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Enrichment Activity Pack – Lesson Plans & Resources

To be used in the run up to and after the


Bexley “Big Noise STEM” Careers Conference on 6th April 2011

Introduction
This pack has been produced to support schools in raising awareness of STEM
careers. The activities vary from online games to fully fledged lesson plans and their
associated resources. The audience and ideal delivery time for each of the activities
is listed below, but these are only suggestions and intended as a guide.

Introducing STEM careers Pages 1-2 Year 10


(suitable for other years)

Outline: An interactive introduction to careers in the STEM subjects

Timeline: Autumn Term 2010

Using Maths in the Real World Page 3 Year 10


(suitable for other years)

Outline: A BP enterprise trading game

Timeline: Autumn Term 2010

Forensic Science Pages 4-6 Year 10


(suitable for other years)

Outline: Estimating a fictional time of death using STEM skills

Timeline: Autumn Term 2010

Engineering in Everyday Life Page 7 Year 10


(suitable for other years)

Outline: An online set of games

Timeline: Autumn Term 2010

Exploring STEM Careers Page 8 Year 10


(suitable for other years)

Outline: A hands on activity that explores different STEM careers

Timeline: Autumn Term 2010

Texas Instruments Equipment Page 9 Teachers & support staff

Outline: How you can borrow their handheld technology

Timeline: Autumn Term 2010

PTO…
The Top 10 Careers* Page 10 Year 10
(suitable for other years)

Outline: A hands on session to engage students in STEM careers

Timeline: Autumn Term 2010

Selecting Student Delegates Page 11 Year 10

Outline: An activity to decide who will attend the careers conference

Timeline: February/March 2011

Researching the Exhibitors Pages 12-15 Student Delegates

Outline: A research and analysis task

Timeline: March/April 2011

Making the Most of The Conference p16-17 Student Delegates

Outline: A preparation exercise for those attending the conference

Timeline: March/April 2011

Feeding Back to Your Peers Page 18 Student Delegates

Outline: Some ideas and templates for presenting to peers

Timeline: March/April 2011

Booking a STEM Ambassador Page 19 Teachers & support staff

Outline: How to get them in to your school

Timeline: Summer Term 2010

The London Engineering Project Page 20 Teachers & support staff

Outline: Menu of events in school or at London South Bank University

Timeline: Summer Term 2010

*An order form for the Top Trumps style Top Careers can be found on page 21
- these cards can be used as part of the Top 10 Careers activity on page 10

Science Within Work & Enriching Science Year 10


These resources are available with the pack (created for KS3 but adaptable)

Outline: A booklet and CD with videos, activities and resources

Timeline: Anytime
An Introduction to STEM Careers

Learning objectives:
Students will understand what STEM stands for, be able to give examples of jobs in
each of the STEM areas and recognise the links between these jobs and everyday
life. Students will also be able to say which undergraduate courses produce higher
life time earnings.

Resources needed:
A blank piece of paper for every student, pens, A3 pieces of paper, lifetime earnings
chart (which can be found at the bottom of this lesson plan)

Activity overview:
After learning what STEM stands for, the students will list jobs in an area that
interests them and share their ideas. They will then generate more career and job
titles by thinking about their everyday life. Finally, they will have to decide which
jobs/degrees result in higher average lifetime earnings.

