STEM Blog

Education Scotland is delighted to announce that the STEM Nation Award programme is being rolled-out nationally across all sectors in the 2022/23 academic session.

In August, Ian Stewart joined the Education Scotland STEM Team on an eight month secondment to support the national roll-out of the programme. He joins the team from his substantive post as Chemistry teacher at Beeslack Community High School, Midlothian and was heavily involved with all the strands of the National eLearning Offer for Chemistry. Ian’s new remit will focus on the national roll-out of the STEM Nation Award where he will support regional colleagues, practitioners and education leaders with the promotion and facilitation of the award in addition to providing professional learning support for practitioners.

Ian says “I am very pleased to join the STEM Team on this exciting project. I am looking forward to supporting colleagues and settings across Scotland.”

All early learning and childcare settings, primary schools, secondary schools and CLD providers can apply for the STEM Nation Award.  

The award provides a focus for colleagues across the setting to work collegiately to identify excellent STEM learning which is having a positive impact on STEM across the five elements within their setting addressing areas from the STEM Education and Training Strategy for Scotland.  

By engaging in the STEM self-evaluation and improvement framework, practitioners can reflect on and develop practice within STEM, including closing equity gaps in participation and attainment in STEM. Through connecting with other settings or partners, practitioners can enhance the practice within their setting and inspire children, young people and adults. 

The national rollout will be supported by a series of webinars and ongoing professional learning opportunities. 

Settings are encouraged to register for the award and access the supporting resources on the online resource. 

Young learners in Dundee are benefitting from exciting opportunities to develop their STEM skills thanks to a new partnership.

STEMovation connects Dundee Science Centre and Dundee & Angus College with local primary schools including Craigowl, Barnhill, St Mary’s and Forthill. More than 150 children are currently participating in monthly projects which are on public display.

The initiative has been developed and managed by one of Dundee’s Primary Science Development Officers (PSDOs) Sarah Hynie Klemen as part of the Raising Aspirations in Science Education (RAiSE) programme. It began in January and will continue in the next academic year engaging additional schools and pupils. Sarah said:

“Children love to be able to share their ideas, work, and efforts, taking their learning out of the classroom and meeting new people. This project is a great example of partners working together to really bring STEM to life. It has been a great success and it’s been wonderful to see the pride and excitement from the children and teachers.”

College students studying Applied Science are creating monthly challenges for the pupils, as part of their unit focussed on achieving the Young STEM Leader qualification. These have included topics such as chemical reactions in sweets, vertical farming, and bug hotels.

The children’s work is displayed at the Dundee Science Centre each month.

Andrei Hapca and Lara Anderson are pupils at St Mary’s Primary School. They said:

“We enjoyed the project because it was fun and didn’t feel like school even though we were learning a lot! The project tested our creativeness and our scientific brains.”

Primary 7 pupils at Craigowl Primary School shared:

“I‘d heard of STEM but didn’t know what it meant. Now I know and I think I’d like a job that does STEM.”

“I thought the challenges would be hard but they were fun.”

“I have learned about jobs when we have done STEM challenges. I would like to be an architect or a civil engineer.”

Tristin Mullins is one of the students at Dundee and Angus College who has been involved in the project. He said:

“Personally, I have enjoyed developing activities for primary schools that are eco-friendly and promote the usage of recyclable and easily accessible materials. I feel that because we have presented activities that can be done by anyone regardless of access level, we’ve helped to remove barriers which some children may have previously encountered when engaging in STEM activities. Promoting excitement in children to pursue STEM subjects and showing them that STEM can be applied to anything, including adventures in their own backyard, has been a rewarding experience for me. I hope that the children who engaged with our activities had fun and feel like they could repeat those activities at their own home if they wanted to do them again.”

Dr Lorna McIvor, Science Lecturer at Dundee & Angus College, added:

“From my perspective I think the students have got a great deal out of being part of STEMovation.  They have enjoyed coming up with the ideas and planning them, building their organisational and teamworking skills. Working up the projects from concept through to delivery of the finalised challenges has tested their communication and leadership skills, making sure the challenges were clear, understandable and that they all had a role to play in the development of the activities.

“They loved seeing the photographs of the challenges and used what they learned from seeing the outcomes of the challenges to improve how they built the next one.  During the process they have learned about inequalities in STEM and the value of building science capital, trying hard to make the challenges sent out the schools as inclusive as possible. I am incredibly proud of the way they have embraced this opportunity to be involved and help others develop an interest in STEM whilst also developing their own skills as young leaders.

“I’ve loved the experience and really enjoyed seeing the students grow in confidence with each event they planned and really question their own bias and misconceptions about STEM.”

RAiSE is a programme of The Wood Foundation, Scottish Government, Education Scotland, and participating local authorities which empowers primary practitioners with the skills, confidence, and networks to develop and deliver exciting and motivating STEM learning experiences. 

