How to Share an activity update This guide will help you evaluate your STEM Professionals in Schools partnership activity and identify what worked well and what could be improved for future planning. Providing an activity update Activity updates are a vital part of the program. They provide a mechanism for you to record activities and share your partnership experience with our team. Recording an activity update is easy to do: Go to the CSIRO Education portal: education.csiro.au, and by clicking on the Sign in button and using your email address and password, sign in to your dashboard. Once signed in, click on the Partnerships tile on your dashboard. Select STEM Professionals in Schools. Select Add activity (top right-hand corner). Select Add new (top right-hand corner). An Activity Update Form will appear. Complete the form and then Submit. You can also request assistance from the CSIRO Education and Outreach team via an activity update, if needed. Why activity updates matter Evaluating partnership activities supports reflection on how the activity went and provides an opportunity to share ideas for improvement or further development with your partner. Look at the sample partnership activity updates on the following page for inspiration on activities and examples of how continuous reflection, simple adjustments and genuine appreciation can help partnerships grow and improve over time. ÒMake the collaboration meaningful by starting with small, practical activities. Sharing enthusiastic student feedback also helps show your paired professional the real impact of their time and keeps the partnership rewarding for everyone.Ó Kiran Yousaf, Teacher, ACT Top tip: supporting shared learning We love sharing partnership stories from across Australia to inspire others and spark new ideas for other partnerships Ð and your updates help us do this. Sample partnership activity updates Explore these real examples from STEM Professionals in Schools partnerships to see the many ways STEM professionals and teachers collaborate to engage students, connect classroom learning to real-world STEM, and build meaningful learning experiences together. Dr. Megan recently visited our school to collaborate with students on an hands-on project: building native animal boxes. Utilising the Makedo designed models they had created in a previous session, the students applied their designs to real-life construction. Dr. Megan assisted them through the process. Her visit not only enhanced their understanding of native wildlife but also fostered teamwork and practical problem-solving skills, leaving a lasting impact on the students and their appreciation for local biodiversity. We held a broad ranging discussion with a presentation on previously voted popular topics of the classesÕ choice including, the theory of the multiverse, the big bang, how the sun was formed, how the earth and moon were formed, abiogenesis, evolution and modern humans. I spent three terms working with a very bright composite class of Years 3 & 4 working on Financial Mathematics. We built a Basic Food Price Index for Sydney. It is surprising how many STEM concepts can be covered under this topic. It was an interesting class; the children were very enthusiastic. There were a few missteps along the way but... we all learned a lot. I learned enough to know how to make improvements for any subsequent classes. I am a Radio Amateur (HAM) and I hid a small transmitter in the school grounds. Then I met with the students and talked about the history of spies using radio transmitters in 20th Century wars, and how both sides used Radio Direction Finding to locate their transmitters as we walked around the school grounds with a directional antenna and several hand-held radios to locate the hidden transmitter. In Amateur Radio this is called Òfox huntingÓ. Dan brought along an experiment whereby he was demonstrating how much energy was in a variety of different food. He literally burned the calories and measured the temperature to illustrate how much energy is in different foods. Students then participated in some activities where they burned calories through skipping, etc. ÒIÕm still surprised by how easy itÕs been. We built the whole unit around a real-world problem we wanted students to solve. The unit weÕve created has turned into something weÕre genuinely excited about, and that excitement will definitely carry over into the classroom.Ó Rebecca Davis, Teacher, Qld Support and assistance Please remember to complete an activity update through the Education Portal. The CSIRO Education and Outreach team is available to support your partnership if you need guidance or assistance. For more tips, ideas and peer support join the STEM Professionals in Schools LinkedIn group STEM Professionals in Schools is funded by the Australian Government Department of Education.