June 9, 2012
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Learning for the new NQs: Beyond the X-ray machine

If the X-ray machine is a 20th Century icon, is this high tech surgical “ipad” an icon for the 21st century? This touchscreen “operating table”, the brainchild of Jack Choi of Anamotage, is in use in a UK hospital where applications include training future surgeons and planning real-life surgery. Interested in hearing Jack Choi talk about his virtual dissection table? Try this short TED Talk from February 2012.

This could raise some interesting questions for learners: what are the principles behind the imaging techniques used? Is this £60k equipment really an advance over the traditional x-ray?

June 8, 2012
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The Daily What! Mind Reading Shock!!

Earlier this year, I was blogging about the amazing breakthrough in brain computer interfacing, reported widely in the press, which links to published Bioengineering context on STEM Central.

Turns out those clever folks at The Daily What read my mind to come up with this article and suggestions. The Brain Quiz (mind reading not required, just click the mouse) can be used to introduce or refresh prior learning on the brain and nervous system, with ideas for discussion topics and links to information and animations to support learning and teaching.

June 8, 2012
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STEM Ambassadors in Scotland

If you haven’t tapped into the amazing, free resource that is the STEMNET network of STEM Ambassadors, why not make a plan to explore using the STEM Ambassador scheme with STEM Central to support, enhance and enrich teaching and learning in sciences, technologies, engineering and maths?

Tansy Hammarton, Principal Investigator, Wellcome Trust Centre For Molecular Parasitology at the University of Glasgow, is one of over 2500 STEM Ambassadors registered in Scotland. Tansy’s work as a STEM Ambassador was recognised at the House of Lords on 13th December 2011, where she was one of three UK finalists for the award of The Most Dedicated STEM Ambassador.

The Scottish STEMNET Awards will be run in the summer term. This is an opportunity for you to nominate Most Dedicated Teacher, Most Dedicated STEM Ambassador and Most Dedicated Employer in Scotland. For more information, see the 2011 Scottish STEMNET awards.

June 8, 2012
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STEM Central and STEM Careers

With announcements like those below indicating the health of Scotland’s renewables future, what better time to explore the contexts in STEM Central for use with learners?

This Interactive Map of Renewable and Alternative Energy projects in the UK would make a good starting point for discussion.

Osborne unveils £103m renewables funding for Scotland

Renewables growth ‘to continue’ in Scotland during 2012

Samsung wind turbine project to create 500 jobs in Fife

June 8, 2012
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STEM Central Sounds Amazing

We are progressing the development of our new context on STEM Central “Sound”. Early years and first level learning journeys will be published within the next few weeks. Something to think about in preparation: what distinguishes music from noise? Why not view the Glow Science video “How do Musical Instruments work?” and explore this further?

The Sound context will continue to be developed to incorporate second and fourth level journeys. We’ll be bringing you vodcasts on bats, robots and echolocation and sharing the experiences of learners at Balfron Primary School, when they worked with the Engineering the Future project. The fourth level journey could be used to support your planning for learning and teaching for National 4 Physics.

And, it might sound like something from Dr Who but researchers at the University of Dundee have recently announced the invention of a “sonic screwdriver”, an ultrasonic device which has potential for developing new, more precise surgical techniques. Sounds amazing? More on this from the BBC. Unsure about ultrasound? Why not use the Glow Sciences videos Beyond the Range of Human Hearing, or Medical Marvels: Ultrasound for a bit of background?

June 8, 2012
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Thinking Sustainable Futures? Join our Glow meet from Rio

11am – 12pm Tuesday 19th June 2012

What are your green dreams for the future?

What message will you send to world leaders?

How can Scotland become more sustainable?

What can we expect from this globally important event?

Over 150 heads of state and world leaders will gather in Rio de Janeiro from 20-22nd June 2012 for crucial talks at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development. Stewart Stevenson MSP, Minister for the Environment and Climate Change, will be one of those travelling to Rio as part of the official UK delegation.

Education Scotland, through Glow, is giving you the chance to link with the Minister live from Rio to learn more about the event and the hopes and expectations of the UK delegation.

The conference, referred to as Rio+20, will mark 20 years since the historic Earth Summit in the same city in 1992 which put issues such as climate change and the protection of biodiversity on the map and gave birth to Agenda 21 – an action plan for a sustainable future which was adopted by national governments, cities and local authorities across the world.

Rio+20 will focus on seven priority areas including: decent jobs, energy, sustainable cities, food security and sustainable agriculture, water, oceans and disaster readiness.

Rio+20 provides an opportunity to move away from business-as-usual and to take bold steps to end poverty and address environmental destruction.

This will be an interactive Glow meet so get your questions, messages, ideas and green dreams ready for Rio!

What is Scotland doing to protect the environment and promote sustainable development?

What more could we be doing?

What are your green dreams and ideas for the future?

What should we have achieved by the time Rio+40 comes around?

What messages would you like the Minister to pass onto other government officials and world leaders when he meets them for discussions?

This Glow meet will be suitable for learners in primary and secondary schools.

Visit http://bit.ly/glowrio20 to register and join the Glow meet on the day.

