The Open Air Laboratories network (OPAL) is launching a new Climate Survey this March, and as part of the launch OPAL North East will be hosting the OPAL Climate Roadshow for one week only.
The Roadshow will be a great opportunity to learn more about our changing climate and weather systems, through exciting hands-on experiments and activities. With the help of professional meteorologists, visitors will explore the science behind the weather, and gain a better understanding of the impact that a changing climate may have on our everyday lives.
For those who already work in relevant areas, the Roadshow can help to inspire new ways of communicating important climate issues to the wider public, and will be an excellent opportunity to discuss your thoughts and have your questions answered by our meteorologists.
The Roadshow will run from Monday 14th until Friday 18th March at the Claremont Quad, Claremont Road. Monday and Friday are open to all to drop-in and take part in the Roadshow Activities, any time from 10am-5pm.
There are also have a limited number of private sessions available for booking by groups (max. 35). Each session runs for 90 minutes and will be led by the meteorologists and OPAL NE Education officers. Slots available are:
Can you help explain the concepts that students find hardest to learn?
“Often, the best teaching goes unnoticed and unrewarded. Britain’s Dream Teachers, created by Jamie Oliver and YouTube, aims to identify and celebrate inspiring teaching and help students get to grips with the toughest topics.”
YouTube has asked more than a thousand students and teachers as well as subject experts at Edexcel, the UK’s largest awarding body, to come up with what they consider to be the toughest topics at GCSE and Standard Grade in Maths, English, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Geography and History.
The identified topics in Biology are: What is the role of DNA in cloning and evolution?; How does nerve transmission work?; Which enzymes catalyse what substrates and how do I remember them all?
In Chemistry: How are polymers structured?; How do I test for ions in a compound?; How do you balance a chemical equation?
In Physics: How is radioactivity used in everyday life?; What is electromagnetic induction and how does it work?; How do I calculate forces and momentum and what equations do I need?
Now the question is have you got the answers?
If you’ve got an effective way of teaching one of the toughest topics make a short video of your idea and post it up on YouTube so other teachers and students can learn from your approach. You could also win a £10,000 prize split between you and your school, and the winning teachers with a group of students will be invited to an award ceremony at Google’s UK headquarters.
Upload your video by midnight on 5th April when all entries will be judged by a panel of subject specialists including previous Teaching Award winners. The results will be announced on 13th April.
STEM Ambassador David Hughes has been assisting pupils at South Shields Community School with their entry in to the United Kingdom Aerospace Youth Rocketry Challenge (www.ukayroc.org.uk). Under the supervision of Science Teacher Andrew Bosanko, the pupils constructed three model rockets, which were later successfully launched from the school grounds on Wednesday 16th 2011, each reaching a height of approximately 1200 feet over the skies of South Shields.
UKAYRoC is the largest model rocket showcase in the UK with the top prize of a trip to the USA. The qualification deadline expires at 12 noon 8th April 2011 and the plan is to have two fully working model rockets complete with payload flying by then so that the school can participate in final, which takes place on 11th May 2011.
The International Rocketry Challenge Fly-of will take place over 23rd-25th June 2011.
Rethinking STEM Learning
10am-2pm, 23rd March 2011, The Princess of Norway
International Ferry Terminal, Royal Quays, NE29 6EE
A seminal event for all North East educators, employers and STEM providers. This conference will be a powerful catalyst for greater inspiration, aspiration and coherence in learning in science, technology, engineering & mathematics in schools and beyond
Are you…
A school curriculum lead or teacher committed to providing the best insights and guidance on where STEM subjects can take your students in their career? Then MATRIX is for you.
A current or potential North East employer committed to encouraging the development of STEM skills in your future employees and the communities in which you do business? Then MATRIX is for you.
A STEM skills & knowledge provider or facilitator with programmes to help schools fire the imagination of their students and develop their interest in STEM applications? Then MATRIX is for you.