An example challenge based on dissolving –

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 Strategy Learner, Parent and Carer Surveys

Education Scotland is working with consultants Ekosgen to understand better the factors influencing learners’ choices regarding STEM learning and pathways. This next phase will involve gathering views directly from learners (P6 to S6) and parents/carers.

We would greatly appreciate any support you can give in encouraging and supporting learners to complete these surveys. We also are keen to hear the views of parents.

The surveys are available online until 01 July 2022 and should take approximately 10 minutes to complete. They ask a range of questions to gauge views and perceptions about STEM subjects, pathways and jobs. See our blog post to find out how you can support: STEM Strategy Learner, Parent and Carer Surveys

Launch of STEM Nation Award Programme

Come along to these overviews of the STEM Nation Award programme with information on how to apply and support available for interested settings. After the success of the pilot programme, applications are welcome from all ELC, Primary, Secondary, ASN and CLD settings.

STEM Nation Award Information Session 15 June 1pm

STEM Nation Award Information Session 15 June 4pm

IGBE 

Introduction to gender balance & equalities & STEM

This booklet contains ideas of approaches to address gender inequality in a variety of settings.

Also, check out our IGBE Action Guides for ideas to tackle unconscious bias and gender stereotypes at classroom, departmental and whole school level.

Early Learning Guide

Primary Guide

Secondary Guide

RAiSE

The Spring/Summer 22 RAiSE newsletter is now available, share the STEM inspiration.

My World of Work Live

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: 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 Biology: Higher Human Biology NeLO Collection – Google Drive 

STEM Professional Learning events

Interactive list of webinars and network meetings planned for June 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.

STEM Ambassadors in Scotland – events

Fife STEM Connect-ability Festival 6 – 24 June

As part of Fife’s festival STEM Ambassadors in Scotland are running a series of free online classroom sessions which are suitable for P6/7 – S1/2 and are available for teachers throughout Scotland, details here

Dumfries & Galloway STEM Conference 2022

Dumfries & Galloway’s fifth annual STEM Conference focussing on all aspects of STEM.

Conference keynote address, workshops & marketplace sections provide practitioners across Dumfries & Galloway with insight and continued learning in all aspects of STEM.
The Setting & Schools’ Showcase section highlights the interesting STEM learning taking place in settings and schools across Dumfries & Galloway.
All conference materials available throughout Term 4 and into next session to support all practitioners to meet the aspirations of both the STEM Education & Training Strategy for Scotland, and Dumfries & Galloway Regional STEM Strategy.

Dates for your diary

STEM Nation Award Programme Information Sessions 15 June

Science Insights 2022 a work experience programme for S5 25 – 29 July

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.

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

NEW –  interactive list of webinars and network meetings planned for May – June 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.

IGBE sessions coming up in May

Introduction to gender balance & equalities & STEM

Strategies for addressing gender stereotypes and unconscious bias including the impact on participation in STEM and learner pathways.

25 May 4 – 5:30 pm

For newly qualified teachers and ELC practitioners from across Tayside region, this webinar explores the impact of gender inequality, gender stereotypes and unconscious bias on children and young people. The session will also highlight strategies and practical approaches including examples of good practice.

National awareness raising session ‘How does gender inequality affect attainment, wellbeing and participation?’

26 May 4 – 5:30 pm

Relevant to all settings, this introductory session will explore the impact of gender inequality, gender stereotypes and unconscious bias on children and young people, with particular focus on attainment, participation and wellbeing.

Diversity in STEM webinar

25 May  4pm 

How does your current curriculum, options choice and pathways on offer enable sustained positive destinations in STEM?

This webinar is for all practitioners involved in curriculum design, options choice processes, DYW co-ordinators and CLD practitioners who support achievement of positive destinations (1 hour).

STEM Ambassadors in Scotland – events

Fife STEM Connect-ability Festival 6 – 24 June

As part of Fife’s festival STEM Ambassadors in Scotland are running a series of free online classroom sessions which are suitable for P6/7 – S1/2 and are available for teachers throughout Scotland, details here

Loan resource project – Dundee

STEM Ambassadors in Scotland also have funding to pilot a scheme to lend resources to schools in the Dundee area and put them in touch with ambassadors to help use the resources.

Online information session for teachers 31 May 4 – 4.30pm

Dumfries & Galloway STEM Conference 2022

Dumfries & Galloway’s fifth annual STEM Conference focussing on all aspects of STEM.

