Tag Archive for: STEM

Creativity Clubs – learning by doing

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Last year, NUSTEM and Success 4 All, ran a year long project of after-school STEM clubs at a local community centre.  We called the project Creativity Clubs because we wanted to help young children between the ages of 4 and 8 to see the creativity that is inherent in science and technology.

The clubs were organised into 6 week blocks with a difference science or technology theme each block.  To support children’s literacy skills, as well as their science skills, we also chose a book to use for each topic.  Every child was then given a copy of the book to take home so that they could share their learning with the rest of their family.

The project was funded through a Science and Technology Facilities Council Spark Award (STFC) (ST/W002027/1). These awards fund projects focusing on areas of science within the remit of STFC and are open to a wide range of organisations. The fund encourages ‘novel approaches’ to engagement and audience. Creativity Clubs was also part of the STFC’s Wonder initiative, tailored to reach under-served communities with STFC science and technology, with the focus on working with people and reflecting on their needs and requirements for meaningful engagement.

As part of the project evaluation, the team involved in the project spent a lot of time reflecting on what we have learnt, and what we would do differently if we did it all again.  We want to share what we have learnt with other people and organisations who might want to do similar projects with young children – if only so others don’t have some of the same challenges that we did!

Our key recommendations are:

  1. Build in time to work with community centres at the design stage
  2. Investing in positive relationships with children provides a foundation for successful work
  3. Outreach and engagement should be responsive to children’s needs and interests
  4. Evaluation outcomes and strategies may need to be adapted to respond to project changes and stakeholder needs.

 

You can read the full report here: Creativity Clubs – Delivering equitable and effective STEM engagement in community settings.

Lessons from the National Pupil Database

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Many years ago, when NUSTEM was still Think Physics, we developed an evaluation plan to look at the impact of the first three years.

It was a lovely plan, which would use information from the National Pupil Database (NPD) and follow groups of young people as they took their A-levels and then their degrees.

Sadly, as with all lovely stories, it didn’t quite work out as we planned.

However, along the way, we learnt a number of useful lessons about evaluation and using the NPD, and thought that they might be helpful for other organisations interested in tracking the impact of STEM Engagement activities.

We’ve just published our report, and an infographic which summarises our findings as well.

You can download the report from here

NPD Infographic

 

Improving diversity in STEM sectors Infographic

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Diverse teams produce more creative and innovative solutions to problems.  Companies with diverse boards are more profitable.

Products created by organisations which have limited diversity will be less useful.  For example, Apple didn’t include a period tracker in its Health app for iPhone until 2015.

Many STEM sectors in the UK do not represent the diversity of the current UK population in terms of gender, ethnicity or social class.  In 2018 Engineering UK found that just 24% of  the Engineering workforce were people from a disadvantaged background, and in 2020 the ONS reported that 14.5% were female.

For over 50 years, Governments and companies have been working to improve the diversity of different STEM sectors, initially in terms of gender, but more recently in relation to ethnicity and social class.  And we can say that things haven’t got worse in most sectors, they also haven’t got much better.

NUSTEM’s research is exploring new, and more nuanced, ways of changing the diversity of STEM.  We published a research paper about our Theory of Change a while ago.  We’ve recently been working with the lovely people at Nifty Fox Creative to develop a useful infographic to summarise the paper so that we can share it with busy people.

You can see that it includes our five recommendations for all organisations that want to work towards increasing the diversity of all STEM sectors:

  • Start working with families and children from a young age
  • Use attributes of people working in STEM to help children to see what they have in common with them
  • Show parents and carers the different routes into STEM careers
  • Support teachers to include careers in their subject lessons. Showcase local opportunities.
  • Ensure that company culture is inclusive of staff from different backgrounds. Make STEM sectors good places to work.
Increasing Diversity in UK STEM Sector - NUSTEM

You can also download a pdf of the infographic here.

How do people who work in STEM describe themselves?

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Does your work involve science, technology, engineering or maths?

 

If so, NUSTEM would like YOUR help!

 

NUSTEM has developed a list of 16 attributes that are often shown by people who work in STEM. You could also call them employability skills. This list was developed in collaboration with teachers, STEM colleagues and other projects.

We use this list in our activities with children, teachers and families. Showing children and young people how they already have, or can develop, these skills can help the children to see themselves as a ‘STEM-person’.

However, there is a gap in the research literature about how people who work in STEM sectors think about themselves and these employability skills. NUSTEM is therefore carrying out a short research project to find out more about this.

If you work in a STEM sector in the UK, at any level, then we would like you to take part in our research. You’ll be asked to answer some questions about the characteristics and attributes you think you have. It should take about 5 minutes to complete.  The survey is anonymous, and the project has obtained ethical approval from Northumbria University.

https://northumbria.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/attributes-of-stem-professionals

Please feel free to forward and share with your STEM colleagues – including apprentices and technicians.

 

STEM jobs at Museums Northumberland

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NUSTEM have been collaborating with Museums Northumberland this year and they have two new projects starting, both of which have a number of new jobs available.