At MATRIX you will…
1. Have the opportunity to consider the future of learning in science, technology, maths and engineering and which opportunities are most relevant for today’s learners
2. Network with people and organisations who can help you help more children to gain inspiration from STEM subjects and a coherent experience of STEM learning
3. See current best practice collaboration from around the region and imagine best practice for the future
4. Receive resources & links that will make a real difference to your day to day STEM work
This conference is free to North Tyneside Learning Trust Partners and costs £65 for non Trust Partners
To reserve your place on this conference, please complete the reply slip and workshop choices form and return to kyle.miller@northtyneside.gov.uk or fax 0191 6432408
Closing date for applications is 4 March 2011
The Royal Meteorological Society (RMetS) launched “theWeather Club” in September 2010. theWeather Club is the public outreach arm of RMetS, where general public members can become part of a community in which the weather is something to be celebrated, enjoyed and talked about. To enthuse people with a passing interest in the weather with stories about exciting, often dramatic, occasionally sublime weather from around the world. A recent survey in the UK revealed that the average Briton spends an astonishing six months out of their lives talking about the weather so this club is appealing to an eager audience.
Membership includes a free Galileo thermometer, a quarterly magazine called “theWeather,” full access to website content, weather forums and a great range of discounts on weather related products, weather postcards, a collectable A-Z of weather and a membership card,.
The launch of theWeather Club was marked by a project called “The Great British Weather Experiment,” during September and October to help study the arrival of autumn. The study is the largest of its kind in UK with hundreds of people taking thousands of observations of weather, temperature and rainfall. The results can be found on theWeather Club website. The launch also included a tour of Britain in a VW campervan called Daphne, visiting 16 cities in 8 days and encouraging schools and individuals to participate in the experiment.
Dr Liz Bentley, founder theWeather Club, said: “theWeather Club is for all those who appreciate the weather for all its wonders. Its beauty, its power, its fragility, its occasional absurdity, and deep fundamental influence it has upon us all. It will allow us to come together and share our obsession with the weather.” To find out more about theWeather Club visit www.theWeatherClub.org.uk
On the 22nd March, all over the world, people will be celebrating World Water Day. Newcastle College, Kenton School and the Climate Change Schools Project would like to invite your school to be involved in an event to raise awareness of water issues around the world.
Your KS2 students will have the opportunity to participate in workshops led by sixth form students about different water issues including flooding, climate change adaptation, water scarcity and clean water. We recommend that you bring between 5 and 10 students to the event who can then go back to your school and share what they have learnt.
The event is half a day and is free to attend.
There is the opportunity to register for either the morning session or the afternoon session:
Morning: 9.30 am – 11.30am
Afternoon: 12.30pm – 2.30pm
In each session students will get to participate in two interactive workshops.
A number of sample teaching resources will be available for teachers to look at from a number of organisations including WaterAid, Oxfam and Northumbria Water.
Where:
Kenton School
Drayton Road
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE3 3RU
The event is going to be really fantastic and an excellent opportunity for your students.
To register to attend or for more information contact SCENE at:
There are over 27,000 STEM Ambassadors in the UK now! STEM Outreach trains and manages Tyne and Wear volunteers and we have over 400 registered with us now.
Next training for new STEM Ambassadors from Tyne and Wear region will take place this week. Details are below. All welcome!
Date: Wednesday 16th February 2011
Time: 3-5pm
Address: 611 Parsons Building, Newcastle College, Rye Hill Campus, Scotswood Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE4 7SA
To find out more about STEM Ambassadors programme visit STEMNET website: www.stemnet.org.uk
Event for STEM Ambassadors and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics school / college teachers
STEM Advisory Forum and STEMNET are pleased to invite you to the
STEM Forum Event
The Royal Society,
6-9 Carlton House Terrace,
London,
SW1Y 5AG
Tuesday 22 March 2011
4:30pm to 7:00pm
This event brings together school and college teachers with people who use Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) in industry and business. There will be presentations on the school curriculum and on STEM in the economy. The main purpose of the event is to enable a sharing of information and views between education and the workplace.
STEM Ambassadors will have the opportunity to talk directly to those involved in STEM teaching at school/college and will be able to share examples of how they use STEM in their work.
Teachers will have the opportunity to share with those in industry and business the factors that influence what happens in lessons. Teachers will be able to use the examples of STEM in the workplace in their lessons.
A light buffet will be provided at 6.30pm.