Timeline What will the


(in What will the Facilitator do during this time? students do during
minutes) this time?
1-2 Give each student a piece of blank paper and instruct them to Students write the
write “STEM careers” in the middle. word on the paper
Give them one minute to write down what they think each of the and what they think
letters in STEM stands for. each of the letters
stands for.
2-3 Ask for feedback from the class. Explain that S = science T=
technology E= engineering and M = maths. Ask students to
correct their sheets if necessary. Students listen and
correct sheets if
Explain that this session will provide them with an introduction to necessary.
STEM careers because this is the Bexley Big Noise STEM year
and that they will be exploring more about STEM careers in the
coming year and in this lesson.
3-4 Students listen and
Now that they understand what STEM stands for, ask each of the circle the STEM area
students to circle the area of STEM that interests them the most. that interests them.
4-8
Using the area that they have identified as being of the most Students listen and
interest to them, explain that the students will now have 3 minutes then write down jobs
to think of as many jobs/careers in that area as possible. or careers in their
selected area.
8-11 Ask the students to identify which area they chose and get those Students identify the
pupils to sit together in a group. areas they selected
and get in to groups
If there are too few people in one group, you can always put them accordingly.
with another group.
11-15 Students feedback to
Now that the students are in groups, ask them to feedback their each other and
jobs to each and one of the group will write down a master list. create a master list of
jobs/careers.
15-22
Ask one person from each of the groups to read out their master Students read out
list. jobs/careers from
their master lists.
Now explain that the students will need to think a bit differently
about their selected area. Ask them to consider their every day
lives and how STEM careers impact upon them and then add to
their list of careers/jobs.
E.g. getting out of bed – the bed and bedding have been designed Students listen and
and tested (technology and engineering). Washing – running join in as appropriate.
water gets to you via pipes and systems (engineering), soap
testing and packaging (science and technology).
To make it easier, you may wish to divide this up in to sections of
the day or ask them to think about the things they most enjoy
doing e.g. talking to their friends on the phone, eating, watching
TV etc…
22-32 Students discuss
As students discuss their lives and how the careers in their their lives and the
chosen area impact on this, go around and ensure they are on STEM careers
task and provide assistance where necessary. associated with it.
32-40
Ask each group to feedback their new master list. Make links Students feed back
between the different STEM career areas and explain that it’s not from their new lists
always easy to divide them into particular areas. Emphasise to and listen.
students the fact that their daily lives are influenced by the STEM
careers in ways they might not have thought of before and that the
careers are varied and interesting.

Give more examples of STEM careers that students have not


necessarily thought of (e.g. nuclear industry for power, space Students write down
industry for satellites for phones and Sat Nav, pharmaceuticals futuremorph website.
industry for medicine and cosmetics etc…) and tell them further
information and more job examples can be found at the following
website (get them to write it down):
www.futuremorph.org
40-45
Now that the students are aware of the different STEM areas and Students listen.
the jobs/careers available in them, explain that you are going to
finish the session by looking at money!

Using the additional lifetimes earning chart below, jumble up the


university subjects and the additional lifetime earnings and
either write the figures on the board or read them out for the Students match the
students to write down. Now ask the pupils to match up the earnings with the
degrees with the additional lifetime earnings. Explain that these courses.
figures refer to people who have been to university to study the
courses referred to and their average additional lifetime earnings
have been calculated in comparison to those who leave school
with A-levels. Students match the
earnings with the
Then do the same with those jobs in the occupational sector list jobs.
and the annual earnings below. These are average annual
earnings for non-graduates (i.e. those who didn’t go to university).
45-50
As a plenary ask the students to explain what STEM stands for
and give an example job/career from each area. Re-emphasise Students provide
the link between all of the STEM areas and that our lives our answers when called
made up of STEM careers. Finally, select a few students to upon.
(without looking) tell you which university course produces the
highest average additional lifetime earnings and the annual salary
for a non-graduate engineering technician.

Additional Lifetime Earnings of Graduates Annual Earnings of Non-Graduates


University Subject Additional Lifetime Earnings Occupational Sector Annual Earnings
Engineering £220,000 Engineering Technicians £30,930
Chemistry £186,000 Electrical Trades £28,029
Physics £188,000 Science & Technology £27,285
Maths £220,000 Professionals (e.g. lab technicians)
Biological Sciences £110,000 Communications Engineer £27,134
History £100,000
English £100,000
Using Maths in the Real World

Do a Google Search for


“BP Enterprise
Trading Game”
to get to this page
Forensic Science – Time of Death

 How many people are employed in the UK’s space industry?


A: 19,000

 How many companies are actively engaged in the UK space


industry?
A: 100

 What is the company Infoterra, a leading UK space industry


company, most famous for?
A: Google Earth services

 According to one source, if all of the satellite telecommunications


were switched off, how long would it take for the global economy
to grind to a halt?
A: One day

To download the resources


associated with the lesson plans
overleaf you will need to type in
this web address:
http://resource.nspiringlearning.org.uk
/classroomresources/activities/activity.
jsp?id=281
Forensic Science – Time of Death
Forensic Science – Time of Death
Engineering in Everyday Life

A: A framework of qualifications in which people learn more about a


particular area. Apprentices are taken on in many of the STEM career
areas.