Free Rio+20 resources are available at: http://bit.ly/JxZr5G

June 4, 2012
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Sharing learning and teaching ideas for early to second level

Participating in in-service today provided an opportunity to talk with practitioners around learning and teaching in science and share some of the ways in which Education Scotland can provide support. Issues explored included assessment and moderation, a shared understanding of standards, progression, meeting the needs of learners, transitions, using effective partnerships and keeping the curriculum alive and relevant to inspire young learners.

The following were used to exemplify support for practitioners:

STEM Central

Weather and Climate Change

Exploring Climate Change

Marks on the Landscape

Glow TV

Education Scotland Learning blog – sharing by the Development Officers in Education Scotland

STEM Central in Motion blog – sharing by practitioners and partners

Food for Thought leaflet and poster – we will shortly be developing the new Food Security context for STEM Central

STEM Central Learning Journeys from the Sound context, early years and first level due for publication later this month, and the draft second level journeys due for publication within the next few months

Journey to Excellence

NAR (National Assessment Resource)

and

Glow Science

Practitioners shared resources they also find useful such as Planet Science , I’m a Scientist, get me out of here and I’m an Engineer, get me out of here.

June 4, 2012
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Learning in Sciences for EY to Second Level: Speak up Scotland! A Year of Debating in Science

We had the opportunity to participate in a local authority in-service today, working with early years and primary practitioners from a cluster. One aspect of this was to discuss how we are supporting teachers in achieving the vision of Curriculum for Excellence in sciences, and STEM.

One important aspect of learning and teaching in sciences is to create opportunities or learners to gain confidence in using scientific language, and to be able to express informed views within discussion and debate. What tools and approaches can be used to ensure learners are developing their skills in discussion, argumentation, and debate?

A teacher’s handbook from the English-Speaking Union (ESU) Scotland came across my desk recently and I thought this was something worth sharing at the session. 2012 is the year of the ESU’s Speak up Scotland! Science Debating project. Within this easily digestible, practical handbook are a range of techniques and approaches which can be used to structure debate within science, and include all learners within the class. It explains how to plan and structure a formal debate, if that is what you are looking for, including how to structure a speech, a format for judging the content and skills of the participants – useful for teacher or peer evaluation. Other approaches described include balloon and role play debates. Exemplification is given for role playdebates in bio-prospecting and badger culling. The teachers who reviewed this booklet immediately saw opportunities to use this to support learning and teaching, to enrich the development of our learners as scientific thinkers.

The booklet also contains starters for debates such as: ”this house believes the government should fund research on planet earth rather than the cosmos” “this house would ban research on embryonic stem cells”.

Each section includes “fast facts”, and suggested questions to ask – does an embryo have human rights? how do we know how old the universe is? how do we control nanoparticles in our environment; or artificial organisms we create?

All of this is also available on the project website where you can find out how schools are using the debates and the feedback from learners. If your learners need support in building confidence to speak in front of others, why not look back to our Debating in Schools resources published in 2007 which include Building Speaking Confidence: Guidance for first-time speakers.

May 28, 2012
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Forensic Rookies, Transition and the AstraZeneca Science Teaching Trust: Scottish Islands and Mainland ICT and Science project

Last December, we blogged about an exciting project “Forensic Rookies” involving primary and secondary schools in West Lothian, Shetland and Perth & Kinross. Collaboration via Glow Wikis and culminating in a Glow meeting in February was the key to success for the learners, in this ASZTT funded project.

The first of a series vodcasts with feedback and reflections from learners and practitioners is available on YouTube’s ScienceEdResearch channel. In this first vodcast Janette Kean and learners from Westfield Primary in West Lothian share their experiences of the project. Each of the authorities is taking the “Forensic Rookies” project forward with a variety of approaches being used to meet the needs of the learners within each setting.

This TESS article “Young Sleuths get right on the case” discusses the project further.

May 25, 2012
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Learning for the new NQs: Speak up Scotland! A Year of Science Debating

Within our recently published advice and guidance associated with the new NQs in science, there are a number of areas which would lend themselves to discussion in the classroom. What does this look like? What is the difference between learners talking, and discussing? Arguing and debating? What tools and approaches can be used to ensure learners are developing their skills in discussion, argumentation, and debate?

A teacher’s handbook from the English-Speaking Union (ESU) Scotland came across my desk this week. 2012 is the year of the ESU’s Speak up Scotland! Science Debating project. Within this easily digestible, practical handbook are a range of techniques and approaches which can be used to structure debate within the science classroom, and include all learners within the class. It explains how to plan and structure a formal debate, if that is what you are looking for, including how to structure a speech, a format for judging the content and skills of the participants – useful for teacher observation or peer evaluation. Other approaches described include balloon and role play debates. Exemplification is given for role playdebates in bio-prospecting and badger culling.

The booklet also contains starters for debates such as:

”this house believes the government should fund research on planet earth rather than the cosmos” – ties in with the new National 4/5 qualifications in Physics

“this house would give up non essential flying to help curb dangerous climate change” – ties in with the sustainability elements across a number of the new NQs including Environmental Science

“this house would ban research on embryonic stem cells” – ties in with the National 4/5 qualifications in Biology and our published advice and guidance on Health and Disease.

All of this is also available on the project website where you can find out how schools are using the debates and the feedback from learners.

If your learners need support in building confidence to speak in front of others, why not look back to our Debating in Schools resources published in 2007 which include Building Speaking Confidence: Guidance for first-time speakers.