Conference keynote address, workshops & marketplace sections provide practitioners across Dumfries & Galloway with insight and continued learning in all aspects of STEM.
The Setting & Schools’ Showcase section highlights the interesting STEM learning taking place in settings and schools across Dumfries & Galloway.
All conference materials available throughout Term 4 and into next session to support all practitioners to meet the aspirations of both the STEM Education & Training Strategy for Scotland, and Dumfries & Galloway Regional STEM Strategy.

Royal Institution schools grant scheme – now open

The Royal Institution’s 2022 grant scheme is now open; application guidance is available online.

Applications are open for free full day school visits from one of the Royal Institution’s professional presenters.  The day includes curriculum-linked science shows for students, a practical science CPD session for teachers and an after-school community show for parents, carers and siblings.

All UK state maintained primary, secondary and ASN schools and alternative education providers are eligible to apply for a fully funded Science in Schools package worth £800.  Application guidance is now available here . Closing date 31 May.

TechFest 2022

TechFest is back in person and the Activity Weekend will be held at Robert Gordon University Campus on Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 May.

Admission is only 1p for children and £1 for adults. With over 20 hands-on workshops and demonstrations, the TechFest Activity Weekend provides fun, exciting and inspiring activities for all ages. No need to pre-book, just turn up.

Dates for your diary

IGBE Diversity in STEM webinar 25 May

Introduction to gender balance & equalities & STEM 25 May

‘How does gender inequality affect attainment, wellbeing and participation?’  26 May

STEM Nation Award Programme Information Session 15 June

Science Insights 2022 a work experience programme for S5 25 – 29 July

Fife STEM Connect-ability Festival 6 -24 June

As part of Fife’s festival STEM Ambassadors in Scotland are running a series of free online classroom sessions which are suitable for P6/7 – S1/2 and are available for teachers throughout Scotland, details below.

Meet a STEM Ambassador: Discovering medicines from the sea

Tue 7 Jun 13.30 – 14.15

Suitable for P6-7/S1-2

Meet a STEM Ambassador: Career path in Microbiology

Wed 8 Jun 13.30 – 14.15

Suitable for P6-7/S1-2

Meet a STEM Ambassador: Stories from the (lava) flow front

Thu 9 Jun 9.15 – 10

Suitable for P6-7/S1-2

Meet a STEM Ambassador: Life as a Government Food Scientist

Fri 10 Jun 9.15 – 10.00

Suitable for P6-7/S1-2

Meet a STEM Ambassador: Wonders of the Brain

Tue 14 Jun 9.15 – 10.00

Suitable for P6-7/S1-2

Meet a STEM Ambassador: Satellite Data for Sustainable Development

Wed 15 Jun 13.30 – 14.15

Suitable for P6-7/S1-2

Meet a STEM Ambassador: Being a Student Scientist

Thu 16 Jun 13.30 – 14.15

Suitable for P6-7/S1-2

Meet a STEM Ambassador: Drug Discovery

Mon 20 Jun 13.30 – 14.15

Suitable for P6-7/S1-2

Meet a STEM Ambassador: Careers in Construction

Tue 21 Jun 9.15 – 10.00

Suitable for P6-7/S1-2

Meet a STEM Ambassador: Agile to Data

Wed 22 Jun 13.30 – 14.15

Suitable for P6-7/S1-2

Meet a STEM Ambassador: Neurophysiology

Thu 23 Jun 13.30 – 14.15

Suitable for P6-7/S1-2

Meet a STEM Ambassador: Affordable Internet

Thu 23 Jun 13.30 – 14.15

Suitable for P6-7/S1-2

Eight month secondment opportunity for a Development Officer working with Education Scotland’s STEM Team. The Development Officer will support all aspects of the national roll out of the STEM Nation Award programme across early learning and childcare settings, primary, ASN, secondary schools and community learning and development contexts.

Closing date Wednesday 25th May

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 Grant Programme 2022 – closes tomorrow

Education Scotland Round 4 of the Enhancing Professional Learning in STEM Grant Programme closes tomorrow.

Closing date: 12 noon  11 May 2022.

£400,000 of funding is available in 2022/23 – £200,000 for STEM projects (including digital) and £200,000 for Numeracy and Mathematics projects. The aim of the programme is to address the barriers practitioners face in accessing appropriate high-quality professional learning that meets their needs.

STEM Professional Learning events

NEW – an interactive list of webinars and network meetings planned for May – June 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.

New interactive STEM resources directory spreadsheet available

Our latest resource to support you is an interactive STEM Resources directory .  It includes details of organisations & providers who can support activities, awards, resources, talks, volunteers, professional learning & onsite visits to name a few.  Filter by sector, theme, provider, opportunity, region, local authority & date required.

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

IGBE sessions coming up in May

Introduction to gender balance & equalities & STEM

Strategies for addressing gender stereotypes and unconscious bias including the impact on participation in STEM and learner pathways.