 Where can you find more Other activities


information are
about the UKalso
spaceavailable
industry?
A: British National Space Centre www.bnsc.gov.uk

 How many people are employed in the UK Nuclear Power


Industry?
A: 56,000

 How many new sites have been nominated to host nuclear power
stations?
A: 11

Do a Google Search for


“Smallpiece Trust activities and games”
to get to this website
Exploring STEM Careers
Learning objectives:
Students will be able to recall at least 1 fact relating to each of the careers profiled.
Students will know where to find more information about STEM careers.

Resources needed:
Fact cards, questions relating to fact cards, someone to keep score of who has
answered the questions, some sort of prize (e.g. a pen, chocolate bar). These
resources are available at the end of the STEM enrichment pack.

Activity overview:
Each student is given a card containing one or two facts about a STEM career. The
facilitator asks a question, the answer to which is on one of the cards. Once the
question has been answered the students swaps cards with their neighbour and this
process continues until all the questions have been asked.

Timeline What will


(in What will the Facilitator do during this time? the
minutes) students do
during this
time?
1-2 Explain to the students that in this session they will be exploring STEM Students
careers. The idea is for them to understand certain facts about these listen.
careers (e.g. the average earnings, what people do in their jobs,
careers that they might not have heard of) and where they can find
more information.

2-4 Ask your students to stand or sit in a circle. They need to be close Students
enough to each other to pass a piece of paper from one to the other. move into a
circle.

4-6 Let the students know that you will be giving each of them a card Students
containing one or two facts about a STEM career or places to find listen.
more information. You will then ask them questions – the answer to
each of the questions is on one of those cards. As soon as you have
asked a question if someone has the answer on their card or they
know the answer from previous experience they need to put up their
hand. If they answer the question correctly you (or your assistant) will
make a note of that. The person at the end of the session with the
most amount of correct answers will win a prize.

Once a question has been answered correctly, the students will need
to pass their card on to the next person in the circle. The cards should
move in a clockwise direction. That way every one will have the
chance to see the answers to the questions.
6-25 Read out questions, make a note of who answers correctly and ensure Students
that the cards move around the circle correctly. Once the cards do read the
move, give the students a moment to read what is written on theirs. cards,
answer
questions
and pass on
the cards.
25-30 Announce the winner of the session and ask them to recap some of Students
the answers, include other pupils from the session as appropriate. identify the
Particularly emphasise the websites with more information – if you areas they
have time and access get students to look at these websites. selected and
get in to
groups
accordingly.
Texas Instrument Equipment

A: Homer Simpson

 What is decommissioning (when we are talking about the nuclear


industry)?
A: Making older power stations and fuel processing facilities safe
now that they are no longer needed/able to run effectively – a lot
of people are employed to perform this process

 What is the nuclear fuel cycle and why are people involved in this
process in the UK in demand in other countries?
A: The nuclear fuel cycle is where uranium is made into fuel, used in
the power station to produce electricity and then recycled or
disposed. The skills of people employed by UK nuclear power
companies is demand to support other companies in developing
their own nuclear power infrastructure.

 There will be a big demand for people with the right skills and
qualifications to fill an increasing number of jobs in the nuclear
industry – why is that?
A: Large numbers of people will be retiring from this industry in the
next 15 years and 11 new power plants will potentially open up.

 What sort of jobs are available in the nuclear industry (looking for
4 answers)?
A: Design & construction of new power stations, processing and
manufacturing nuclear fuel, maintaining nuclear powered

Do a Google Search for


“TI Technology Loan Service”
to get to this page
The Top 10 Careers
Learning objectives:
Students will understand which of the careers used in this exercise has the highest
average salary and requires the highest qualification. Students will also be able to
say which of the 10 careers profiled is their favourite and why.

Resources needed:
Top 10 careers cards + answers, qualifications and levels post card. These
resources are available at the end of the STEM enrichment pack.

