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Getting feedback on STEM activities

Welcome to the first week of 'Using feedback to improve', the fourth in the Inspiring People in STEM program.
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[Angela] Welcome to Using Feedback to Improve, the final of four courses in the Inspiring Young People in STEM program aimed at STEM ambassadors and other volunteers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Over the next two weeks you’ll learn how to gather induced feedback to improve the experience of young people who participate in your practical STEM activities. Drawing upon feedback, you’ll be able to enhance the learning that takes place, better relate your experiences to the lives of young people, and engage them in STEM subjects. Using feedback, it’s not just about improving your STEM activity. It’s important to gather feedback from others and to reflect yourselves.
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Not only to improve your volunteering in the future, but to develop your own skills and knowledge which can be transferable to your workplace and other environments. This week we’ll identify the range of people who could provide feedback on your volunteering activities. We’ll look at a variety of formal and informal tools and techniques to gather immediate feedback from young people. We’ll also be examining how you might ask educators for feedback and start thinking about how this could impact on your own self-reflection. I’d like you to share your experiences and ideas with others in the comments section and when doing activities.
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Do take the time to reflect on your practice and contribute to discussions, as this will help you get the most out of this course. First, I’d like you to introduce yourself, and tell us what you hope to get out of this course in the comments below.

Welcome to ‘Using Feedback to Improve’, the fourth and final course in the Inspiring Young People in STEM program.

How do you know whether you have met the objectives when doing STEM activities, not only your objectives but those of your employer, the volunteering programme and the needs of the young people and the educator? Self-reflection is important: asking ourselves what went well and whether there is anything which can be improved on for the future. However, self-reflection only goes part way to giving you the answer. Who else can give you feedback?

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

  • Use different tools with groups of young people to obtain immediate feedback about practical STEM activities.
  • Reflect on feedback to improve presentation skills with young people and the effectiveness of the STEM activity.
  • Contribute towards employer and programme evaluation of STEM volunteering activities.
  • Identify further opportunities for professional development and skills development relating to volunteering and inspiring young people in STEM subjects.

Orientation

If you’re new to online learning, or new to FutureLearn, you may find the How it works guide helpful. The Crowdsourced Guide to Learning and Six tips and tools for social learning on FutureLearn may also be of interest.

As you progress through the course you will be asked to undertake several tasks each week. You will have the opportunity to:

  • Try out approaches to gathering feedback
  • Discuss ideas with fellow learners
  • Reflect on your learning

Tasks and discussions

Tasks are titled as such and are highlighted with a vertical line in the left-margin – like the one against this paragraph. The first tasks of this course are at the bottom of this page.

Learning together

This course is designed to enable support from fellow learners, particularly via the discussions. Feel free to share your thoughts and questions about the course and share your experiences as a volunteer. This course has been designed for you to learn from each other, so please ask for advice by posting a question as a comment in the relevant course step. If you can help a fellow learner, go ahead and reply or suggest different ways of thinking about how to do things.

Get started

Introduce yourself

To get us started, say hello, who you are, and what volunteering role you have in the comments below.

Mark complete

When you complete a step on the course, click ‘Mark as Complete’ at the bottom right. This helps you keep track of your progress. Mark over 90% of the course steps complete and you’ll be eligible for a Certificate of Achievement when you Upgrade.
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Volunteering in the Classroom: Feedback, Reviewing and Improving STEM Activities

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