20 January 2009 - 31 July 2009
In January 2009, the LSIS Post 16 STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) consortium invited NIACE to develop and deliver a project to demonstrate and promote good practice in STEM provision across the FE and Skills sector, including Colleges, OLAS, Work Based Learning and PCDL providers and to inform the development of further support programmes in these areas.
Remit
The project aims to:
- Promote more effective and relevant provision of STEM subjects across the FE and Skills sector
- Promote cross-organisational collaboration in STEM subjects
- Identify support requirements to improve the delivery of STEM subjects in post -16 education.
Project objectives include:
- Identification of providers currently demonstrating excellence in STEM provision
- Provision of funding to enable providers to carry out action research projects in specific areas of STEM delivery.
Participating organisations will:
- Carry out activities to further develop a specific area of good practice in STEM delivery
- Measure the impact of the activities on the delivery of STEM subjects
- Take part in collaborative activities with other participating organisations
- Produce a short report on the impact of the project on STEM provision within their organisation.
Project outputs will include:
- An overall project report which includes a collation of provider activities, an analysis of perceived barriers to STEM delivery and recommendations for future support programmes.
- Final reports from participating organisations
- Video interviews of participating providers, illustrating the project's impact on STEM delivery.
Project Status
In February 2009, NIACE invited expressions of interest for the programme and an initial seminar was held for successful applicants.
Successful applications
| Name of organisation |
Provision type |
STEM subject(s) |
Project aims |
| 1. Portland College |
F.E. College |
Maths / technology / engineering |
Increase collaborative working between CAD (computer assisted design) tutors and the college Skills for Life team to increase learners' understanding of geometry concepts and evaluate the benefit of a collaborative approach. |
| 2. Calderdale Adult Learning |
PCDL |
Maths |
Pilot ILT based teaching/ learning linked to numeracy national tests online and evaluate the use of a tool to measure the impact on learners' achievement. |
| 3. Newcastle College |
F.E. College |
Science |
Increase cross department working to develop FE level programmes which will encourage learner progression to computer forensics at HE, further develop cross department STEM collaboration and increase collaboration with local employers. |
| 4. West Berkshire training consortium |
WBL |
Science / engineering |
Improve quality assurance of partner delivery for construction, engineering and veterinary nursing by initiating and managing a face to face partnership forum, supported and enhanced by online activities. |
| 5. Cheshire County Council |
PCDL |
Maths |
Increase awareness of the need to improve numeracy skills for social care staff by collaborative working between Cheshire Lifelong Learning and Cheshire council social care service. |
| 6. WEA West Midlands |
Voluntary |
Science |
Develop a community based adult education model of collaboration and collaborative CPD around the theme of organic horticulture. |
| 7. Stubbing Court training ltd |
WBL |
Maths / science related (equine studies) |
Pilot embedded numeracy within equine studies apprenticeships as a response to employer requirements. |
| 8. University of the Third Age |
Voluntary |
Science |
Identify Open Learn materials, developed by the Open University, trial their use with learners, and produce an analysis of recommendations for use in informal learning / PCDL |
| 9. Hillcroft College |
F.E. College |
Maths |
Research and pilot recruitment and achievement in maths programmes for socially excluded women |
| 10. Red Kite learning |
Voluntary |
Maths |
Previous LSC funding enabled Red Kite Learning to produce free interactive web templates for numeracy (http://www.rkl.org.uk/llu/ Red Kite Learning will work in partnership with LLU+ to develop a strategy to support numeracy tutors across the sector in the appropriate use of the templates . |
| 11. North East Chamber of Commerce |
WBL |
Science |
This project aims to use information gathered from employers in the North East region to improve uptake of qualifications, and improve success rates within the Laboratory Technicians' programme. |
| 12. University of Leicester college consortium |
H.E. / F.E. Colleges |
Science |
Production of case studies on mentoring programmes within an FE setting in STEM subject areas of Science, Maths and/or IT. |