Activity overview:
Using the top 10 careers cards, students will arrange the careers in order of highest
average salary, highest qualifications required and their preference. As an extension,
students can create their own cards using information from the future morph website
or the Top Trumps Careers cards.

Timeline What will the


(in What will the Facilitator do during this time? students do during
minutes) this time?
1-2 Explain to students that this session will focus on 10 STEM Students listen.
careers. The students will be asked to arrange them in order of
highest average salary, highest qualifications required and their
preference. Some of the careers they will have heard of; some of
them they will not have heard of.

2-3 Depending on the space in which you are delivering this session,
either lay the cards on the floor and ask the students to work
together to arrange them in order of highest average end salary Students listen.
or lay them on a table, ask the students to read the cards and
then write down for themselves the highest average end salary.

3-15 Assist students in arranging themselves in a line with the cards or Students either
manage their movement from the table to their desks. The arrange themselves
answers to the questions about average highest end salary and in a line or write down
highest qualification can be found at the end of the top 10 careers the order on a piece
cards pack. Use the qualifications and levels post card to aid of paper. As the
students’ understanding. Feed back the answers to the students answers are read out,
once they have arranged themselves or written down their ideas they amend
and read them out. accordingly.
15-22
Now that students have examined the salaries and qualifications, Students write down
ask them to put these jobs in order according to which ones they their preferences
would like to do. They need to write this down with one reason about the jobs and a
next to each of the jobs as to why it is in this position. reason why for each
career.
22-30 Ask the students to feedback to each other what they have written Students feedback to
in pairs, in small groups or as a whole class. Ask them to discuss one another and
these reasons, paying attention to the competencies mentioned discuss their
on the cards and other factors. reasoning.
30-32
Explain that these are only 10 careers available in the STEM
sectors. It is up to the students to decide what is important to Students listen.
them (e.g. money, qualifications needed, competencies etc…)
and then find jobs that match these qualities.
Extension Students create their
Ask students to create their own top 10 careers using the jobs own top 10 career
featured on www.futuremorph.org and www.cogent-careers.com cards.
or the Top Careers trumps-style cards.
Selecting Student Delegates
Introduction:
4 student delegates from every year 10 form in your school will have the opportunity
to participate in the Bexley Big Noise STEM careers conference on the 6th April. The
4 delegates will each represent one of the STEM areas – science, technology,
engineering or maths.

Please make it clear to the students that this is an excellent opportunity to be


involved in an innovative and exciting event that will help them to decide what to do
in the future. You should also explain that by taking on the responsibility of being a
STEM student delegate they will have to:

- Complete the activity “Researching the Exhibitors” (pages 12-15 of this pack)

- Attend the STEM Careers Conference on the 6th April and fill in the document
“Making the Most of the Conference” (pages 16-17 of this pack) whilst they
are there

- Present to their peers about the conference afterwards (they can use page 18
of this pack to help them do this)

Possibilities for selecting STEM Student Delegates


How you choose these delegates is up to you, but here are a few suggestions:

Possibility 1:
Ask students to nominate themselves as the STEM student delegates. If you have 4
volunteers, ask them to decide between them which STEM area they will represent.
If you have more than 4 students who want to be involved, ask them to deliver a
short presentation in front of their classmates about why they should be the delegate.
The class should then vote for who they want to be their representatives.

Possibility 2:
In conjunction with teachers in the STEM areas, the form tutor, the head of year etc…
decide who should represent their class. You can either designate them with a
STEM area or ask them to choose for themselves.

Possibility 3:
Put all of the names of the students in the class into a hat. Pull out 4 names and ask
if they would like to be involved in the Bexley Big Noise STEM Careers Conference.
Keep going until you have 4 students who want to be involved. Once you have the 4,
ask them to decide which STEM area they would like to represent.

Possibility 4:
Ask students to nominate each other for the delegate position. Explain what is
involved and what a great opportunity it is; then ask the pupils to nominate who they
think should take up each of the STEM delegate places. Ask them to write down
each of the STEM areas, a name for the person who they think will be best for the
delegate role and a reason why. It’s up to you whether they can nominate
themselves or not!
Researching the Bexley Big Noise STEM Careers Conference
Introduction: As a student delegate for the Bexley Big Noise STEM Careers
Conference, your task is to research the exhibitors who will be attending the
conference and to gather questions from your fellow class members about the
companies and universities attending.