To book your place at this exciting event, please click on the event registration link below:
STEM Outreach would like to recruit few STEM Ambassadors who could help with the photography project around the sea change topic. DOVE Marine Laboratories (part of Newcastle University) will provide training over a day or afternoon to a group of enthusiastic ambassadors to lead individual Sea Change/photography clubs in interested schools. In this training session we will talk to the ambassadors about the project and discuss with them the type of thing that they could produce to “teach” or lead young people through thinking about sea change, coasts, etc. So then in their “Sea Change club” it’s not just “why don’t you go and take some photos”, but a structured mini-course, with topics progressively developed:
- E.g. session one, exploring “our Northumberland coasts” what beaches have you visited…? What uses are our coasts? Industry associated with our coasts; specific locations and how our coast varies along its stretch
- Session two: “how to take a good photograph”, help from a professional photographer will be available
- Session three: environmental science associated with coasts: pollution, impacts, climate change, coastal erosion
- The “resources” could be a lesson plan for a class, OR a “pack” left behind in class for individual pupils to follow through, with questions, and info; OR a Power Point, or a poster about the project.
Interested? Please contact STEM Outreach to register your interest: ambassadors@ncl-coll.ac.uk or 0191 2004453
Excite, Inspire, Celebrate…The Big Bang North East 2011
New College Durham, 12 July 2011
Can you spare just one day to help celebrate and reward the hard work of budding young scientists and engineers?
The Big Bang North East includes the regional heats for Young Engineers for Britain, CREST awards and the National Science & Engineering Competition.
With over sixty projects presented by students from across the North East, we’re looking for judges and moderators to help us select the winners and encourage the competitors to greater things. We’ll be awarding more than 15 prizes, and selecting 10-15 projects to nominate to the national Big Bang fair in March 2012.
Judges are only required to attend on the day, and be inspired by the fantastic young people who are exhibiting their projects. As each project is judged twice and moderated, we’re looking for 50 judges to come along and help us.
Come and help us make a difference to these young people, and look out for future Nobel Prize winners. Register online at www.thebigbangfair.co.uk/northeast/register.cfm or contact Colin Wilkinson, colin@coryluslearning.com or 01642 740400.
Where: New College Durham
When: 12th July 2011, 9:15am – 3:30pm
Contact: Colin Wilkinson colin@coryluslearning.com or 01642 740400
We work in both formal and informal learning settings to raise aspirations with pupils and teachers. Our workshops address the National Curriculum through local, regional and national initiatives and can be used in subject areas including Design Technology, Art & Design, Literacy, English, Geography, History, Maths, sustainable schools and STEM subjects. We also offer teachers CPDs and bespoke projects.
Teachers are also invited to explore the Education section of Northern Architecture’s website http://www.northernarchitecture.com/education with news, events and resources for teachers which include workshop and lesson ideas for using architecture and the built environment in teaching, and recommendations of where else to look for ideas and support.
Take 12 students from Thornhill School (STEM Club members) add one STEM Ambassador as an expert (Dave Burton from Siemens) and give them a full day to face the Wetsuit Challenge. The outcome? A completely new wetsuit design for a paratriathlete Jimmy Goddard!
STEM Challenges (www.stemchallenges.net) are series of competitions that have been inspired by London 2012. Each Challenge will focus on a different aspect of the preparations or the event itself. The Challenge number 5 was to design a new wetsuit for Jimmy, a British paratriathlete who is paralysed from the chest down. He can’t move his legs, but still swims and takes part in triathlon!
Year 9 students from Thornhill started their work one week before the final took place. They met with their teacher Daniel Abraham every day after school to discuss the Challenge and even used own initiative to phone companies and got some samples of materials!
The real Challenge started on Monday 7th February at 9am. After few brainstorms and online research they came out with some brilliant ideas! Students had to finish their work and came up with the final design by 2pm when a judging session with 3 STEM Ambassadors began.
2 teams with 6 students each presented final outcomes in front of the judging panel and answered questions related to their projects. The judges were impressed with “incredible clear & well-rehearsed presentations” and the fact that both teams “knew exactly what they were talking about” plus had “great use of ICT”. The final scores for the teams were very high: first – 114 and second – 127 (out of 150 points). The judges said at the end: “All members were enthusiastic, worked really well as a team and seemed to respect each other. Well done!”
Students also entered Bronze CREST Award with their Wetsuit project. They finished the day at 3.30pm and everyone (students and judges) went home happy!
This three-day residential course for practising physics teachers will be based at the university’s physics department. The course will include: a demonstration lecture on magnetic liquids; talks on the physics of computer games, teaching electricity, nuclear astrophysics and, fusion; a night visit to the university observatory; and, practical workshops on medical physics activities, context-led teaching and how to encourage more girls to engage with physics.
