academic year.

Sign up for these events using the Eventbrite links on the page. 

Please post a comment at the end of this blog to discuss any aspect of these sessions and to share ideas about possible future sessions.

Science collections on National e-Learning Offer

• Chemistry NQ: National 4: National 4 Chemistry NeLO collection – Pupil.pdf – Google Drive
• Chemistry NQ: National 5: National 5 Chemistry NeLO collection – Pupil.pdf – Google Drive
• Chemistry NQ Higher: Higher Chemistry NeLO collection – Pupil.pdf – Google Drive
• Chemistry NQ Advanced Higher: Advanced Higher Chemistry NeLO collection – Pupil.pdf – Google Drive
• BGE Science Third Level Planet Earth: Third Level Sciences – Planet Earth.pdf – Google Drive
• BGE Science Third Level Forces, Electricity and Waves: Third Level Sciences – Forces, Electricity and Waves.pdf – Google Drive
• BGE Science Third Level Materials: Third Level Sciences – Materials.pdf – Google Drive
• Higher Human Collection: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1umuKLKDd2vY_D5JA7J0mzrPjpJBM9osa/view?usp=sharing

Practical science videos

Practical Science – an interactive list of all Science experiments films to support you and your learners.

Filter by subject, phase, level and unit. Information on who produced the film and a direct link to the filmed experiment is included.

Primary Engineer

The Primary Engineer competition encourages UK primary and secondary learners  to find engineered solutions to real world problems.  Register here.

Primary Engineer have created a brand-new, fully funded sixteen hour short course. The eight-week programme is aimed at anyone within education who supports the delivery of STEM related learning in the classroom. It will support in developing an evidence-based approach to STEM education delivery and strategy development.

Dates for your diary

Secondary Sciences Network  5th October

STEM Networks Early Years, Primary and ASN  6 October

Scottish Digital Literacy Week  3 – 7 October

World Space Week  4 – 10 October

Welcome to the 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.

STEM Networks Early Years, Primary & ASN session

Join us on 8th September for the first STEM Networks Early Years, Primary & ASN session for academic year 2022 – 23. Find out how to get involved in the newly launched STEM Nation Award Programme and help us shape the focus and format for upcoming sessions.

Join conversation (microsoft.com)

STEM at SLF22

The Scottish Learning Festival 2022 is free, with seminars, speakers, debates, professional learning and networking. Register to access the SLF22 3D virtual venue from any device with internet access and join any session of your choice.  Here’s a STEM pathway curated for you for SLF22.

IGBE at SLF22

The IGBE team are delighted to be partnering with Young STEM Leader and the Education Scotland STEM team to deliver a session at SLF22 exploring how the STEM Nation Award and the Young STEM Leader Award can effectively challenge gender stereotypes, positively impact on learner journeys and be achieved simultaneously. Sign up here.

Practical science videos

Practical Science – an interactive list of all Science experiments films to support you and your learners.

Filter by subject, phase, level and unit. Information on who produced the film and a direct link to the filmed experiment is included.

Science collections on National e-Learning Offer

• Chemistry NQ: National 4: National 4 Chemistry NeLO collection – Pupil.pdf – Google Drive
• Chemistry NQ: National 5: National 5 Chemistry NeLO collection – Pupil.pdf – Google Drive
• Chemistry NQ Higher: Higher Chemistry NeLO collection – Pupil.pdf – Google Drive
• Chemistry NQ Advanced Higher: Advanced Higher Chemistry NeLO collection – Pupil.pdf – Google Drive
• BGE Science Third Level Planet Earth – Biodiversity & Interdependence: Third Level Sciences – Planet Earth.pdf – Google Drive
• BGE Science Third Level Forces, Electricity and Waves: Third Level Sciences – Forces, Electricity and Waves.pdf – Google Drive
• BGE Science Third Level Materials: Third Level Sciences – Materials.pdf – Google Drive
• Higher Human Collection: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1umuKLKDd2vY_D5JA7J0mzrPjpJBM9osa/view?usp=sharing

STEM Professional Learning events

Interactive list of webinars and network meetings planned for September 2022.