What to do now:

Go to the website for the Bexley Big Noise STEM Careers Conference:
http://webfronter.com/bexley/stem/

Click on the box entitled “Bexley Big Noise STEM 2010/11” – in there you will find a
lot of information about the careers event and some useful resources. You are
looking for the list of exhibitors and the floor plan for the conference.

Open and print the document with the exhibitors and the floor plan. You now need to
use these document, in combination with the following websites to answer the
questions below
www.futuremorph.org
www.cogent-careers.com
www.mathscareers.org.uk

1st stage:

Q: Looking at the conference exhibitors, which ones have you heard of?

Action: Write down one job that you think is associated with each of those exhibitors
Using the websites mentioned above or by searching the internet, find out one
interesting thing about each of the jobs or exhibitor you have written down (an
example could be: a graduate engineer can earn between £25,000 and £35,000).

Job or exhibitor Interesting fact

Search the internet for those exhibitors that you have not heard of and write down a
couple of things about that exhibitor so that you can tell your classmates what that
organisation does (e.g. they are a gas and electricity company).

Exhibitor What they do


Now that you know a little bit more about each of the organisations that will be at the
conference, write down the 5 that you are most interested in visiting and why. Also
write down any questions that you would like to ask the exhibitors.

Your order
of Organisation Why you want to meet them &
preference questions you would like to ask them

2nd stage:
You now need to talk to the other STEM career delegates in your class. Compare
your top 5 exhibitors – which exhibitors have you chosen and why?

Because you will only have a short amount of time at the conference, you need to
make sure that you don’t cover the same ground twice. If you have the same
exhibitor on your list as someone else you need to decide who should go to it
(remember that you are representing a particular STEM area). Make sure that you
are each covering 5 exhibitors (so 20 in total).

Name of exhibitor Name of the delegate

3rd stage:
You now need to ask your other classmates for their ideas. Show them the list of
exhibitors that you downloaded from the website and explain what each of the
organisations do if your classmates don’t know.

Now it’s time to get feedback from your classmates - who else would they like you to
talk to, what questions would they like you to ask on their behalf?

Exhibitors your classmates are interested in Questions they would like you to ask

Once you have noted down the answers to these questions, liaise with your fellow
STEM delegates and ensure that you have covered the exhibitors that your
classmates are interested in. Each delegate should have a minimum of 5 exhibitors
and a maximum of 7 to visit at the conference on the 6th April.

Name of exhibitor Name of the delegate

Making the Most of your Conference


Introduction: You need to complete the document “Researching the Bexley Big
Noise STEM Careers Conference” before you can use this document. Transfer
information from that document on to this one. You will need to complete this
document before you go to the conference on the 6th April, but make sure you take
this with you.

Name

School

Area you are


representing Science Maths Technology Engineering

Name of exhibitor Location on the map

Exhibitors
that you are
going to be
talking to

As you move around the exhibition and speak to the people on the stands, make sure
that you complete the boxes below

Exhibitor Titles of jobs associated with exhibitor:


Name:

What are the day to day tasks of these jobs?:

Name of
person you Skills and qualifications needed to get these jobs:
spoke to:

Average salaries, benefits, other things to note:

Answers to questions from your classmates:


Exhibitor
Name: Titles of jobs associated with exhibitor:

Name of
person you
spoke to:
What are the day to day tasks of these jobs?:

Skills and qualifications needed to get these jobs:

Average salaries, benefits, other things to note:

Answers to questions from your classmates:

Please ask your teacher to photocopy more of these sheets for you

Feeding Back to Your Peers


Introduction:
Now that you have attended the Bexley Big Noise STEM Careers Conference,
you need to report back to your peers about what you learnt during your time
there. How you decide to do this is absolutely up to you, but here are a few
suggestions:

Possibility 1:
Liaise with your fellow STEM delegates and discuss what you most enjoyed,
what you found useful and then agree who will say what. Put together a short
spoken presentation and deliver it to your class mates in form time, during a
PSHE lesson or in a STEM subject lesson (get agreement from your teacher
first). The presentation could make use of resources that you collected on the
day and the information you noted down on the “Making the Most of Your
Conference” document.

