STEM Case Studies

The National STEM Centre in partnership with the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics (NCETM) is keen to encourage teachers in schools and colleges to form STEM Knowledge Networks. These networks or communities of professional learning can be within a single school or college or drawn from several establishments. During 2010/11 many schools across the country benefitted from funding to support the these networks.

The STEM Knowledge Networks had to:

  • have a specific area of interest;
  • have an underlying focus on sharing STEM curriculum knowledge and pedagogy;
  • involve reflection on teachers' professional practice during the lifetime of the project;
  • involve colleagues from across STEM subject areas.

Overall, the experience of the schools was extremely positive and departments learnt a great deal about the curricula in other STEM areas. Some of the main findings across the networks were:

  • an increase in teacher confidence to try new approaches and highlight applications out of their own subject area;
  • using more practical resources;
  • applying skills and resources from one STEM subject to another;
  • identifying links in curriculum areas and the appropriate timings for teaching them to support students' understanding and progress.

Some quotes detailing the impact of the STEM Knowledge Networks, written by schools that participated can be found below:

  • “Working with other departments has created opportunities for much more dialogue and made me realise how much opportunity there is for creating cross-curricular projects within the curriculum. The students' enthusiasm towards the projects that we have undertaken has confirmed my belief that if we can implement these projects into the curriculum and give learning ‘real purpose’ then both teaching and learning will be a lot more enjoyable and meaningful.”
  • "The students were able to see that their teachers of Science teach aspects of Maths (and vice-versa), and that the D&T teacher could teach aspects of Science, especially circuit theory and electrical power output. The reality is that they were able to see very observable links between the STEM subjects (Maths-Science-Technology).

    One of the students quoted: ‘I was able to see how topics such as electrical power were connected to Maths through substitution and rearranging equations’.

    Another student commented: ‘I didn’t know Mr C could do Maths, but he got the area calculation right’.

    (Mr C, was the D&T member of the team)
  • "The teachers who have worked together on the project have reported that they are now not only highlighting the applications of their own subjects more often in their daily practice, but are also beginning to link applications with other STEM subjects too, with the help of other members of the network. This improved practice is evolving as a direct result of the STEM Knowledge Network, as the teachers involved are increasingly holding informal conversations at break and lunch times to share their perspectives on common skills and content."

Below are case studies written by the funded schools to give other schools or networks an insight into how to start something similar. The case studies detail who belonged to the network, how the network operated, some tips on getting started and an insight into what sort of impact you might expect if you tried something similar. There is a great deal of variety in what the networks set out to do and how they approached it. We intend to get updates from the schools on the longer-term impact the networks have had and also any extra advice they would like to give.

For further information on the STEM Knowledge Networks please contact Lydia Showan.