News

Which browsers and devices are schools using?

Every so often (see here and here) we look at all our data to see how schools use the site.

Taking into consideration how visitors access the site, what they use to access it, and then see how much has changed over the past couple of years.

Our sites have to be mobile-device friendly, ready for tablets, which show a high usage – as you’d imagine. We’ve tried to make them more accessible for screen readers and phones. We pre-register all teachers and students, unless there are specific events which require teachers to register their students. Continue reading →

Posted on September 11, 2018 by modemily in News, Project News | Comments Off on Which browsers and devices are schools using?

Showing students the ‘bigger picture’ at A Level

“I’m a Scientist encourages independent thought and shows students the practical applications of their studies. Connecting with real psychologists also helps them decide what they’ll do next year and into the future.” – Lesley, Head of Psychology at Bay House School

 

Bay House School is a large comprehensive school with mixed attainment. In June 2018, sixth form Psychology students from the school took part in the Society Zone. Head of Psychology Lesley tells us how the activity supported her students’ progression and taught them the real-life applications of their subject.

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Posted on July 16, 2018 by admin in News, Teachers | Tagged | Comments Off on Showing students the ‘bigger picture’ at A Level

‘There is nothing like it! I miss it already’ – June 2018 Winners blog posts

After every event we ask the winning scientists to write a short post to be sent to all the students who took part in the zone. It’s the perfect way for the scientists to reflect on the previous two weeks, thank all the students for voting for them, and talk about how they plan to use their £500 prize money.

If you’re a scientist keen to experience the ‘best crash course in scicomm’, apply now for the next event, taking place 5th–16th November, at imascientist.org.uk/scientist-apply

Continue reading →

Posted on July 13, 2018 by in News | Comments Off on ‘There is nothing like it! I miss it already’ – June 2018 Winners blog posts

Showing students the relevance of their learning

“Doing something engaging like this creates a more well-rounded education and my students have now seen real-life applications of curriculum content.” — Lucy, Maths Teacher at Cornelius Vermuyden School, Canvey Island
 
 

Only a small proportion of students at Cornelius Vermuyden School aspire to go to university or move out of the local area, and many don’t see the point in what they study in school. Lucy tells us how their involvement in I’m an Engineer helped them see the importance of maths and broaden their horizons.

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Posted on July 13, 2018 by admin in News, School, Teachers | Tagged | Comments Off on Showing students the relevance of their learning

Changing attitudes across a whole year group

“Organising the event for the whole of year 8 meant that everyone could enjoy the benefits” – Polly, Science teacher at Willows High School, Cardiff

Willows High School, a mixed comprehensive school in a challenging quarter of Cardiff, took part in the I’m a Scientist activity in March 2018 with two classes. The school participated again in June 2018, this time with a whole year group. Polly tells us how having an entire year involved helped increase aspirations across the school and showed students that doing well in school has a far-reaching impact.

Continue reading →

Posted on July 12, 2018 by admin in News, School, Teachers | Tagged | Comments Off on Changing attitudes across a whole year group

Connecting my students with scientists online… is it safe?!

Some teachers may have reservations about bringing their class online to chat with scientists and we can understand that. We take safeguarding seriously and our site is secure and moderated. To reassure any hesitant teachers, here are some steps we take to safeguard young people in our online activities.

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Posted on June 27, 2018 by admin in News | Comments Off on Connecting my students with scientists online… is it safe?!

5 reasons I’m a Scientist is worth your lesson time… even for exam classes.

Project Wrangler Katie was a science teacher before joining the I’m a Scientist team, so has first-hand experience of the intense curriculum pressures teachers face. Here she talks us through how I’m a Scientist benefits your students with 5 reasons why it’s worth allocating lesson time to the activity.
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Posted on June 26, 2018 by admin in News, Science Capital | Comments Off on 5 reasons I’m a Scientist is worth your lesson time… even for exam classes.

Engaging disengaged students with I’m a Scientist

Some students don’t like science lessons. Maybe they don’t see the point, maybe they don’t think they’re good at science, maybe they used to love science but have been put off by the stress and pressure of exams. Whatever the reason these students don’t engage, here are 3 ways I’m a Scientist can help.

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Posted on May 25, 2018 by in News, School, Science Engagement, Teachers | Comments Off on Engaging disengaged students with I’m a Scientist

Increasing students’ confidence with I’m a Scientist

“Many of our students lack confidence in their academic ability so they were buzzing when they realised they can hold their own in a conversation with intelligent, educated people and this helped them realise they are all scientists too!” – Julia Anderson, FE College Biology Lecturer

This general further education college is split across 3 sites in a large, post-industrial, non-university town. Students at the college took part in the I’m a Scientist Immune System and Genes Zones in March 2018. Julia tells us how meaningful engagement with the scientists increased her students’ confidence. Continue reading →

Posted on May 14, 2018 by admin in Evaluation, News, School, Teachers, Widening Participation | Tagged | Comments Off on Increasing students’ confidence with I’m a Scientist

Using I’m a Scientist to increase participation in higher education

“Traditionally, not many of our students go on to university. I’m a Scientist helps by allowing students to relate to scientists and helping them see the value of studying at a higher level.”

– Mark McNally, Science Teacher

A mixed 2-19 academy, where over two thirds of the school population are students from disadvantaged backgrounds, took part in I’m a Scientist in March 2018. Mark tells us how the activity helped interest his students in science careers and consider higher education.

