Finding interesting and new ways to engage students in STEM subjects is essential, but we know that teachers’ schedules are already busy. Staying up until midnight Googling ‘good online STEM enrichment’ won’t be top of the agenda.

That’s why we’re supporting career leads and science leads to book live Chats on behalf of their colleagues.

With I’m a Scientist, students connect with real-life scientists through live Chats. They get a unique opportunity to ask questions, explore research, and deepen their understanding of science. 

But we appreciate that the text-only platform can look a little different to more straightforward face-to-face enrichment activities.

Making it less scary for teachers

Booking for multiple teachers gives less-confident staff members a chance to see how everything works before jumping in themselves.

A Science Coordinator booked Chats for all the science teachers in Faye’s department. Faye, a teacher, said of her experience: “[The activity] worked really well. I was one of the last teachers to do the talk so I feel like I was given good advice from colleagues [on how to make the most out of the activity].”

For Faye, it paid off: “It was great. Our Chat had about 3 or 4 mathematicians, so we got a wide variety of answers. The mathematicians answered questions that us teachers wouldn’t always have the answer to… see, we even learned some things ourselves!”

Setting up the whole school for success

Another bonus of Science Leads booking Chats on behalf of multiple colleagues is that it raises the profile of STEM across numerous classes – and sometimes, even a whole school.

For Jon, Head of Biology at his school, “My colleagues have said their kids were buzzing. It raised the profile of STEM across the whole school. One of the teachers said it was one of the best mentor activities they’ve done this year.”

“I’d be more than happy to do it again on the same scale. Staff have even stopped me to ask if we can make it an annual event.”