Author: jonwoodscience

Do you have any tips for future STEM Ambassadors?

• Learn to perform. You don’t have to be on stage, but feel poised and assured when you talk. Remember that you usually know more about the activity than those you are teaching. The character is ‘you’, so be yourself. The plot is the story of your subject, so feel confident enough to tell it well.

Continue reading “The STEMNET Case Study (part 6)”

What do you feel were the positive outcomes for the pupils?

As your activity is about STEM then students should learn something from it, you are not just there to entertain. Often your personality and approach will put something in a way that their teacher has not and this different perspective from a stranger often commands an unparalleled respect from them. As you are not there to test them, students will often learn while they feel they are being entertained. The most recent quote I heard from a pupil was that, “This is the best day at school EVER!” and yet the activities were simple, hands-on chemistry that they had likely already covered in class. Continue reading “The STEMNET Case Study (part 5)”

On average, how much time do you commit to STEM Ambassador activities? 

I work full time in a university and they support my ambassador activities up to a point. However, I love doing STEM ambassador activities and rarely decline them. Sometimes the activities can spread over a few days, such as at the Big Bang Fairs and similar festivals. Yet, others can just take an hour. Remember that you can share something inspirational in two minutes and sometimes, that’s all that is needed. Continue reading “The STEMNET Case Study (part 4)”