Stuart Naismith is a North Lanarkshire primary teacher specialising in science, technology, engineering and maths (Stem) education, who is behind the YouTube channel Stem with Mr N.

This month he won the Excellence in Primary Education Award 2023 from the Royal Society of Chemistry, after winning the Primary Science Teaching Trust Award in 2022.

He recently had an article published in the Association for Science Education journal on introducing Stem careers to primary pupils. He also serves on the board of directors and trustees for the Scottish Stem education charity SSERC.

Naismith tells Tes Scotland about how to open children’s eyes to Stem, the dangers of in-class Google searches and why teaching is one of the most rewarding careers of all.

1. What I wish I’d known when I started teaching is…

How packed the curriculum is. I entered teaching through a postgraduate diploma in education route, where we were able to touch on most elements of the curriculum as standalone lessons to meet the requirements of placements.

Teaching requires a lot more cross-curricular working than I was initially aware of and, while I was able to develop this ability - particularly in Stem - it would have been good to have had more time and experience learning how to do it effectively.

2. The most important qualities a teacher needs are…

The ability to build positive relationships with their pupils. Children learn best when they are in an environment where they feel safe and have positive relationships. This allows you to connect with the pupils and engage them in their learning.

Patience and resilience are also important. The role can be tough at times and you need to be able to keep your composure and deal with different issues, from classroom behaviour to intense workload.

3. The most important lessons I’ve learned from doing this job are…

The impact that we can have on the children in our care, and the need to be a positive role model. It’s a privileged position I hold as a teacher, to be able to shape young minds and help them grow and develop their interests.

Pupils tend to value what you say and can be inspired by what you are presenting them. I’ve had this experience just this past week where a pupil has said they want to be just like me when they grow up.

I think, as teachers, we should never take for granted the impact we can have on young lives and must take this responsibility seriously.

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4. The best change I ever made in my practice was…

Starting to create Stem education videos on YouTube, under the name Stem with Mr N. This started during the first Covid-19 lockdown to continue Stem education for pupils in my school, although I also made other schools aware this was available.

Starting simply as Stem experiments and activities, it has expanded to include robotics and coding, interviews with Stem professionals, among others, and it is used by pupils, teachers and parents, all in support of Stem education.

This has had a positive impact on pupils as they see a teacher from their school active on the sites and apps that they engage with (as I branched out to TikTok, for example), which makes them engage more with classroom learning.

This has also opened up opportunities to share the stories of some amazing people and led to my leading Stem assemblies in my school.

5. If I could change something about Scottish education it would be…

Gearing the curriculum more towards a focus on skills that will be required in the workplace. As someone who specialises in and promotes Stem education, this may be a biased viewpoint. However, there are big skills gaps emerging in Stem fields, without an adequate pipeline coming through the education system to fill the gap.

More needs to be done to bring awareness of Stem careers to the attention of pupils when they are young, engage them in the necessary skills practice and encourage our workforce of the future so that we are not left without our engineers of tomorrow, while also providing our pupils with their best chance of success in the job market.

6. My most memorable moment as a teacher was…

The most purely memorable? Having a science experiment go slightly wrong at an assembly in front of around 150 pupils. It resulted in me being covered in water and red food colouring, which ultimately went viral on TikTok.

What was great about this, though, is that it made the Stem assemblies even more exciting for the pupils, and they remembered what they were learning about at that time because of that moment.

In terms of seeing the development of a pupil, I’d have to go back to my very first classes. A pupil told me within the first couple of weeks that they would never get full marks on their spelling test. I told them it was possible and that they would get there.

I can’t remember how far through the year it was, but after creeping closer and closer, they achieved full marks. The look on their face was amazing - absolutely beaming with pride. From what I understand, they did not feel anyone had really believed in them the way I did. That moment has always stuck with me.

7. The worst mistake I ever made was…

Following a lesson where we had been making edible coral polyps, pupils had asked what coral polyps look like. Forgetting that polyps do not only come in the coral variety, I did a Google image search - with the smartboard on - for “polyps” and had to quickly click away so the pupils could not see the images of the human variety of polyps...

8. My top tip for aspiring teachers is…

Speak to teachers and learn about what the job is really like. It is definitely very rewarding - and becoming a teacher is one of the best decisions I’ve made in my life - but there is a lot of time spent doing work outside of normal working hours, with planning, preparing and printing at home and lots of other paperwork.

After speaking to people, it may put you off and that’s fine - it’s not for everyone. However, even for those who do press ahead, it’s better to be prepared for what to expect as a teacher.

9. When dealing with challenging pupils, my go-to strategy is…

To remain calm. There are other pupils in the class who need to see that you are calm and in control, even if you do not feel that way. This links back to my previous answer about having patience and resilience. There will be times when you will be faced with tricky behaviours in a class, and you need to find a way to manage the situation that will work in the long term.

Remaining calm, working through the challenges and being consistent will help pupils see where the boundaries are, and that you are there to help them through their difficulties.

10. The best CPD I ever did was…

Either CPD I undertook with the European Space Agency out in Belgium, or with the UK Centre for Astrobiology at the University of Edinburgh. The former, because I was able to mix with teachers from across Europe and learn about different ways that space could be incorporated into my classroom, while also trying out space simulation machines.

As for the latter, I was able to start an after-school club, combining different experiments and activities to tell the story of astrobiologists going in search of life on other planets. I will actually be presenting this eight-week programme of low-cost science at the Science on Stage Festival 2024 in Turku, Finland, which will be an amazing experience.

Oh, and I got to touch a rock that is older than our solar system, which was amazing!

Stuart Naismith shared his answers with Henry Hepburn, Scotland editor at Tes