Possibility 2:
Liaise with your fellow STEM delegates as above, but instead of presenting
the information to your peers by standing in front of them, put forward the
information in a written format. You could create a newsletter, a leaflet or a
written report depending on what you think will be most useful.

Possibility 3:
Liaise with your fellow STEM delegates as above then create a poster
displaying all of the things that you learnt during the event. You could perhaps
have a different part of the poster for each of the STEM areas and list
websites where you can find more information. You could then get the poster
photocopied and give them to your classmates for them to take home or
present the poster to your peers; explain why you have included each of the
things and give a little bit more detail about each of the items.

Possibility 4:
Instead of discussing the event with your fellow STEM delegates beforehand,
ask your class mates to interview you. Because your peers did not attend the
event themselves, you might need to give them a list of questions to ask you
(e.g. which career had the highest salary, which job would you be really
interested in doing when you are older etc…). Your classmates could then
produce a report about what you told them and find out further information for
themselves by going on to the websites you suggest, or they might take one
of the careers that you spoke about and do a profile on it e.g. what the job
actually involves, what skills and qualifications you need, what the salary is
like, are there any additional benefits etc…
Booking a STEM Ambassador
STEM AMBASSADOR REQUEST FORM
Thank you for your request for a Science, Technology, Engineering
and Mathematics (STEM) Ambassador. Please complete the table below and send to
katharine.montgomery@stemnet.org.uk or call 020 3206 0479 for further

Please read the following conditions of requesting a STEM Ambassador:


 The event is to take place no less than 4 weeks from the date of the STEMNET
receiving this request
 Approval for the request has been sought from the Head of Department/Subject Leader
 Communication links will be maintained between the school requesting the activity, the
Ambassador and STEMNET to ensure the ambassador is adequately briefed and
supported throughout the process
 The school will confirm with STEMNET when a date has been set for the event/visit (if
date is not given below)
 The school will provide appropriate reception on the Ambassador’s arrival at the school
 The school will perform a risk assessment for the activity if necessary
 The school will ensure the Ambassador is not left alone with students at any time
 Feedback on the activity will be provided by teachers and pupils to STEMNET after the
event has taken place

Please mark the box to confirm you have read and understood the
terms above.

information.
School name, address and
borough
Date & time of activity (or
possible dates/range of
dates)
Location of activity
Description of activity
(Please state format required e.g.
presentation, practical, judging,
mentoring and any other
additional information)
Specific Ambassador
background request (eg.
Mechanical Engineer, Analyst,
Research Scientist etc)
Number of Ambassadors
required
Will the Ambassador be a role
model for a specific group of
students? (G&T, girls, BME etc)
Age of young people and group
size
Particular course/qualification
students are studying
Name and contact details (school
number, mobile and email)
for the person requesting
the Ambassador
How did you hear about the
STEM Ambassadors programme?

The London Engineering Project


submarines, operating the UK power sites, decommissioning
redundant facilities.

 What is the name of the apprenticeship framework associated


with the nuclear industry?
A: Cogent Apprenticeship Framework

 At which university can you study Nuclear Engineering?


A: Lancaster University

 Where can you find more information about the Nuclear Industry?
A: Nuclear Decommissioning Agency: www.nda.gov.uk

 Where can you find more information about the jobs in the
nuclear industry?
A: www.cogent-careers.com this shows all of the roles in the nuclear
industry, the salaries and their day to day duties.

 In a power plant, what does a technical director do?


A: They are responsible for leading and maintaining development of
the plant performance in output, safety, environmental impact and
use of material and fuel. The Director is also responsible for the
Health and Safety management systems and for ensuring their
application.

 In a power plant, how much can a technical director earn?


A: Between £50,000 and £90,000

Do a Google search for


“London Engineering Project Opportunities
Menu”
to get to this page

Please note that these pages


are being updated for 10/11

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