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Hi Claire, you’ve shared lots of great ideas for creating learning opportunities in STEM and across the curriculum in the locality. Using local areas of interest such as Birr Castle and the work of both Charles and Mary Parsons could prove to be truly engaging for many students.
Class Project on the Local Area
I would plan a whole-school project exploring the scientific, natural and built heritage of West Offaly, helping pupils understand how the local environment has been shaped by people, water, engineering and the natural world. The project could run over one school term, with scope for students in each class group to work on different aspects of the locality and in turn, with the possibility to contribute to a shared whole-school project.
This project would focus on Birr Castle Demesne, the River Shannon, the Grand Canal and local Martello Towers. While exploring Birr Castle, pupils could investigate the gardens, biodiversity, the Great Telescope and the engineering and scientific achievements associated with the Parsons family. The River Shannon in both Banagher and Shannonbridge along with its tributaries surround the local area – providing pupils with the opportunity to explore habitats, water, wildlife, flooding and the importance of the river to the local community. The Grand Canal in Shannon Harbour would provide an opportunity to investigate transport, engineering, locks, bridges and how waterways changed life in the area. Martello Towers (such as one of the only inland towers in Banagher) could introduce pupils to structures, materials, forces, measurement and the historical reasons for their defensive design.
The project would link naturally with the Primary STEM curriculum with opportunities for linkage and integration across the curriculum as a whole. Learning would take place both inside and outdoors, through local walks, fieldwork, sketching, measuring, photography, biodiversity surveys and water investigations. Digital tools such as mapping applications could help pupils explore the area from different perspectives.
To engage every pupil, I would use mixed-ability groups with different roles such as researcher, photographer, map-maker, recorder and presenter. The project could culminate in a “West Offaly STEM Heritage Exhibition”, where each class presents its findings through models, maps, experiments, artwork, graphs and digital presentations. This would allow pupils to see that STEM is not separate from their local community, but is embedded in the places, structures and natural environments around them.I agree Rachel, the suspension bridge in Birr Castle is a great stimulus for engineering tasks / a unit on building bridges. This is further improved by having the bridge in our locality – meaning that many of the children are familiar with the bridge, having visited the Castle and Gardens with their families or on our annual Summer Programme.
Using the suspension bridge in Birr Castle Demesne as inspiration, I would introduce the challenge by exploring photographs of the bridge and discussing its purpose, structure and design. I would use an image of the suspension bridge and/or a visit to Birr Castle Demense as a prompt for this engineering challenge. I would then ask the children, how do you think this bridge was built? Could we build a bridge strong enough to support a load of x blocks. This would create an authentic engineering problem with opportunities for creativity, collaboration, testing and redesign.
Working in small groups, pupils would first investigate different types of bridges and identify features such as supports, beams, cables and triangular structures. Each group would then sketch and label a design before deciding what materials they will need. Using accessible materials – such as lolly sticks, straws, paper, string, Lego and cardboard – pupils would construct their bridges. The bridges could then be tested using pencils, unifix cubes or coins, with pupils recording how much each structure can support before it fails. Groups could evaluate their designs and make improvements.
Mathematical thinking would be central to the challenge. For 3rd and 4th Class, pupils could measure the bridge span and the length of materials using standard units, estimate before measuring, and calculate perimeter and simple areas where appropriate. They could explore 2-D shapes, angles, symmetry and lines, particularly how triangles and other shapes can strengthen structures. Pupils could also collect and represent test results using tables, tallies, bar charts and graphs, compare weights and measurements, and solve problems involving addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.
The challenge could possibly culminate in a whole-school “Bridge Building Challenge”, where classes present their designs, explain the mathematical thinking behind them and reflect on how they could improve their structures.
The All-Ireland Pollinator Plan was something that sparked my interest also Siobhan, and I’m also hoping to sign up my school in the new school year. The website has some great ideas that would certainly support our schools application for our next Green Flag and makes learning about the local local flora and fauna interesting for the children, while also bringing learning out of the classroom and encouraging children to become active and responsible citizens.
Seasonal Biodiversity Project
As our school is working on its Green Flag for Biodiversity, putting a plan in place to support learning throughout the school year would greatly benefit all students.
I would begin the project in Term 1 (September / October) by exploring the biodiversity already present in the school grounds. Pupils could work in groups to carry out a simple biodiversity audit, recording birds, insects, plants and other wildlife they observe. BirdWatch Ireland resources could support our birdwatching, while the Merlin Bird ID app could help pupils identify birds by sight or sound. The Seek app could similarly be used to identify plants, insects and other organisms. Pupils would keep individual or class biodiversity journals and use seasonal recording sheets to document what they see.
