This poster outlines a pilot scheme for delivering CPD training to undergraduate STEM students, utilising trainee science teachers as “near-peer” mentors to enhance student volunteers’ ability to undertake science outreach activities in local schools and the wider community.
The driving force for this project is to tackle the teacher shortage in STEM subjects, which it is hoped can be achieved in a number of ways. The trainee teachers themselves will develop their professional skills by acting as mentors while STEM students will become more closely engaged with the profession, current pedagogy and young people within schools. This effectively serves as a marketing tool which potentially increases the likelihood of these students applying for Initial Teacher Training (ITT). Finally, the long-term goal is to enhance children’s enthusiasm for science at an early stage, with a view to widening participation and improving uptake of STEM subjects at A-level and in Higher Education – nurturing the interest and talent of a future generation of teachers
