When I arrived back from a weekend visiting the Glasgow Science Centre 21 years ago, I was hooked. I collated a scrapbook and proudly told my classmates of all the amazing things I’d seen in this place. This was the start of it all for me.
Back then, science, technology, engineering and maths (Stem) weren’t understood to be an important part of our life experiences. Science subjects were a part of the curriculum but Stem, and everything it embodies, hadn’t truly been brought to life for me yet.
When I did decide to continue exploring Stem subjects, I was lucky enough to have had teachers and parents who continued to inspire and encourage me. At school, it was in my chemistry class with Mr Mackay that everything I had first seen at Glasgow Science Centre during that fateful trip finally “clicked”. The realisation that the whole world, every person, every emotion, every cell that makes up every single thing, is science.
Science understanding gives people the confidence to query the world around them and everyone has something to benefit from learning about the world. Knowing how the world works, and that your opinion is not only valid but valued, brings new and underserved voices into these conversations, while encouraging them to educate themselves in these matters to make informed decisions, and to instil change.
Stem shows us that nobody can or ever will know everything, but exploring and discovering, and playing a part in helping find solutions and reasons, can be one of life’s great joys. We come across people all the time who “don’t like maths” or “never did science”, so Stem “isn’t for them”. But we want to show them that the same skills we use almost every minute of every day, without even knowing it, are the same as the ones we use as scientists.
Sharing this with others excites me. I want to be that Mr Mackay for someone; I want to create that “aha” moment for someone. And you never know, that instant could be the one that sparks a thought that could change the world. It sounds dramatic, but that’s the beauty of science, it is simultaneously subtle and all-encompassing.
Our world is changing fast, and our reliance on Stem subjects for the technology we use to educate and entertain, to progress medicine and so on and so forth, means no one can afford to be left behind.
Here, then, are my four tips for Stem education:
1. Knowledge
Introducing Stem to a classroom doesn’t mean you, as the teacher, need to know the answers to life’s greatest scientific discoveries. In fact, the basis of all Stem education is exploration, ideation and investigating. Let the young people in your class hypothesise and then test those ideas through a series of engaging in-classroom experiments or conversations.
2. Gain interest
Grabbing the attention of a room full of young people can be tough, especially with a topic that is seemingly based on facts, figures and data. So, we would recommend starting your lesson with a “hook” - a big idea, something that sparks curiosity and allows ideas to start flowing. For example, ask a big question like, “Why does it rain?”
3. Explore ideas
Once the class has engaged in a discussion and has developed their own hypotheses, it’s time to test those ideas. Work with young people to create interactive sessions within the classroom to test theories. For example, create puddles in the school grounds to test the theories around why it rains. Or, use resources such as video or expert interaction to explore the topic further. Glasgow Science Centre’s Learning Lab is a high-quality resource of Curriculum for Excellence-approved video content, learning materials, worksheets and opportunities to work with industry experts.
4. Take it beyond the classroom
Young people need to be equipped with the skill to challenge information as they progress through childhood and adulthood. Luckily the Stem principles are rooted in understanding and critically interpreting information - meaning the subject has value far beyond the school walls.
Emma Woodham is science experience manager at Glasgow Science Centre, which is celebrating its 21st anniversary in 2022