The first project, Union Chain Bridge: Crossing Borders, Inspiring Communities is an ambitious project involving the conservation of the internationally significant Union Chain Bridge, the preservation of its intangible heritage and an extensive programme of public engagement. Co-owned by two local authorities, the Union Chain Bridge is symbolic of this uniquely collaborative project that comprises a partnership between Northumberland County Council, Scottish Borders Council, Museums Northumberland with support from the Friends of the Union Chain Bridge.

As well as the conservation of the Bridge itself, Museums Northumberland will be working with schools in the area around the bridge (and on both sides of the border). NUSTEM helped Museums Northumberland plan the schools work using our model of school engagement – working with children, families and teachers over a sustained period of time, in this case 3 years.

The second project, Our Past, Your Future, was funded by the North of Tyne Combined Authority STEM and Digital Programme.

Taking the long view of industry and innovation in the North of Tyne Combined Authority region and building on the skills and expertise of the delivery partners, this project will map the unique and rich STEM heritage of the area from prehistory to the modern day, with an aspirational eye to the future. Impactful, targeted school-based interventions and community-based enrichment activities, delivered by Museums Northumberland and  NUSTEM, will go some way towards redressing current imbalances by increasing science capital and building long term STEM career aspirations in our region’s young people. Again, this project builds on NUSTEM’s model of sustained engagement with children, families and teachers.

The new roles are based either in Ashington or Berwick, depending on the project.  Although they are based in museums, there is a significant STEM focus to the roles so could be of interest to a range of people.

The roles are:

  • Audience Development Manager (£42k per annum, 37 hours per week, Jan 23)
  • Digital Heritage Outreach Officer NTCA (£23k pro rata, 0.5fte, July 22)
  • Learning and Outreach Officer (STEM) (£23k per annum, 37 hours per week, July 22)
  • Learning and Outreach Officer (STEM) UCB (£23k per annum, 37 hours per week, Jan 23)
  • Learning and Outreach Officer UCB (£23k per annum, 37 hours per week, Jan 23)

There is also a Project Manager role for an external consultant:

  • Project Manager NTCA (Fee £30,000 including VAT and Expenses between Jan 2020 and August 22)

The closing date for all the jobs is 6th January 2020

For full details on all roles, and to apply, see here: https://museumsnorthumberland.org.uk/about-us/jobs-opportunities/

Nuffield Research Placements

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Can parents help ‘nudge’ students into choosing STEM A-levels?

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When young people are asked who has provided them with careers advice and guidance, the most common answer is ‘parents and family’, followed by ‘teachers’.

The Behavioural Insights Team (sometimes known as the Nudge Unit) apply behavioural economics and psychology to understand the choices that people make, and help people make sensible choices.  They often run research trials which test out different interventions to see which is the most effective. They have worked with the Department for Education, National Health Service, with HMRC, with local councils, police forces, and many other organisations.

Now the team are looking to see if parents and teachers can help encourage their girls to choose STEM A-levels, and need secondary schools to sign up to be part of the trial.

The two interventions include:

  • Sharing a website with parents that provides information about the usefulness of STEM and guidance on how to talk to their child about A-level subject choices
  • Short classroom based activities targeted at students to overcome the perception that STEM is not ‘for them’

Both of these interventions link closely to what NUSTEM is doing in the North East, so we’re really interested to see the results of the trial.

If your school would like to get involved, there are more details in this pdf, and you can contact Kathryn or Jessica at the Behavioural Insights Team.

Kathryn.Atherton@bi.team  or Jessica.Hunt@bi.team

Plan B

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As part of the ESH Building my Skills programme each year, NUSTEM staff take part in a mock interview day with students from North East secondary schools. During the day, students have the opportunity to be interviewed once or twice by representatives from local businesses and other organisations.  At NUSTEM we see the interviews as part-practice and part ‘behind the scenes’ to gives students an insight into what they might be asked and why in an interview.

I ask the students to tell me about themselves, and what career they might thinking about.  As part of Building my Skills they will have already done some research into possible sectors of interest to them, so they all have something to say.  There’s always an wide range of detail in their answers; with some young people knowing very clearly what they want to do and why, and others who have only a vague idea.

Regardless of their answer, my follow-on question is:

‘What is your plan B?’

This often throws the students as I suspect they’re not often asked what happens if they’re not successful.

What is most interesting to me is that, in their answers, students will often change the whole direction of what they would like to do for their plan B.  For example, I’ve had students who had been interested in midwifery suggest that their plan B would be ‘something to do with drama’, or who wanted to be a tennis player, but their plan B would be ‘I dunno, maybe history?’.  Very few give suggestions that are in a similar sector to the one they are planning for.

At this point in the interview, I’ll talk about other possibilities that the students could do that is not their first choice, but that is linked to it.  Often I’ll suggest websites or resources that they might like to investigate.  For example, if a student wants to study medicine, but their predicted grades make that look unlikely we’ll talk about what is it about medicine that interests them.  They could study radiography, occupational therapy, Information management and so on.  (Although I do have to admit that if it’s the salary that they find attractive, then the other options aren’t so well paid!)