Continue reading →

Posted on May 2, 2018 by admin in Evaluation, News, Science Capital, Teachers, Widening Participation | Tagged | Comments Off on Using I’m a Scientist to increase participation in higher education

Providing STEM opportunities for distant schools

Baltasound_Junior_High_School_in_the_snow_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1725784“As we are a remote rural community we do not have a huge variety of careers on our doorstep but these events help to bring them closer to pupils. More students should be getting these funded opportunities across the UK.”

– Emily Tulloch, Science teacher on the island of Unst.

The most northerly school in the UK is located in one of our most distant areas in the Shetland Isles. Emily tells us how I’m a Scientist allowed her remote students to explore a range of STEM careers and increased motivation to learn science. Continue reading →

Posted on April 6, 2018 by admin in Evaluation, News, Science Capital, Teachers, Widening Participation | Tagged | Comments Off on Providing STEM opportunities for distant schools

“Dazzling, eye-opening and over far too quickly”- March 2018 Winners blog posts

After every event we ask the winning scientists to write a short post to be sent to all the students who took part in the zone. It’s the perfect way for the scientists to reflect on the previous two weeks, thank all the students for voting for them, and talk about how they plan to use their £500 prize money.

If you’re a scientist keen to experience the ‘best crash course in scicomm’, apply now for the next event at imascientist.org.uk/scientist-apply

Continue reading →

Posted on March 27, 2018 by in News | Comments Off on “Dazzling, eye-opening and over far too quickly”- March 2018 Winners blog posts

Working with I’m a Scientist to produce STEM engagement for your discipline


“I’m a Scientist was a fantastic experience. The students were engaged and interested in hearing about my research and the wider field I work in. I wanted to make sure other psychologists had the opportunity too!.” — Dr Sam Smith, University of Leeds

After psychologist Sam Smith took part in I’m a Scientist, we worked with him to secure funding from the British Psychological Society for 3 more zones. As a result, more than 1,100 students across the UK were able to connect with psychologists in 2017. Continue reading →

Posted on March 22, 2018 by admin in Event News, News | Tagged | Comments Off on Working with I’m a Scientist to produce STEM engagement for your discipline

Enquiry Zone 2018: What’s it all about?

This March, Enquiry Zone returns in I’m a Scientist. This zone is where you help school students design and carry out their own research. By talking with students in live chats and answering their questions in ASK, together you’ll come up with a potential citizen science project related to your research that can be done in a school environment.

Continue reading →

Posted on January 15, 2018 by in News | Comments Off on Enquiry Zone 2018: What’s it all about?

Widening Participation School case study

In our experience, the longer it takes for a scientist or engineer to reach a school, the less likely those students are to have visits. We’ve done some research that suggests schools more than 30 minutes travel time are less likely to receive visits.

We also think looking at Widening Participation schools is useful to understand the variety of schools we have wanting to take part. Continue reading →

Posted on December 15, 2017 by admin in News, Widening Participation | Tagged | Comments Off on Widening Participation School case study

School engagement in STEM enrichment: Effect of school location

In recent years funders of public engagement and outreach activities have made a priority of reaching underserved audiences.

Wherever we looked we found anecdotal evidence that while, as a sector we were becoming increasingly effective at reaching schools in deprived parts of our metropolitan areas, rural communities continued to miss out.

But anecdotal data only gets you so far. We wanted to find out just how much the more remote schools were missing out. We also wanted to know what constitutes a remote school in this context. Continue reading →

Posted on November 30, 2017 by modjosh in Evaluation, News, Widening Participation | Comments Off on School engagement in STEM enrichment: Effect of school location

‘That was the most fun thing I’ve ever done in science’ – November 2017 Winners blog posts

After every event we ask the winning scientists to write a short post to be sent to all the students who took part in the zone. It’s the perfect way for the scientists to reflect on the previous two weeks, thank all the students for voting for them, and talk about how they plan to use their £500 prize money.

If you’re a scientist keen to experience the ‘best crash course in scicomm’, apply now for the next event, taking place 5th–16th March, at imascientist.org.uk/scientist-apply

Continue reading →

Posted on November 24, 2017 by in News, Scientists | Comments Off on ‘That was the most fun thing I’ve ever done in science’ – November 2017 Winners blog posts

Enquiry Zone: Students as scientists

Some say there are no new ideas, just new interpretations of old ideas: primary school students designed the Blackawton Bees paper with the help of a parent scientist; citizen science runs online at scale with Galaxy Zoo; the BBC, with Terrific Scientific, help primary schools conduct their experiments. There is an idea missing in this panoply: School students helping to design and run a new experiment at scale. In March 2017 we ran the Wellcome funded Enquiry Zone, a zone created with one fundamental question: Could we use an I’m a Scientist zone to give hundreds of school students the chance to help design an experiment, which they could then carry out themselves? Yes, we could. And what’s more, it’s clear there is value in giving students input at all stages of the project. It gives students ownership over research, and they gain real insight into how science works. What happened … Continue reading →

Posted on November 23, 2017 by modjosh in News | Tagged | Comments Off on Enquiry Zone: Students as scientists

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What can you do?

I want to take part with my class ❯

I want to take part as a scientist ❯

I want to find out about funding I’m a Scientist ❯

What is I’m a Scientist?

I’m a Scientist, Get me out of here is an online activity where school students get to meet and interact with scientists.

It’s a competition between scientists, where the students are the judges.

Students challenge the scientists over intense, fast-paced, online live Chats. Then they Ask the scientists all the questions they want to, and Vote for their favourite scientist to win a prize of £500 to communicate their work with the public.