Friday 9 November 2012

Training and fraudulent CVs


1st entry: 13th October


My first entry into this log! Seeing as I haven’t actually been into a school yet, there isn’t too much to report – but a few words about the application process and our training seems like it might be handy for reflecting back on later.

So the application process – like many things, it began with one of those emails that appear in our university inboxes, which any student with a rational sense of self-preservation just deletes without opening. I must have been feeling a little masochistic that morning – or maybe the endorphins from the early morning power-walk to the King’s Buildings in the cold were to blame. Anyway, the email was opened and I found myself getting really excited about the Pro Science project. In a nutshell the idea is that 2nd year science students from Edinburgh University go into local schools to help out in some capacity with science lessons (or clubs, projects etc), with a view to encouraging more students to pursue higher education in science.

From a selfish perspective the project sounded fantastic because I am really interested in science communication and the Pro Science project seemed like a great way to get some experience communicating verbally – with a not necessarily receptive audience. I also just empathised with the project generally – I came to be studying physics through a string of unlikely circumstances, and whilst I’m now really happy with my degree choice, I’m very aware of all the preconceptions and prejudices surrounding science degrees.

I also felt a bit of a fraud when piecing together my application – I have worked with young people before, but always in a theatrical context, never an academic one. That brings me to my other point – why am I trying to convince people that further education in science is a good idea, when I spend all of my spare time acting, dancing, drawing and writing – all things that most people just would not associate with a science student? Eventually, rather than trying to avoid this, I made it the ‘theme’ of my application letter – generally, that I’d like students to realise that science isn’t – or doesn’t have to be – an imposing, isolated and exclusive world that excludes anyone with an interest in anything else. So under my ‘work experience’ section, I just included anything that involved working with young people and communicating generally. This probably made for a rather odd CV –the bulk of my work with teenagers involves helping out every summer as a voluntary make-up artist with National Youth Ballet. Although, arguably, if I can convince a teenage boy that, yes, he does need to wear eye-liner on stage, then convincing someone that maths can be interesting should be a doddle. Transferable skills!

After an interview with Katie Hudson – the founder of Pro Science - where we chatted about my rather eccentric CV and how I would respond if a student asked me why they should bother with science – and a wait of a few days, I received confirmation of my place on the project. Then it was just a matter of a couple of training sessions and we’d be let loose on the local schools!

The sessions were up at the King’s Buildings between about 5 and 8 for two evenings. I don’t think many people would claim to enjoy spending time at the King’s Buildings – something about the maze-like layout, the uphill trek to get there and the fact that the arts students are all basically unaware of its existence, all contribute to making it feel a bit like the Mordor of Edinburgh University. But, that said, I still wasn’t really sure what the project wanted from us and I also wasn’t complaining that we were all going to have our PVG disclosures (necessary for working with young people – or indeed anyone that can be defined as ‘vulnerable’) arranged and paid for.

In the end the rough structure of the training turned out to be this: the first session we heard from a student who had worked on the Pro Science project last year, and then from Neil, a representative of Edinburgh University who took us through what science communication means, and what the further reaching implications of the project could be; the second session we were spoken to by a practising teacher about how to deal with certain situations that might arise, and how to get through to different students, and finally 2 representatives for the ‘East Scotland’ sector of the STEM Ambassadors scheme.

So to explain a little bit – STEM Ambassadors are people with a background in any of the STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths) who, as the name suggests, act as ambassadors for those subjects. Pro Science very much falls under the STEM umbrella, and so all Pro Science volunteers also register as STEM ambassadors, and it’s through this affiliation that our PVG administration is handled. Frank and Kevin, the STEM representatives for East Scotland, were also able to provide us with a lot of information about how to actually conduct ourselves in schools. Patrick, the high school teacher, and Oonagh, who worked on the project past year, were also able to give us lots of pointers. As much as this project is about enthusing students about the sciences, in reality it involves working with schools, which like any institutions have their own rules, challenges and internal politics.

For example, as much as we might want to self-congratulate for committing to a voluntary project, it’s easy to imagine how irritating it could be for an over-worked teacher to be presented with a bright-eyed undergraduate and told to find a way to make them useful. Especially when it will be a good few weeks until they can really know whether that student is actually going to bother showing up regularly. Another aspect is that the kids themselves might not be interested – or alternatively, they might be really interested and we might get showered with questions we’ve no idea how to answer off the top of our heads! So this project isn’t really just about ‘being inspirational’. It’s going to require us to be motivational, to think on our feet, and also to be genuinely dedicated.

I suppose another factor is that every one of us is coming into this project for different reasons. Maybe to expand a CV, to get some experience working with young people, or perhaps just a genuine passion for science that should be shared! Whatever the reason, it’s going to be really interesting to see what different people get from the next year, and to see how we all feel coming out of the project. Looking back on these notes in retrospect will probably be quite interesting as well! Maybe we’ll all wonder just what we were thinking . . .

I’ll finish on that note for the moment. I don’t get to meet my school until the 26th because half term is coming up (humph, half-term) – but some other volunteers have already started to meet their staff and students. Next week we have a session that will inform us about integrating Pro Science with achieving the Edinburgh Award. More on that next time! 

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