Program resources

How to... Guide for Principals and Education Leaders

The STEM Professionals in Schools program has been shown to benefit schools by increasing the profile of STEM and and STEM-related careers by engaging students in innovative ways, mentoring and supporting teachers to deliver the curriculum, and providing a proven industry-school engagement model.

Use our How to Guide for Principals and Education Leaders PDF (189 KB) to get your school involved.

How to... Guide for Industry

By encouraging your staff to get involved your organisation is helping to develop the scientific literacy of students, enriching your relationships with clients and the broader community, and positioning your workplace as an employer of choice.

Use our How to Guide for Industry PDF (163 KB) to get involved.

Online learning modules (STEM professionals only)

The STEM Professionals in Schools Induction Modules guide STEM professionals through the early stages of engagement in the program. The modules are designed to provide information on what participating in the program involves and guidance on how to make the most of participation in the program.

We've developed a How to Guide for the Education and Outreach learning program PDF (1 MB). The guide provides guidance on accessing the Learning Management System, what to know before beginning, and how to commence, navigate and complete the program.

How to get started

Once you have been partnered, and like any new relationship, we know that sometimes it can be a little tricky to get things started, particularly for people who are coming together from different disciplines. We can provide you with some handy tips to get your STEM Professionals in Schools partnership started based on our experience and direct feedback from our partners. We also hold webinars for new partners to ensure you get off to a flying start. You will receive an invitation from your project officer to attend.

Use our How to Guide on Getting Started PDF (137 KB) to help develop your partnership.

Planning an activity

There is no limit to the activities you can run with your partner. It’s important to talk to each other about what sort of activities you can run in the timeframe available and what sort of activities might be suitable for the teacher and class to increase learning outcomes. This could include developing lesson plans to help bring the Australian curriculum to life, a career talk, presentation, hands-on activity, mentoring and a field trip.

Use our How to Guide for Planning a learning activity PDF (472 KB).

With a local project officer available for support, don't hesitate to get in touch with us if you need further advice on planning an activity or ideas to get you started.

Running an activity

When running your activities it's valuable to record key aspects of the activity, any significant achievements and lessons learned for future reference. Evaluation of your activities will assist your partnership to build up a suite of resources that enhance your engagement with the students over time.

Use our How to Guide for Evaluating a learning activity PDF (193 KB).

Providing an activity update

Activity updates are a vital part of the program. By updating us on your partnership activities we can better support you if needed. It's easy to do:

1. Go to the CSIRO Education Portal*, and by clicking on the Sign in button and using your email address and password, sign in to your dashboard.
2. Once signed in, click on the Partnerships tile on your dashboard.
3. Select STEM Professionals in Schools.
4. Select Add Activity (top right-hand corner).
5. Select Add New (top right-hand corner). An Activity Update Form will appear.
6. Complete the Activity Update Form, and then Submit.

Use our guide for How to Submit a Partnership Activity Update PDF (435 KB).

*For participants who have not updated their password through the new Education Portal since its upgrade on March 14 2022, please select Forgot my password and follow the prompts using your email address. A valid mobile phone number will also be required for authentication purposes.

CSIRO Education and Outreach also offers a range of educational programs that you can use in your partnership such as:

• Creativity in Research, Engineering, Science and Technology (CREST)
• Bebras computational thinking challenge

If you would like additional assistance, please email us via stemprofessionalsinschools@csiro.au.