Organised by the Institute of Physics and co-subsidised by SEPnet and the Armourers & Brasiers Company, Physics Updates are great value course with plenty of opportunities to share ideas and experiences with fellow physics specialists. The lecture component of the programme is devised to update participants on the latest innovations in physics as well as curriculum matters. “Hands-on” workshops afford teachers opportunities to try new equipment, develop new experimental techniques, try out novel investigations and engage with alternative teaching and learning strategies.
Inventing The Future: CAS Northumbria University Sixth Form Conference
A one day taster session giving an insight into the fascinating innovations in Computer Science for Sixth Form and FE students and Maths and IT/Computing teachers.
Northumbria University,
Rutherford Hall,
Ellison Building,
City Campus,
Newcastle
Friday 18th March 2011
10am – 3pm
Northumbria University School of Computing, Engineering and Information Sciences (CEIS) and Computing At School (CAS) bring you an exciting day, which showcases future and emerging computing technology. Activities will include:
“Being Human in the Digital Age” – Abi Sellen, Principal Researcher, Microsoft Research
Northumbria University School of CEIS – why apply here?
Showcasing cutting-edge computer technology research
Industry speaker – computing in the real world
Information Security – Siraj Shaikh, Coventry University
Although the day is aimed at students, teachers can benefit from the presentations as CPD.
We need to encourage more young women into science/engineering/technology based careers, so Headstart are extending their course opportunities to year eleven girls.
There is a brand new course for year 11/S4 girls:
Newcastle University:
11th – 13th July 2011
Hosted by the School of Marine Science & Technology, students will design, build and test a design which will increase the efficiency of the shipping industry and therefore use less fuel, cost less to run and hopefully be kinder to our environment. Underpinning the course will be skill development sessions comprising project management, confidence building, team-working, study skills and presentation skills.
The course will be a valuable preparation for STEM A-levels and we’d be grateful if you could let your female students know about this great opportunity.
Places are limited so completed applications need to be returned to us as soon as possible.
The Promoting STEM careers in your classroom course is on 17-18th March 2011 at the National science learning Centre in York. The course is designed for teachers of STEM subjects from Key Stage three to Post- 16, careers education and information, advice and guidance practitioners. It will provide opportunities for STEM staff to extend and enhance the work they do already. Tap into a wealth of new resources and support networks to raise awareness about the exciting STEM related careers available to young people. Hear from schools who have successfully integrated STEM careers awareness into their curriculum. Network with experts from industry, engineering, higher education and the Department of Education’s STEM cohesion team and other STEM professionals.
This conference carries an ENTHUSE Award of £751, an easy to apply for bursary available to all teachers, tutors and lecturers from maintained schools or colleges to help cover costs plus a small amount of money to help implement ideas once back in the classroom. For further information about the ENTHUSE Award, please visit www.slcs.ac.uk/enthuseaward
Promoting STEM Careers in your Classroom
Date: 17 – 18 March 2011
Course Cost: £351 +VAT
ENTHUSE Award: £751.00
To book your place on this exciting conference, please phone 01904 328 300 and quote nac10114p or visit www.slcs.ac.uk/national/nac10114p
The Big Bang North East 2011
New College Durham, 12 July 2011
Book Now!
Join us for a celebration of science, engineering and maths in the North East
- Enter pupil project work to win cash prizes and places at The Big Bang 2012
- Bring a group of pupils for a fun, exciting and inspirational day out
Enter the Competition
Do your pupils have science, engineering or maths project work they want to show off? The Big Bang North East includes the regional heats for Young Engineers for Britain, CREST awards and the National Science & Engineering Competition. There is over £1500 prize money up for grabs and the best 10 projects will win a place at the prestigious national fair, The Big Bang 2012.
Find out more and register here www.thebigbangfair.co.uk/northeast
Visit the fair
Bring a group of pupils for a fun, FREE, day out. Visit the fair for a full, or half, day and enjoy an exciting science show, hands-on workshops and inspirational talks from young people who have succeeded in STEM. Groups will also tour the competition stands – perhaps it will inspire them enter The Big Bang North East in 2012!
Find out more and book here www.thebigbangfair.co.uk/northeast
Northern Architecture’s Education Services Brochure available online free for teachers along with other classroom resources.
