STIMULUS Project Progress Report 2013/14 Placing University students in local schools to support science, mathematics and computing classes

“STIMULUS has given me the opportunity to reach out to help school students understand and appreciate what they are learning better. It has been a joy for me to be involved in, something that I always look forward to every week.”

STIMULUS volunteer 2013/14 stimulus.ucam.org

STIMULUS is a community service programme which gives Cambridge University students the opportunity to work with pupils in local schools, helping with Maths, Science, Computer Science or Technology lessons. STIMULUS students work as volunteer teaching assistants in the classroom, alongside the class teacher.

In the 2013/14 academic year STIMULUS created 291 placements for Cambridge student volunteers in local schools, the highest annual total in the programme’s history.

85 Cambridge student volunteers held STIMULUS placements in the 2013/14 Michaelmas (Autumn) university term, and in the Lent (Easter) term, a record 206 students volunteered for STIMULUS. Placements were organised in 38 local primary and secondary schools and sixth form colleges.

“It's fantastic for students to have the opportunity to discuss science informally with passionate, knowledgeable and ‘real’ scientists not much further down the science route than they are.”

STIMULUS placement teacher 2013/14

1 “Really enjoyed the opportunity to develop interpersonal and communication skills that the scheme provided and felt it was a great way to give back to and inspire the local community.”

STIMULUS volunteer 2013/14

How do STIMULUS volunteers help in schools?

STIMULUS placements give Cambridge University students the opportunity to work as volunteer Teaching Assistants for one afternoon each week for a full term, alongside teachers in the classroom. Examples of ways in which the STIMULUS volunteers may assist the class teacher include:

• Helping to support pupils generally in the classroom • Assisting with practical work • Encouraging pupils to talk about their work, using key vocabulary • Asking questions which help pupils develop their understanding • Encouraging pupils to engage with the task • Helping sixth-formers during a lunchtime “surgery” • Taking practical materials in from a university department • Taking a small group to work on extension topics • Working one-to-one with an exceptionally able pupil • Discussing university applications with sixth-formers • Helping with after school Science Clubs and Homework clubs

Volunteers acquire a range of skills and contribute to the community

The STIMULUS programme provides an opportunity for Cambridge students to give something back to the local community, and also develops volunteers’ transferable communication, leadership and interpersonal skills.

“A great programme - the school pupils and the university students benefit enormously.”

STIMULUS placement teacher 2013/14

2 “STIMULUS has greatly enhanced my interest in teaching as a

career, but even beside that I have learned so many transferable skills from working alongside a teacher and leading a small group of children by myself too.”

STIMULUS volunteer

Of the 2013/14 cohort of student volunteers:

• 84% of respondents to the 2013/14 evaluation felt that taking part in STIMULUS had made them more confident;

• 78% felt that their STIMULUS placement had helped them to improve their communication skills;

• 61% felt that participating in a STIMULUS placement had made them better at taking the initiative.

In addition to the immediate benefit and links to the local community one of the aims of STIMULUS is to encourage high-calibre Cambridge students to consider a career in teaching, giving them experience in the classroom and a better understanding of the rewards and demands of being a teacher. Each year a significant number of STIMULUS volunteers go on to follow a PGCE course or to participate in the Teach First scheme, and the programme therefore hopes to make a long-term contribution to raising standards and aspirations in schools all over the country through encouraging more Cambridge graduates in science and maths to teach. 51% of STIMULUS volunteers in 2013/14 said that taking part in the programme had made them more likely to consider teaching as a career.

Volunteers study a broad range of subjects: a breakdown of the number of volunteers by subject studied is given overleaf. In the 2013/14 , 66 of the student volunteers were undergraduates, 7 postgraduates studying for a Masters-level degree (e.g. Part III, M.Phil) and 12 were PhD research students. In the Lent term, 171 of the STIMULUS volunteers were undergraduates, 18 postgraduate Masters- level students, and 17 were PhD students.

3 “One of my favourite experiences at Cambridge.”

STIMULUS volunteer 2013/14

4 “Stimulus has really been a great learning experience for me. It really made me think about how to present relatively complex ideas in a simple and understandable way. It was a joy teaching the kids slightly more challenging concepts in Mathematics and inspiring them to take an interest in Mathematics.”

STIMULUS volunteer 2013/14

Schools hosting STIMULUS Schools hosting STIMULUS volunteer placements in 2013/14 volunteer placements in 2013/14

Castle School Ridgefield Primary School

Chesterton Community College Sancton Wood

Coleridge Community College

Fen Ditton Community Primary St Albans Catholic Primary School

Girton Glebe Primary School St Bedes Inter-Church Comprehensive School Hills Road Sixth Form College St Faith’s Icknield Primary School St Laurence's RC Primary School Impington Village College St Luke's Primary School Long Road Sixth Form College St Mary’s Cambridge

Mayfield Primary School St Matthew's Primary School

Milton Primary School St Paul’s Primary School

Milton Road Primary School St Philip's Primary School

Morley Memorial Primary School Stapleford Primary School

Newnham Croft Primary School

Orchard Park Community Primary The School Parkside Community College

Queen Edith Community Primary School

“The STIMULUS volunteer made a real difference in the groups that he supported, and was sorely missed when his term finished. His commitment was outstanding.”

STIMULUS placement teacher 2013/14

5 “We are always delighted to welcome STIMULUS students. They act as excellent role models and ambassadors for both their subjects and the University. Thank you for allowing us to participate in the scheme.”

STIMULUS placement teacher 2013/14

Acknowledgements

We are very grateful to all our supporters, past and present, whose generosity has enabled hundreds of volunteer Cambridge students to help in local schools.

We would particularly like to thank all those who have supported us over the past year:

The Winton Charitable Foundation;

The Ogden Trust;

Mr Mark Otway;

Metaswitch Networks;

Colleges of the , including: Christ's College, Churchill College, Clare Hall, Corpus Christi College, Emmanuel College, Girton College, Gonville and Caius College, Homerton College, Jesus College, Lucy Cavendish College, Murray Edwards College (formerly New Hall), Newnham College, Pembroke College, Peterhouse, Queens’ College, Selwyn College, Sidney Sussex College, St Edmund’s College, Trinity College;

University of Cambridge Departments, Faculties and Schools, including: Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Computer Laboratory, Economics, Engineering, Physics, Pure Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics.

Contact details Website: stimulus.ucam.org Rob Percival, STIMULUS Programme Co-ordinator Centre for Mathematical Sciences, Wilberforce Road, Cambridge CB3 0WA Email: [email protected]

“I discovered so much about the children I was teaching. I found it really inspiring to be giving them skills which would have a positive impact on the rest of their lives.”

STIMULUS volunteer 2013/14

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