I would aim for outdoor learning to take place at least once every two weeks or two monthly (weather depending), with additional short observation walks when there are interesting seasonal changes. In Autumn, pupils could investigate leaves, seeds and migrating birds; during Winter, focus on garden birds and weather; in Spring, observe flowering plants, insects and nesting birds; and in Summer, investigate pollinators and plant growth.
As part of the project, pupils could design and create bird feeders and monitor which species visit them. We could also develop a Pollinator Plan, using resources from the National Biodiversity Data Centre, identifying ways to make the school grounds more pollinator-friendly – building on the work undertaken by the Green School and local conservation group in planting wildflowers, erecting bird boxes and choosing ‘bee and butterfly friendly’ plants for our school garden.
The project would provide opportunities to integrate many subject areas. In Science, pupils could study habitats, food chains, plants and animals. Linkage and integration in maths could involve counting and graphing species observed, while Geography could focus on mapping habitats around the school. English could involve biodiversity journals, reports and presentations, while Art could include nature drawings and observational sketches. Digital learning would be incorporated through the Seek and Merlin apps and pupils could present their findings using digital tools.
At the end of the year, pupils could compare their seasonal records and create a school biodiversity report or display, highlighting changes they observed and actions they took to improve biodiversity.Hi Edel, I think that linking the topic of maps and creating a map with a stimulus – especially a picture book – would be a great way to introduce the topics of maps and natural / geographical features to the junior classes in a fun and engaging way.
We’re Going on a Picnic or We’re Going on a Bear Hunt would be a great addition to the lessons, allowing students to successfully sequence event, identify natural features, creating a map / plan, using symbols (creating a key or legend). This can be linked across the curriculum to include aspects of the arts and wellbeing curricula.A map-making lesson with younger classes could be practical, collaborative and anchored in the pupils’ own local natural environment – basing the lesson in the school setting. I would begin by discussing what a map is and why we use maps, introducing simple features such as a title, symbols, a key, roads, buildings and a compass direction. We could then take a short walk around the school grounds and identify features that we would like to include.
Back in the classroom, pupils could work in pairs or small groups to create a simple map of the school and its surroundings. I would model how to use symbols and create a basic key before allowing pupils to design their own maps. This would provide opportunities to develop spatial awareness, problem-solving and communication skills while also incorporating elements of STEM through observation, using simple measures and integrating design and technology.
To incorporate digital tools, I could use Google Maps or Google Earth to show pupils an aerial view of the school using the school iPads. We could compare the digital map with the maps they have created and identify similarities and differences. GeoHive could also be used to explore maps and geographical information about Ireland, helping pupils understand that maps can represent information at different scales. This would give pupils an opportunity to connect their classroom learning with real-world digital mapping toolsHi Yvonne, I totally agree the resources shared in this module from Curious Minds, ESERO and ESA will be a great help and will act as fantastic support materials in our school as we have chosen STEM as our first subject specification to focus on under the Primary Curriculum Framework.
I thought it was particularly helpful how a number of different / similar versions of a resource were shared – allowing an opportunity to “mix and match”, drawing ideas from a number of resources and choosing an approach that works best for each individual class setting / context.
From exploring Maeve Liston’s paper “Unravelling STEM”, and in turn reflecting on my own classroom practice, I can see that STEM learning is often present, but it is not always truly integrated. Many activities focus on a stand alone science investigations, a maths topic is thought during maths time alone and technology is used as a teaching support, but these do not always connect the four STEM disciplines in a meaningful way. As Liston highlights, authentic STEM is more than teaching science and mathematics together or using these digital tools, it is an “interdisciplinary approach” that engages pupils in solving real-world problems through creativity, critical thinking, collaboration and the engineering design process.
Going forward, I would like to place greater emphasis on designing authentic STEM experiences where pupils investigate real-life challenges, where they are encouraged to plan and test solutions (both scaffolded by the teacher as facilitator and student led) and to reflect on the effectiveness of their designs.I hope to move beyond isolated STEM activities and create learning experiences that integrate science, technology, engineering and mathematics (and art for STEAM lessons) in purposeful and relevant ways. I also want to encourage more pupil collaboration, communication and resilience by allowing children to learn through trial, error and redesign. This approach would not only deepen their understanding of STEM concepts but also help them develop the problem-solving, creativity and teamwork skills that are essential for their future learning and lives in wider society.