25 May 4 – 5:30 pm

For newly qualified teachers and ELC practitioners from across Tayside region, this webinar explores the impact of gender inequality, gender stereotypes and unconscious bias on children and young people. The session will also highlight strategies and practical approaches including examples of good practice.

There will also be an overview of STEM, including the new STEM Nation Awards, and an opportunity for reflection and discussion.

National awareness raising session ‘How does gender inequality affect attainment, wellbeing and participation?’

26 May, 4:00 – 5:30 pm

Relevant to all settings, this introductory session will explore the impact of gender inequality, gender stereotypes and unconscious bias on children and young people, with particular focus on attainment, participation and wellbeing.

The session will include strategies and practical approaches including examples of good practice, opportunities for interaction and a chance to reflect on equality within your own practice/setting.

Diversity in STEM webinar

Wed 25 May 2022 at 16:00 | Eventbrite

Framed within the SAC refresh stretch aims, a webinar with opportunities for discussion to consider the question:

How does your current curriculum, options choice and pathways on offer enable sustained positive destinations in STEM?

This webinar is for all practitioners involved in curriculum design, options choice processes, DYW co-ordinators and CLD practitioners who support achievement of positive destinations (1 hour).

Dumfries & Galloway STEM Conference 2022

Dumfries & Galloway’s fifth annual STEM Conference focussing on all aspects of STEM.

Conference keynote address, workshops & marketplace sections will provide practitioners across Dumfries & Galloway with insight and continued learning in all aspects of STEM.
The Setting & Schools’ Showcase section highlights the interesting STEM learning taking place in settings and schools across Dumfries & Galloway.
All conference materials available from Monday 9th May, throughout Term 4 and into next session to support all practitioners to meet the aspirations of both the STEM Education & Training Strategy for Scotland, and Dumfries & Galloway Regional STEM Strategy.

The 2022 conference is being delivered through ThingLink.

TechFest 2022

TechFest is back in person and the Activity Weekend will be held at Robert Gordon University Campus on Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 May.

Admission is only 1p for children and £1 for adults. With over 20 hands-on workshops and demonstrations, the TechFest Activity Weekend provides fun, exciting and inspiring activities for all ages. No need to pre-book, just turn up.

TechFest STEM Next Essay

The STEM Next Essay competition bridges the gap between school education and higher education/working environments with industry-linked, project-based learning to facilitate learners’ transitions.

Categories include Energy Transition, Applications of Mathematics, Medicine & Life Sciences, Technology & Computer Sciences, Food, Drink and Agriculture.

Registration is now open for all UK students aged 16 – 18.

Essay competition 2022 categories: Energy Transition, Technology & Innovation, Medicine & Veterinary Science, Space Science, Biological Science and Food, Drink and Agriculture.

Students must interview at least one industry professional to gain insights into their chosen topic. A list of available professionals will be provided; students can also contact professionals who they know personally.

Final essays will be marked by volunteer assessor panel.

Prizes for each category winners:

First place – £200 worth of Amazon vouchers

Second place – £100 worth of Amazon vouchers

Third place – £50 worth of Amazon vouchers

Royal Institution schools grant scheme – now open

The Royal Institution’s 2022 grant scheme is now open; application guidance is now available online.

Applications now open for free full day school visits from one of the Royal Institution’s professional presenters.  The day includes curriculum-linked science shows for students, a practical science CPD session for teachers and an after-school community show for parents, carers and siblings.

All UK state maintained primary, secondary and ASN schools and alternative education providers are eligible to apply for a fully funded Science in Schools package worth £800.  Application guidance is now available here and applications can be submitted via a web form. Closing date 31 May.

SSERC Biology summer school 21st – 23rd June. Closing date 13 May.

The SSERC Biology Summer School 3-day residential course focuses on practical work to support NQ senior phase programmes in Biology & Human Biology. Lab sessions will follow an interactive approach.

Dates for your diary

Enhancing Professional Learning in STEM Grant Programme  Closing date tomorrow – 11 May

National Numeracy Day  18 May

Science Insights 2022 a work experience programme for S5 25 – 29 July

Supporting ASN in the Sciences

The next SSN Webinar will be held on TUESDAY 24th May from 4:15pm – 5:15pm via Teams. Please sign up using the Eventbrite link below:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/supporting-asn-in-the-sciences-tickets-272583553747

Thinking creatively on how we can ensure equity for all learners in the science classroom. A focus on pedagogy, resources and support from a wide variety of settings

Join the Network

Use the link below. The joining code is uh9sf32

https://teams.microsoft.com/l/team/19%3a7dbc2a1a2d3a4a0fa13c593a0e367efb%40thread.tacv2/conversations?groupId=63402e33-e7e7-496b-84c6-e7ec3ba328d5&tenantId=ccd32ca3-16ce-428f-9541-372d6b051929