Sparking STEM - Universities

Face to face

A three-day, highly interactive, face to face course for academics in science-related fields, wishing to develop their skills and confidence to deliver successful outreach with children of school age.

"Amanda is an very experienced and knowledgeable outreach practitioner, and she has been a pleasure to work with from start to finish. Amanda delivered ‘Effective Outreach with Children’, a three-day course for postgraduate researchers at the University of Sheffield. The content of the course was perfectly pitched and Amanda gave her own unique insights and tips to our researchers that significantly improved their practice. Seeing our researchers go from never having delivered outreach to becoming confident and enthusiastic facilitators was fantastic. We have had glowing feedback from the researchers who took part, especially regarding the opportunities Amanda arranged for them to work directly with children as part of the course. I would wholeheartedly recommend Amanda’s programmes and look forward to working with her again!"

Dr. Emma Suret
Researcher Development Manager & Lead for PGR Supervisor Development
The University of Sheffield

What will you gain from this course?

Throughout this course you will receive individually tailored support and guidance to:

Develop detailed plans for an inspirational outreach session with children, specific to your individual field of research:

You'll come away with a structured lesson plan; activities; equipment lists; risk assessment, draft emails and more.
Learn methods to turn your research into engaging activities that will excite children in the short-term and inspire them in the long-term.
Take away a range of resources you will use again and again to plan and structure successful outreach.

Gain the confidence and skills to deliver successful outreach with children, both face to face and online:

Receive top tips and strategies to manage behaviour, make your outreach accessible and learn easy ways to level your language for different audiences.
Enjoy an opportunity to interact with an online panel of students. They'll be keen to ask and answer questions and allow you to practice your new skills!
Experience a range of methods to keep students engaged and inspired during online outreach.

Become familiar with school practices and procedures:

From criminal record checks to staff room etiquette, safeguarding to the school calendar... You'll gain familiarity with the school perspective so that you feel more confident to operate in schools and are more likely to be welcomed back.

Gain basic knowledge of the British education system and National Curriculum:

Learn to link your outreach to the curriculum objectives to give it the best chance of being welcomed by educational organisations.
Make sense of commonly used educational acronyms and use the curriculum to pitch your outreach effectively.

get in touch

Meet a panel of real children!

Meet children and to put your new skills to the test!

The online panels of children will be keen to ask and answer questions. They're always full of surprises and if you're lucky they may even swing from the ceiling, show you their favourite fossil and tell you about the cow spine they once dissected!

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Who will benefit from this course?

The course is suitable for academics working in any science-related field and has been particularly beneficial to those at the early stages of their academic career (PhD students and Post-docs etc).
Researchers from a diverse range of departments have been benefiting from this course since 2019: Ecological sciences, Geographical sciences, Palaeo Oceanography, Biological sciences, Environmental Sciences, Geochemistry, Electrical engineering, Mathematical sciences, Life Sciences, Chemistry, Earth sciences, Psychology and more.
Whether you have previous outreach experience or none, whether you are introvert or extrovert you will find this course supports you to develop your skills and confidence to deliver successful outreach with children.

Testimonials

I would wholeheartedly recommend Amanda’s programmes and look forward to working with her again!"

Dr. Emma Suret
Researcher Development Manager & Lead for PGR Supervisor Development
The University of Sheffield

Mean participant confidence scores before and after the course (5 point scale).

Testimonial from Raoul Blackman, who attended the EOwC face to face course, University of Sheffield 2023

Course schedule

The course is delivered over three consecutive days, at a venue of your choice in the UK.

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Facilitation

The course is facilitated by Amanda Childs; a qualified teacher (QTS, PGCE science / Biology specialism) with postgraduate science qualification (MSc Applied Entomology) and a total of over twelve years experience teaching science to secondary age students; engaging students in STEM subjects (ages 3 to 16); working with primary and secondary schools and collaborating with multiple departments in the University of Sheffield. Prior to this, Amanda has worked in agrochemical research and in animal welfare research, training teams of adult researchers across seven developing countries.

Registration

If you would like to enquire about setting up a course for your cohort, or would like to hear about opportunities to join as an individual, please complete this form and we'll be in touch.

Effective OutreachwithChildren