Let's Talk Science Community Experience

What structures support the learning of all those connected to a school community?

How has Let's Talk Science responded to COVID-19 Pandemic? What changes have they made in their community and what services have they provided to continue with Science Education in a virtual world?

According to the LTS COVID Response Report, here are some of their achievements: 1. Expanded the Let’s Talk Careers: Canada’s Most Informed School Competition in partnership with Chatter High by adding an individual prize stream: 	✪ Over 2,500 Canadian youth from 200 schools across Canada (cumulatively) correctly answered 112,633 questions about careers. 	✪ More than 100 students earned small cash bursaries by correctly answering at least 200 questions each! 2. Created two new opportunities for Canadian youth to think about their futures and compete for prizes. 3. Ran That’s a Real Job! Contest, challenging Grades 5-12 students to propose a likely “future career” concept for use in a national campaign. 	✪ over 100 youth from across Canada submitted entries (winning entry from Grade 5 student for AI Ethical Counsellor) 	✪ over 2 million views to completion of promotional video showcasing our existing career content 4. Supported the expansion of The Solutioneers series that inspires girls in coding and STEM (produced by Shaftesbury) to include a suite of complementary videos, Future Minds, showcasing real youth doing scientific research and MakerSpace, to support doing robotics at home. 5. Teamed up with Exploring By The Seat of Your Pants to showcase video field trips, Tech Bandits to dive into makerspace technology, and TEAM Sisters to showcase the relevance of science.

Icicle Craft - Workshop on Glaciers Working as a panelist with Joyce (LTS Volunteer) introduced me to new workshop activities. One memorable one is the Icicle Activity that she did to show how glaciers affect the global sea level around the world. As she was explaining it to the viewers, many were asking questions on how these two concepts were connected. I liked how she used a story about a girl living in the tundra to show the connection and give importance to sustainability and taking care of the environment. Creating something as simple as a foil icicle is a reminder of the importance of environmental stewardship.

Butterfly Conservatory I attended a conference about butterflies and forest habitats. This workshop was hosted at the Niagara Butterfly Conservatory. I learned about the life cycle of the butterfly and saw exotic butterflies living in the greenhouse. This activity showed me that experiential education can easily take place online and be accessible to anyone in any part of the world. Virtual education opens new avenues of learning and brings new experiences. I liked how everyone was looking at the pupae and asking about the different varieties of butterflies in the live chat. I liked how the engagement between the host, panelist and viewers created a direct-feedback environment and stimulated conversation. This experience was memorable because it showed me how at LTS, members live all over Canada and they can use their environments to show how Science is a daily part of their lives.

Butterflies in Habitats - Catherine's First Workshop Working as a panelist with Joyce (LTS Volunteer) introduced me to new workshop activities. One memorable one is the Icicle Activity that she did to show how glaciers affect the global sea level around the world. As she was explaining it to the viewers, many were asking questions on how these two concepts were connected. I liked how she used a story about a girl living in the tundra to show the connection and give importance to sustainability and taking care of the environment. Creating something as simple as a foil icicle is a reminder of the importance of environmental stewardship.

Community Placement Log

Click on the image to see the corresponding activity

1. STEM Education Today 2. Let's Talk Science Team 3. Heure du Conte STIM 4. Training Experience 5. Workshop Development Process 6. My Placement Log 7. My Workshop Video and Reflection 8. Webinar Recordings 9. Memorable Experiences 10. FAQ

What resources are available to support how we come to know our students, their families and the communities in which they reside?

LTS provides a variety of resources for students to engage in hands-on activities to study scientific concepts prevalent in the Ontario Curriculum. It focuses on an informal approach and active approach to learning science that involves the parent, educator or peer to engage in experiments. These informal educational experiences immerse the student in STEM learning that is less intimidating than a traditional classroom environment and educates children on STEM from a young age. Many of the volunteers at LTS have a passion for science and come from a variety of backgrounds, not just with traditional STEM experience. This makes cross-curricular learning process easier as the volunteers will model this type of learning when making personal connections to their activities.

Let's Talk Science does research on STEM Education in Canada and these were their most recent findings posted on their website. These annual reports give a broad idea of how the community impacts youth through their social and educational efforts.

As a volunteer, I got trained to be a workshop host and panelist. I learned to develop, design, produce and present workshops virtually in French. These would be done through Hour of STEM - Storytime, or translated in french, Heure du Conte STIM. Catherine and I were trained through Ryan Kahue, Lauren Hollis and Joyce Desmund.

LTS provides a variety of professional resources for students, educators, volunteers and youth workers in every domain. Their webinars focus on the future of technology and science and how to incorporate science outside the class and online. The content is presented through outreach, webinars, workshops and online courses. The combination of these online formats makes it accessible for all audiences. They also have email newsletters, blogs on their website and educational brochures.

What are some things you have learned in this course that have confirmed and/or changed your thinking about the relationships between schools and communities?

