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Hi Orla,
I love how you looked at the quality of the water in your area as part of studying sustainability in your area, The blackwater river runs through the town I live in, in Cork and this is definetly a great idea that I could explore with my students too! Thanks.
In my local area, sustainability is being promoted in a few meaningful ways. For example, our community here in Cork has a strong emphasis on recycling. Our town has a number of bins spread all over the town with clear labels showing the local people where to recycle their rubbish and where waste goes as well. There are also a number of clothes banks and bottle banks which enables our community to keep our area clean.
A lot of households these days, including mine have brown bins for food waste, which is converted into compost afterwards. This promotes sustainability within our local community.
Our local town also has a number of bicycle lanes which encourages people to use their bike as a method of transportation to and from work for example, which in turn would promote sustainbility and reduce the amount of fossil fuels burned. It would be nice for our local community to consider including a greenway nearby our towns as this would promote the reduction of car use.
My local community also holds a local farmers market once a week where farmers sell seasonal produce which reduces food miles and also supports the local farmers in the area.
I would encourage my students to explore these ideas by creating a link between them and their lives. For example, we could visit the local farmers market to see what produce they have available and what is in season. We could compare the prices between the produce available at the farmers market and the conventional supermarket. A link could also be made to other subjects such as Science to discover if there are any nutrional difference between farmers market and conventional supermarket produce. The children could also be encouraged to grow their own produce in school or at home – for example planting tomato seeds in the class room and explore nutrient rich recipes that include them.
The children could also carry our investigations at home regarding how their families recycle, conserve energy within the home and how they/if they reduce waste. The children could be encouraged to keep a log of this over the space of 4 weeks and compare the results with others in their class. By making sustainability interactive and fun, children will understand the importance of in deeply and explore how they can contribute to a sustainable community, school and home life.
The students and I could be more sustainable in our daily lives by reducing the amount of anergy we use in the home and school (turning off lights when not in the room, don’t use artificial lights in the mornings during summer months, switching off the Interactive whiteboard when not in use). We can also be more sustainable by being cautious of our water usage. Turning the taps off when we brush our teeth in the morning, filling up the sink with water to wash paint brushes in school, rather than leaving a continuous flow etc. To make our every day lives more sustainable it’s important for us to recognise that even ‘small’ steps make a big difference. I as a teacher can also model sustainable behaviour by walking to school where possible and encourage the children to do the same if possible. Along with shopping locally and demonstration good recycling and waste management at school.
Hi Stephanie,
I love how you’ve suggested to go through some Irish recipes with the children. I think that is a beautiful start to also integrate some Irish vocabulary. This is absolutely something I will be doing in my classroom.
Thanks!
As a primary school teacher, I found this module on seafood nutrition very useful and relevant. Seafood is rich in protein, omega 3 fatty acids and contains very important vitamins and minerals such as vitamin F and iodine. These nutrients support our overall health with a focus on growth and brain function. This alone is very important to explore with the children in the classroom, so that they can make informed decisions on what they eat and what the benefits of including seafood in their diets are.
There are many opportunities to integrate this knowledge across a number of curicular areas. For example, I would discuss healthy eating with the children as part of the SPHE curriculum where the children would be encouraged to see seafood as part of a balanced diet. We could also explore in Science how nutrients found in seafood work in the body – i.e how protein in seafood helps muscle recovery etc. We could also incorporate this into Geography where we could discuss and explore the link between seafood itself to Ireland’s costal communities.
I also think that there is a lovely space for practical activities such as cooking demonstrations or poster projects could help engage the children in their learning about seafood. I feel that this module has given me many practical examples on how to teach students about seafood nutrition.
Hi Orla,
I love your point about the ‘VR’ expererince and how that would interest children in the learning about aquaculture and all it’s links. I didn’t think of it in this light before, but it is something I feel could be a really interesting lesson starter.
Well done!
Working through the online lessons and resources that have been developed for the ARC has really demonstrated how easy and thoroughly engaging STEM education can be when appropriate resources are readily available. Sustainability, higher order thinking, inquiry based learning and innovation link in nicely with the present aims and goals of the STEM Education Policy Statement. Particularly promoting critical and problem solving skills in the students. I could apply the concept and skills covered to my own teaching practices, in alignment with the STEM Education Policy Statement by using the lessons to support a number of different academic areas with a thematic approach. For example, integrating English, Maths and Science together. The activities are very child accessible which would enable the students to take ownership and independence over their work with support from the online lessons and resources. This also would enable the children to develop their collaboration skills together.
I believe that STEM education can be addressed as part of the SSE process at a whole school-wide level by schools holing STEM workshops at a whole-school level where the students could demonstrate their work, their findings and any projects they may have worked on. This could particularly be a fantastic way to demonstrate students work on research/projects about aquaculture, such as the infrastructure of aquaculture farms etc. The school could also invite members of the aquaculture field to join them on an inquiry-based talk or demonstration of how for example salmon farms are set up and work. I also think there is great space for teachers to carry out CPD training within this to later on showcase any work or further development carried out in this area.
Hi Clodagh,
I loved your response to this task. I also agree that the boost in areas such as tourism, infrastructure and education is a very positive thing when it comes to the socio-economic contribution these farms have on coastal towns and areas.
Thank you.
Aquaculture has a significant role to play in Ireland, particularly in the coastal counties such as Kerry, Donegal and Galway where salmon, oysters and mussels are farmed. I believe that the location of these farms ar very important, as clean waters and sheltered bays not only support production but also highlights Irelands natural resources. Teaching and exploring this with the students would encourage them to look at how farming these species – fish and shellfish etc boost things like employment, seaweed farming and how these opportunities form a sense of community. Regarding the socio-economic impact, I feel that aquaculture is more than just food production. I see it as more than a food production, for example how it sustains coastal communities by creating jobs in these aquaculture farms, the distribution of the products etc. I also feel that this supports the transportation industry in Ireland too. Exploring this with the students is a nice reminder that sustainable industries can support both livelihoods and the environment and how/why we rely so closely on the coast.
Hi Michelle,
I also agree with the statement that children lack exposure to aquaculture because of where they live. I teach in a small village in Cork and a number of the children find it hards to name any of the rivers or name beaches in Co. Cork, let alone species that are farmed in the water in Ireland.
Exploring aquaculture in Ireland through classroom tools such as the BIM Annual Aquaculture Report or the NORA website offers students a fun and engaging, real life context for learning. Students are given the opportunity to analyse production data, mapping or creating creative digital presentations. Students also have an opportunity to develop their key skills in literacy numeracy and digital ability. I believe that these activities encourage the children to critical think and also develop their collaboration strategies through learning about aquaculture.
I also believe that teaching about the concept of social license opens up a fantastic, academic but creative space to discuss topics such as sustainability, the environment and community. The students will also learn about the benefits of eating seafood, while also learning about the challenges the environment is faced with due to the production of the seafood etc.
I firmly believe that the above would support students’ growth in a variety of development areas as informed, creative and responsible citizens, with a huge respect for Irelands marine heritage.