The report also goes on outlining four teaching strategies, which foster STEM careers awareness, derived from a series of interviews with science teachers: 

the study entitled “The Emerging Role of Science Teachers in Facilitating STEM Career Awareness”  (Cohen & Patterson, 2012)

“Future Proof Yourself” Report (The Future Laboratory & Microsoft)

There are about 350 students aged 16-18.

 Class sizes range from 15 to 25 and there are lessons until 2.15p.m. 
 I do not have my own classroom and rotate around different rooms throughout the day. Classroom layout is very traditional and students sit in rows in front of the teacher's desk.  We have only one projectors which can be used by schedule from all teachers. We have not laptops or tablets in classes.

There is a computer lab with 16 PCs where we can take students upon reservation, but our WiFi connectivity is very weak, so even the best designed lesson can end up in a total flop.

Smartphones are not allowed at any school in Greece.

This design will provide with a context for learning through mathematical processes. The analytical element of these processes will also allow students to use science inquiry to create and conduct experiments. These experiments will inform the learner about the function and performance of potential design solutions for the construction of their object/prototype. Students can benefit from this design, as it provides them with a systematic approach to solving problems in the STEM fields. Finally, it will allow students to build upon their own experiences and it will provide them with opportunities to construct new science and math knowledge through design analysis and scientific investigation.
2. Scientific inquiry/Inquiry Based Science Education (IBSE): An inquiry approach to instruction requires teachers to “encourage and model the skills of scientific inquiry, as well as the curiosity, openness to new ideas, and skepticism that characterize science”. Scientific inquiry prepares students to think and act like real scientists, ask questions, hypothesize, and conduct investigations using standard science practices. However, an inquiry-based approach involves a high level of knowledge and engagement on the part of the teachers and students. Teachers often feel unprepared because they are lacking authentic scientific research and inquiry experiences themselves. However, through IBSE, students will be able to construct their own questions related to the science content they are investigating while becoming drivers of their learning.
3. Project based learning (PBL): Project based learning approach can be defined as “the ongoing act of learning about different subjects simultaneously”. When engaged in project-based learning, students will be assigned a project or a number of projects guiding them to identify, through research, a real-world problem and to develop its solution using evidence to support the claim. This approach usually requires students to use diverse skills (such as researching, writing, interviewing, working in teams, speaking in public, etc.) to produce different pieces of work (like research papers following experiment results, multimedia presentations or video documentaries, among others).

a) Leading CEL: A teacher leading CEL will be someone that, either has a teaching background or not, but needs to be familiar with and be able to coordinate various stakeholders involved in providing CEL to the school. Therefore, a teacher in this role would be someone in a middle leader position, and a Career co-ordinator. 

b) Senior leadership: This role is taken up, normally, by someone of the school’s senior leadership team. In this role, the person would “connect CEL to the school’s mission and ethos, identify resourcing for CEL programmes, appointing and managing the school career’s leader” and other tasks.  (table 2 page 30-31)

Τεχνητή Νοημοσύνη 2

Student internships (or job shadowing initiatives) give direct opportunities to profit from an insider’s view of different STEM career jobs.
Both of these options offer students with excellent chances, specifically: 

Overall, the success of a student internship (or job shadowing) will depend on highly motivated professional job shadowers. Students/interns will benefit by taking time to reflect on the critical aspects of the job profile, work culture and other habits beforehand, thus facilitating a better understanding of what and how to make the best out of the internship experience.

(STEM) career fairs offer students with a great opportunity to connect with employers and learn about different career prospects. These can offer students many benefits, among them: 

However, there are always challenges related to STEM career fairs. Some of them being:

Virtual job fairs are the online version of a traditional career fair. These fairs allow students to meet and discuss employment opportunities through specialised websites in a live but fully interactive manner. Some disadvantages of virtual job fairs include:

These career related options provide students with a number of presentations related to specific careers, often held by a professional in the field.  The advantages of these options include:

The STEM Alliance and the SYSTEMIC projects have developed a guide to engage company professionals (technicians, scientists, engineers, researchers or employment and recruiting managers) to visit schools and participate in collaborative activities with them. The aim is to close the gap between industry and education sectors, to raise pupils and teachers’ awareness on STEM careers and to promote STEM jobs. Check out the following two booklets, one addressed to schools and one addressed to companies. These booklets are based on the framework of the “Professionals go back to school” initiative. 

Career exhibitions provide with static displays with information related to different STEM careers. While they provide with a nice option to show specific evidence, they often lack the human factor, which can make them less engaging. Nonetheless, when set-up in conjunction with other initiatives (such as career talks or events fairs) these exhibitions can be an interesting option to support STEM career engagement.         

Organizing a job fair takes substantial time and effort. Most efforts occur during the planning stage, were organizers are busy laying the groundwork (from establishing objectives, targeting an audience or planning a budget). Indeed, the specifics of organizing careers events are manifold and attention to detail is key. Watch the video below to find out about the key steps you should follow in the planning phase of a STEM careers event. 

Once the planning stages are completed, the event will start coming to life. However, it is important not to miss a trick and to keep in mind that there are still many duties to carry out, specifically, related to the event implementation and during the event itself. From risk assessment to logistics, it will be essential to draw a masterplan that keeps the team and its activities together. Watch the video below to learn about the main tasks in the implementation phase.

Last but not least, it is essential to complete a number of post event actions, not only as follow up activities with different stakeholders, but also as a way to disseminate the main outcomes of the event and, most importantly, to evaluate its results.

 Organizing fairs will become easier over time as one gains experience, establishes procedures, amasses contacts, and implements improvements. To get an idea of what does fair organization entail, in the words of an experienced professional, check the Scientix Opening minds to STEM careers newsletter.

The Teen Science Café is an initiative led by the Science Centre in Malta, offering young teenage students opportunities to encounter a number of professional experts in different STEM fields. The focus of these encounters is that of supporting interactive exchange between professionals and students and to engage the latter in conversations about STEM topics and career paths, in an informal setting. The objectives of this project are to positively affect students' academic and career choices and to serve as an outreach exercise to promote careers in science and technology. 

The organization of Science Cafés can entail numerous rewards for pupils, as they offer an excellent opportunity for students to engage with the science community. Furthermore, they are planned in a dynamic manner, involving two-way interactions between scientists and students. In this manner, students will feel empowered to learn and they will gain valuable perspectives from both the STEM professional and academic worlds. 

Science Cafés need adequate planning to invite accomplished professionals, as the right choice of experts is key to ensure effective and dynamic interaction. Ideally, Science Café activities will be held out of the typical class environment. The objective of this is to ensure the informal setting of the science cafés in order to facilitate interaction and engagement. Take a sneak peek at the activities of the Teen Science Café initiative, through the following video. 

The full details of these practices can be found in the The Emerging Role of Science Teachers in Facilitating STEM Career Awareness (Cohen & Patterson, 2012) study.