From British Science week to I’m a scientist sessions, there are plenty of opportunities to show that science is for everyone
Look at any calendar and you won’t simply see national holidays and religious festivals, but a plethora of days and weeks commemorating, celebrating and marking everything from pizza and tea to firefighters and teachers (5 October, in case you were wondering). In fact, these dedicated days are so frequent, they’re easily overlooked. Some, though, are particularly relevant to chemistry teaching, teachers, students and the RSC Education team.
Among those that I’m keen for EiC to mark are British Science Week, International day of women and girls in science, International women’s day, Mental health awareness week, TECHOGNITION, World teachers’ day, Black History month and Mole day. (Yes, I really did want to sneak International tea day into that list, but I was overruled.)
Opportunities for enrichment
Let’s take these opportunities
Commemorative days and weeks are important because they remind us of the potential we – chemistry teachers, EiC, the RSC and sister societies, ASE – have to enrich science teaching and learning for all. These calendar days make national headlines and touch the consciousness of the wider population, giving us a platform to engage with a greater audience than our community of teachers and learners. They’re perfect opportunities for making everyone aware of the role of science (is it too early to suggest that ‘following the science’ is a silver lining of the Covid-19 pandemic?), and who does it. But they’re not only opportunities for engaging the general public, they’re particularly valuable for reaching school students.
Outreach and enrichment activities are vital to ensure that pupils see chemistry (and STEM) as relevant to them. Taking secondary school students to visit a university laboratory, setting up a lunchtime STEM club, showcasing the work of a woman chemist or sharing the profile of a working scientist, taking part in an I’m a scientist session or participating in a global experiment – all these kinds of activities can have a positive and lasting impact.
Among the key findings from the 2019 report, produced from a five-year RSC research and outreach study entitled Chemistry for All, is the positive impact that such outreach and enrichment opportunities have on students’ self-belief. This report highlights how visiting a university laboratory or joining a lunchtime STEM club can boost students’ self-confidence and improve their understanding of the world around them. Participating in extracurricular activities helps learners ‘to make connections with role models that help them feel chemistry can be for “people like me”.’
Outreach and enrichment activities are vital for ensuring that pupils see chemistry (and science and STEM) as relevant to them. Taking secondary school students to visit a university laboratory, setting up a lunchtime STEM club, showcasing the work of a woman chemist (rsc.li/3p0KB52) or sharing a profile of a working scientist (rsc.li/3gAiNOQ), taking part in an I’m a scientist session (bit.ly/3HaMjXw) or participating in a global experiment – all these kinds of activities can have a positive impact.
Among the key findings from the 2019 report, Chemistry for All (rsc.li/3BAU7Rr), is the positive impact that such outreach and enrichment opportunities have on students’ self-belief. This report highlights how visiting a university laboratory or joining a lunchtime STEM club can boost students’ self-confidence and improve their understanding of the world around them. Participating in extra-curricular activities helps learners ‘to make connections with role models that help them feel chemistry can be for ”people like me”.’
Mark the week with an investigation
During British Science Week the RSC Education team launched its latest mass participation investigation. Take charge: global battery experiment builds on the Mission: Starlight experiment from 2016. Around 30,000 participants from across the world took part in Mission: Starlight. Imagine if this year’s investigation looking at the importance of battery development in reducing reliance on fossil fuels attracts similar numbers. That’s potentially thousands of 9–14 year-old learners switched on to the role of scientists in securing our future, realising that science is for them and aspiring to study chemistry past the compulsory age.
So why not supercharge your school’s enrichment activities by joining in this year?
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