Sign up for these events using the Eventbrite links on the page. 

Please post a comment at the end of this blog to discuss any aspect of these sessions and to share ideas about possible future sessions.

Primary Engineer

The Primary Engineer competition encourages UK primary and secondary learners  to find engineered solutions to real world problems.  Learners interview engineering professionals, identify a problem, design a solutions and ‘find the engineer they could be’. Register here.

Primary Engineer have created a brand-new high impact, fully funded sixteen hour short course. The eight-week programme is aimed at anyone within education who supports the delivery of STEM related learning in the classroom. It will support in developing an evidence-based approach to STEM education delivery and strategy development. Participants will have the opportunity to engage with engineers in industry – understanding their roles and how their skill sets can support them in the classroom to meet the current needs of students, preparing them for the world of work.

Dates for your diary

STEM Networks Early Years, Primary & ASN session  8 September

Scottish Learning Festival   21-22 September

The Scottish Learning Festival is free to attend and everyone with an interest in education is welcome to register.  This year the programme has around 65 seminars including spotlight sessions offering a fantastic line up of speakers, debates and opportunities for professional learning and networking.

Our programme will once again be held in an amazing 3D virtual venue and you will be able to view the sessions anywhere from any device that has internet access.
You will need to register to access the virtual venue, but you don’t need to pre-register for sessions, all you need to do is explore the programme, decide what you’d like to attend and just join any session of your choice on the day.

Below is a STEM pathway curated for you over the two days of SLF 2022:

Wednesday 21 September 15:45 – 16:30

Teachers Making Effective Use of Digital to Enhance Learning

In this session, teachers will demonstrate how they have used digital to make their learning more engaging, their planning less time consuming and assessment more effective with tips and ideas to take back to your own classroom.

Erin Burns, Michelle Hardie, Lauren McIntyre

Thursday 22 September 12:30 – 13:15

Young STEM Leader – a collaborative approach to wider achievement

Join representatives from the Young STEM Leader programme at SSERC and Education Scotland’s STEM and Improving Gender Balance and Equalities teams for insight into how the Young STEM Leader programme is impacting learners in Primary and Secondary settings across the country by raising aspirations and providing leadership opportunities. Highlighting links with the STEM Nation Award programme and equity and equalities, this session is designed to show how STEM learning can effectively challenge stereotypes and positively impact on the learner journeys of all children and young people.

Jamie Menzies

Thursday 22 September 15:45 – 16:30

Making Maths Count at Coupar Angus Primary School

Coupar Angus Primary School in Perth and Kinross aim to share their journey to ‘Make Maths Count’ in their school. Staff have worked together to participate in professional learning which has enabled them to place their learners at the centre of their plans for numeracy and maths improvement in their setting. Staff and pupils will share some of their thoughts about how they teach and learn in numeracy and mathematics and some of the changes undertaken in Coupar Angus to Make Maths Count.

Coupar Angus Primary School Perth and Kinross

Thursday 22 September 16:45 – 17:30

This is the Amazing World of Computing Science!

39,000 micro:bits rolled out to every school in Scotland! 17,000 learners joining live Code Alongs to send code into space, to save our planet and to improve our health and wellbeing! A national network of Computing Science Leaders across 32 LAs! There has never been a more exciting time to engage with Computing Science across the BGE curriculum.
Join our SLF seminar to hear about the contemporary computing science experiences and resources available and learn from practitioners showcasing their practice and the high level of engagement with learners.

Education Scotland and the National ELC & Primary Computing Science Leadership Network

Maker Space and STEAM – Taking Design Thinking into School

Allans Primary and Stirling High School are developing a progressive curriculum with curiosity, creativity, collaboration, critical thinking, communication and compassion at the centre. Responding to changing societal and workplace needs, and inspired by design thinking – a method of problem solving using a range of skills, processes and mindsets – they hope to nurture pupils’ agency, skills and values enabling them to contribute positively to their communities and wider society now and in the future.
Hear how each school has developed learner led, creative learning through Maker Space and STEAM and how they hope to develop this further together.

Clare Hoare