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I really like your question Marie, it’s speific to your school context and area which I think would be really relevant to the chidlren and interest them!
My research question would be ‘How could we as a school contribute to the community’s ‘Marino Energy Master Plan’ to meet Climate Action Plan targets?’
Explanation: The school I teach in is in a town in Dublin, Marino and upon researching this question I found out that the community has a ‘Marino Energy Master Plan’. This is relevant to our local area and allows for links with the community when participating in the Climate Detectives Project.
I would encourage my pupils to participate by peaking their interest in the topic first of all, I would use the videos, resources and sample lessons provided in thai course to develop the children’s understanding of space and climate change aswell as showing them the role they can play in it. These prior lessons and learning will act as a stimulus to the ‘Climate Dectives Project’ where I would introduce the question/ aid them in creating their own research question depending on their age level/ ability. Based specifically on my question I may contact the Marino Institute of Education and see if children in my class could interview them on the climate change initiatives they already have in place and how we could implement them at a primary school llevel. If possible I would arrange a trip up to the institute for the children to see their initiatives in real life and develop their interest further through a ‘field trip’.I would also link in with other community groups involved to make the project hands-on and active for the children.
I agree with Alan on the idea of spreading the idea further across the school, involving the green school committee is a great idea!
I completed assignment option 3 ‘ESA Resource ‘ Nose High Up in The Sky’. I found this resource very informative and think it would be very useful in the classroom. I think that activity 1 regarding the old proverbs and the climate and weather science behind them is a really engaging and entertaining introduction to the topic which would help them to remember the content in a fun way while also encouraging science based discussions. Activity 2 was helpful in enabling the children to link real life context (their senses) to scientific gauges of weather and climate (wind, rain temperature and clouds). It is also interactive and individual understanding which I liked and found accessible to all levels of ability in the class. I really liked activity 3 also as it enables children to be in charge of their own learning at each step in an active way. I also liked the idea of the ‘weather diary’ to enable them to follow through with their investigation and come to a learning conclusion.I would definitely use this resource in my classroom as it had differentiation for all ages and abilities which makes it really adaptable to the real life classroom context. I would use it exactly as laid out as I think it was informative, active, engaging, accessible and can be tweaked where needed with guidance on where to do so.
I agree with Marie that using short clips followed by discussion woul work best in a classroom setting!
The Climate Aid 2020 video sent a harrowing message ‘If we don’t protect nature we cant protect ourselves’ combined with photographic evidence of drastic climate change which demonmstrates the gravity of the situation and explores the impact on us as humans. I love the message of children being leaders in this and being the voice to convince the adults/ companys/ governments who can make changes to do it for their sake. A really encouraging message for young people. The ‘Home’ movie explains climate change with beautiful and serious imagery that shows our earth. It represents our beautiful planet and the need to protect it while also explaining the fragile nature of it and our effect on it asking us to help. I also enjoyed the Greta Thunberg video as it shows a child similar to them sharing this messaging and makes it relevant to them.
All these videos provide usual information and imagery for children and suit a lot of different learning styles. I think I would use these videos to introduce climate change facts however I think I may show certain parts/sections depending on the specific topic being covered as there was a lot of areas covered in the long movie. I would also show certain parts based on the children’s age level and specific circumstances such as concentration etc… I may also use these videos as inspiration to encourage the children to make their own climate change and solutions video which they could share with eachother and other classes in the school to further spread the dangers of climate change and ways to help.
I agreee aswell that google slides is a great idea! It allows the children to embed their learning by presenting the information while also developing their skills in technology also. Thanks!
Assignment response to activity 3: This resource of activity 3 could be used in the class to introduce children to the topic of climate change by explaining the science behind it in a child-friendly way starting with the Paxi video. I would show the video in a whole class setting to introduce the topic, followed by the class discussions outlined in the resource. Following the discussion I would show the ‘C3S Climate & Energy Education Demonstrator: A Demonstration’ video and explain before putting the children into groups. I woul dplace the children in mixed ability groupings to allow for differentiation and have the children use the demonstrator on the ipads which our school have access to . I would allow the children to present their data and project scenarios to the class aftwards as stated in the activity pack. A further extension I may add would be for the children to present this information at a school assembly or through posters/projects displayed around the school to sprea dthe information even further.
Hi Audrey, I really like your idea of implementing a dialy chart to keep reminding the children of this content so it is not forgotten and instead reiterated and practised continually so the contenta nd concpets become embedded in their learning. Great idea!
Response to activity 1 + 2:
I think these activities are really useful to develop the children’s understanding of weather and climate. I like how the sentences used in Activity 1 were child-friendly and relevant to the children themselves and their life context, so it would interest them and allow them to develop their own understanding rather than just being told the difference between weather and climate. I also like how there was an extension activity for groups who may finish early, as it would challenge more advanced learners.An improvement could be to have the statements cut out and for the children to place them into the weather/climate category. This could help children who have difficulties with writing and may still be taking down the first statement as the other children move on to the following statements.
Activity 2 was also very good, providing a hands-on and investigative approach to learning that I think the children in my class would enjoy, as I find children like having an active role in their learning. Maybe for early finishers, the children could find an additional way of presenting their data other than the graph.
My response to the STEM article and how I apply STEM to my classroom:
In my classroom, I use an enquiry-based approach to STEM where children lead their own learning through problem solving and critical thinking. In maths, this means encouraging multiple methods to solve the same problem, helping children choose strategies that work for them. In science, lessons often begin with a question and pupils are given materials to design their own experiments to find the answer (with support if needed). I highlight when children make connections between concepts and encourage them to apply prior learning in new ways. Real-life application is key, after completing an experiment we discuss how it might work in real-world situations and contexts. I also give them a range of approaches to choose from when tackling a problem. While I’m still developing how to fully integrate all STEM areas, this approach has already made learning more meaningful and transferable for the children.