Sept 24 – Tanagrams <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Ki-LQXsTYFcUG6x91rn0V9Y4xatCB_J-/view?usp=share_link">https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Ki-LQXsTYFcUG6x91rn0V9Y4xatCB_J-/view?usp=share_link</a> Sept 26 - Morbius Strip&nbsp; <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Gud9P9LcLxQdsLu-yl6W0SHWV6JXB1Ps/view?usp=share_link">https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Gud9P9LcLxQdsLu-yl6W0SHWV6JXB1Ps/view?usp=share_link</a> Oct 04 -&nbsp;Spectacle de papillons&nbsp; <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YhCIA2sZDmbJ69gYKepznLH9EAliCT4X/view?usp=share_link">https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YhCIA2sZDmbJ69gYKepznLH9EAliCT4X/view?usp=share_link</a> Oct 18 - STEM Storytime (Rec) – Le cycle de vie d'un papillon&nbsp; <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1W4hkK3sGd2AwFq9l6XIRkB5GBaMYiwhI/view?usp=share_link">https://drive.google.com/file/d/1W4hkK3sGd2AwFq9l6XIRkB5GBaMYiwhI/view?usp=share_link</a> Nov 02 - STEM Storytime (Live) – Baguette magique&nbsp; <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/14MBBAajqMdr_dWpkzHNj0vBnUYt_lXJt/view?usp=share_link">https://drive.google.com/file/d/14MBBAajqMdr_dWpkzHNj0vBnUYt_lXJt/view?usp=share_link</a> Nov 16 - STEM Storytime (Live) – Énergie eolienne&nbsp; <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Z59D9KIfN6pTymQRWDZ3RSs3oDYLehJp/view?usp=share_link">https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Z59D9KIfN6pTymQRWDZ3RSs3oDYLehJp/view?usp=share_link</a> Nov 30 - STEM Storytime (Live) – Les habitats des animaux&nbsp; <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/18-zyiBsPT6IH0_IWr9sbhPENBxi5U36z/view?usp=share_link">https://drive.google.com/file/d/18-zyiBsPT6IH0_IWr9sbhPENBxi5U36z/view?usp=share_link</a> Jan 25 - STEM Storytime- Flottabilité et densité&nbsp; <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sTupAFHg7tcTQbkbNl0m1n4g8_mR5wow/view?usp=share_link">https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sTupAFHg7tcTQbkbNl0m1n4g8_mR5wow/view?usp=share_link</a> Feb 08 - Storytime Session – Glacons&nbsp; <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/157LpsK9njENH1bciGpEWWbGZ67g6Ds06/view?usp=share_link">https://drive.google.com/file/d/157LpsK9njENH1bciGpEWWbGZ67g6Ds06/view?usp=share_link</a> March 08 - Storytime Session - La musique&nbsp; <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GgT-Zt1sqamzNQlEbcZWwHWBHgiFVYn5/view?usp=share_link">https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GgT-Zt1sqamzNQlEbcZWwHWBHgiFVYn5/view?usp=share_link</a> March 22 - Les empreintes digitals&nbsp; <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/15z8YygrJ4GJAalfGD5ri2SSMPDHxdDZI/view?usp=share_link">https://drive.google.com/file/d/15z8YygrJ4GJAalfGD5ri2SSMPDHxdDZI/view?usp=share_link</a>

Step 1: Select a scientific concept you want to focus on during your workshop Step 2: Find appropriate materials a) a children's book for the Storytime Session b) a 2-minute physical activity icebreaker c) a home experiment/home-made craft Step 3: Develop instructional strategies that will aid you in transitioning from one section to another during your session. (ie. discussion questions, memory association activities that reviews the concept, etc.) Step 4: Have slides translated from English to French if necessary. Step 5: Practice presenting your activity Infront of peers, family and supervisor. Try to get feedback on your delivery, organization, coherence, etc. Step 6: Prepare for your Live session, meet with your panelists prior to discuss how the queries will be answered, which questions will be posted as polls on Zoom, workshop agenda, etc. Step 7: Present the workshop

I learned to facilitate an online workshop on Zoom through presenting my activity on Density and Buoyancy. Many of the viewers enjoyed the story because they felt the experience of trying something new was relatable. My most memorable moment is asking the viewers to identify if an object would float/sink before dropping it in water. This anticipation was very engaging for my viewers because they would comment their thoughts and anticipate for the outcome. Some of the viewers would also do the activity simultaneously, so when I did the countdown, they could experience the outcome at the same time. 

Flottabilité et densité

La gravité

Introduction and Icebreakers I did icebreakers with Lauren, Ryan, Catherine and Joyce and using this as an opportunity to get to know them. This familiarized me with everyone in the team and helped me adapt with the culture at LTS. We talked about interesting subjects like our favorite types of icecream and what one object would we bring to a desert island. I found this icebreaker helpful because I learned about what my co-workers value and how I can also bring my skills to the team.

Some of the skills I learned: 	- Research educational resources for Storytime sessions 	- Design activities suited for grade K-4 and adhere to the Ontario Science Curriculum 	- Consult with supervisors throughout the design process 	- Use webinar features on Zoom and act as panelist/host for webinars