I would encourage all students (and teachers and parents/carers) to think about their Plan B.  Just in case.

Some useful websites:

Health careers from the NHS – an invaluable website for students that want to work in healthcare, and for their teachers and families to find out the huge range of careers.

This is Engineering from Engineering UK – looking at the opportunities in engineering from a range of different viewpoints e.g. design, space, fashion, sport

National Careers Service website – a government backed website which includes an A-Z description of over 800 different careers.

New competition for secondaries: Microsoft STEM Student Challenge

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I know, I know – the education world is awash with competitions. Stick with it, this one’s a little different and it looks like it could be genuinely fun… and also smart.

Microsoft Research in Cambridge are running a competition which builds on students’ knowledge of STEM subjects, but also on their research skills and particularly their imaginations. The challenge goes:

  1. Pick one of these themes:
    1. Artificial intelligence and virtual reality
    2. Data security
    3. Healthcare
  2. Now come up with an original technology idea which you think could exist in that field in 20 years’ time.
  3. Make a short film which showcases your idea.
  4. Submit the film.

Prizes and the experience for finalists look good, and there’s a clear information pack available at the challenge website. The competition’s open to teams of 4-6 students, in years 8-10.

What I like about this particular competition is that the central conceit is both accessible and clever. We all dream about what the future might bring, this is simply asking you to commit to (and describe) a specific vision. In doing so, you’ll have take what you know about STEM subjects and extrapolate that thinking twenty years into the future. This isn’t some well-intentioned-but-ham-fisted attempt to ‘make science relevant to our everyday lives,’ it’s an invitation to students to find the relevance for themselves. That’s clever.

Also, I’m a sucker for a schools’ STEM film competition.

The only thing I find a little surprising is that there’s no category for primary-age entrants. A pity for them, but also for the judges, who’ll miss out on genius like this. Ah well, maybe next year?

Anyway – secondaries: get your cameras out, sharpen your pencils, brush up on your tech skills and prop-making, and show us how the world’s going to be in 2037. Registration deadline is 8th December, with entries due by 10th February 2017.

 Microsoft STEM Student Challenge website.

Ooh, one last bit of advice: with our Technology Wishing Well we’ve collected about 800 wishes for future tech, from Maker Faire UK and Big Bang North-East. We haven’t yet done a proper analysis, but as a quick hint: lots of people want a flying robot dog which does their homework and tidies their room. Which would indeed be awesome, but you might not be the only entrants to suggest such a thing to this competition.

 

World Book Day

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Today is World Book Day.  Across the country, schools will be celebrating books and reading.  Here at Think Physics we’re very keen to encourage reading too.

For our primary work with younger children, we’ve been looking for fiction books which feature science, technology, engineering or maths (STEM).  And if possible, a strong female main character.  We’ve found a few.  We’ve saved them onto a pinterest board for you to have a look at.

At secondary, we’d also like to be able to share fiction books which feature STEM with a strong female main character.  It’s a bit harder to do though.  For strong female main characters, there is of course, The Hunger Games trilogy with Katniss Everdene, but they’re not really STEM related.  I also find that, as an adult, some of the themes in young adult fiction are really gruesome or disturbing.  I’m not sure why that doesn’t seem to bother my children, but it doesn’t.  There are some young adult books which have a link to STEM, but in general, it’s far less central to the story.  There’s a useful list of books on the School Library Journal website, which gives some examples.

Finally, if you want to have a read of non-fiction popular science books, then have a browse through the shelves of the Science Teaching Library, curated by Alex Weatherall.  There are some great books on there suitable for the general reader.

If you have any recommendations, please do let us know.

Tag Archive for: STEM

The Entomologist

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Entomology is the study of insects, their relationships with other animals, environments and human beings.

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Bug hotel

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Use this simple activity to create a bug hotel which will attract bugs to your garden using materials from your local environment.

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The Computer Programmer

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Find out what Year 2 children have been doing in the computer programmer workshop in our partner schools.

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Journey Stick

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Make a journey stick to remember a walk and talk about it later on.

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Make a catapult

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Make this simple catapult to fire paper balls, mini marshmallows or pom poms using just some lolly sticks and elastic bands.

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Make a magnet maze

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Do you want to move an object around a maze without touching it? All you need is a magnet, a magnetic paper clip or washer, a piece of card or a paper plate and your imagination!

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Make a fossil

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Find out how real fossils are formed by fossilising your own toy or object using plaster of Paris or flour.

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Marble run

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Have you ever tried to make your own marble run? Using just cardboard, tape, a flat surface and a marble, you can be as imaginative and creative as you want!

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Water filters

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Make your own water filter and clean up some dirty water.

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Growing seeds

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Discover how to plant seeds in a plastic bag so that you can watch them sprout and grow.

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