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I love the Salmon of Knowledge idea as a link. Great idea to start the theme and link to Irish and English in line with new PLC
Great idea to link with tidy towns and mens shed defintiely would ,ove to try this with my class this year!
Great idea Cormac very relevant to today’s world and a great way to structure healthy eating informatively to children rather than online!
Living and working in Maynooth, I feel we have a great opportunity to use our local community as a learning resource. Maynooth has a number of positive initiatives, including walking and cycling routes, recycling facilities, biodiversity projects and community clean-up activities.
In my classroom, I would encourage pupils to become more aware of what is happening in their own school and community. They could investigate the biodiversity around the school, conduct a litter or waste audit, examine how recycling is managed and identify areas where improvements could be made. I would then allow pupils to work together on a small sustainability project, such as creating an awareness campaign, designing posters or developing ideas to reduce waste in the school.
I would also like to make use of the resources available locally. Having Maynooth University nearby is a fantastic opportunity, and I would explore possible school programmes or STEM and environmental initiatives that pupils could become involved in. The pollenation patches around maynooth is also another excellent resource that would be great for studnets to explore.
I think that making sustainability practical and local helps children understand that even small actions can have a positive impact on their community and the wider environment.
Exploring the nutrional beenfits of seafood is a good and hands on way of delving further into the benefits of this area. I would begin by asking pupils what they already know about seafood and why it might be good for us. We would look at nutrition labels from foods such as salmon, mackerel and tuna and identify nutrients including protein, omega-3, selenium and zinc.
I would then carry out a simple science investigation where pupils compare different seafood samples and predict which contains the most fat. Using small food samples and brown paper, pupils could observe whether the foods leave a translucent greasy mark, before comparing their observations with the nutritional information on the labels.
We would discuss how protein helps with growth and repair, and how omega-3 fatty acids have important roles in normal brain and eye function. Pupils could then create a simple diagram showing what happens to food during digestion.
I would also incorporate Maths by having pupils create a bar chart comparing protein or fat content per 100g of the food samples. The children could also survey staff and studnets about how much if any seafood they eat, if theyre aware of the nutrional benefits etc to ascertain a local perspecitve on the nutrional values of seafood. Finally, pupils could design a healthy lunchbox using seafood and justify their choices based on nutrition, cost and sustainability. This would make the topic interactive, practical and connected to everyday life.
I found the ARC online resources really useful because they gave me a better idea of how aquaculture could be used as a topic in the primary classroom. I teach 6th class, so I think there is alot of potential to use the resources with older pupils and allow them to explore the topic in more depth. Rather than just learning facts about fish and shellfish, the children could investigate habitats, food chains, life cycles and the impact that humans can have on the marine environment.
I liked that the resources were not limited to STEM either. There are plenty of ways that the topic could be brought into other areas of the curriculum. For example, pupils could research different marine species, create presentations, discuss sustainability in SPHE or even use art to represent life under the sea. I also think the Irish folklore links would be a nice way of connecting the topic to our own culture and making it more relevant to the children.
Another part I found interesting was learning about the different careers linked to aquaculture. Sixth class pupils are starting to think more about their future and the jobs they might like to do, so it would be useful for them to realise that STEM skills can lead to lots of different career paths.
The ARC resources also encourage children to work together and come up with their own ideas instead of just being given information. I think this is particularly important with 6th class as they are capable of asking more challenging questions and giving their own opinions. Overall, I think the resources could be a great starting point for a project based around aquaculture, sustainability and the marine environment.
ALSO TEACHING sIXTH NEXT YEAR FOR THE FIRST TIME SO THIS IS GREAT TO KNOW THAT THEY RESPOND WELL TO IT!
Learning about where aquaculture farms are located around Ireland made me realise how important the coastline is to the industry. Before this module, I had never really thought about why certain areas are more suitable for aquaculture than others. The west, southwest and northwest have many coastal areas where the sea conditions allow different types of farming to take place. It was interesting to see how the natural environment can influence the type of aquaculture that can be developed in an area.
I was also interested in the wider impact that aquaculture can have on people living in coastal communities. It is not only the people working directly on the farms who benefit. There are also opportunities for local shops, suppliers, restaurants, transport companies and other businesses that depend on activity within these communities. This can be especially important in smaller areas where employment opportunities may be more limited.
As someone living and working in Maynooth, I think I had taken the connection between Ireland and the sea for granted. This topic has made me realise that aquaculture can help keep coastal communities active and provide opportunities for people to remain and work locally. However, I also think it is important that development is balanced with protecting the marine environment. Overall, I now have a much better understanding of how aquaculture can connect food production, employment and the sustainability of coastal communities.
Module 1 gave me an introduction to aquaculture, which was an area I had very little knowledge of before taking part in this summer course. As someone who works in Maynooth, a landlocked area, aquaculture is not something that I would normally think about in my everyday life. I was therefore surprised to learn just how important the aquaculture industry is in Ireland and how much planning and consideration is involved in producing food from our waters in a sustainable way.
One part of the module that I found particularly interesting was learning about Social Licence. I had never really considered how important it is for local people to understand and have a say in projects that may take place in their communities. It showed me that aquaculture is not only about the environmental or economic side of the industry, but also about communicating with people and listening to their concerns. I think this is especially important when introducing new ideas or industries to communities.
From a teaching point of view, I can see many ways that aquaculture could be used as a topic in the primary classroom. Even though my pupils in Maynooth do not live beside the sea, they can still learn about marine life, food production and the importance of looking after our natural environment. There are clear links with Science and Geography, but I could also see opportunities to explore sustainability and responsible choices through SPHE. Children are naturally curious and I think topics connected to animals and the sea would really capture their interest.
The BIM Social Licensing projects that involved schools and communities were probably the ones I found most interesting. I liked the idea of children being included in conversations about aquaculture and being given the opportunity to learn about it in a way that is suitable for them. Education can help children understand both the positive aspects of aquaculture and some of the questions or concerns that people may have about it.I also enjoyed looking at the ARC online lessons and watching the four videos. I found the resources very colourful and engaging, and they gave me ideas for how a topic like aquaculture could be made enjoyable for younger children. The visual nature of the resources would work particularly well with infant classes, where children often learn best through discussion, pictures and hands-on activities.
Overall, this module has made me more aware of Ireland’s connection with the sea and the role aquaculture plays in food production. Coming from a landlocked area like Maynooth, it is something I had not really thought about before. I now feel that it could be a very useful topic to introduce to children, helping them understand where food comes from, develop an appreciation for the marine environment and learn about sustainability from an early age. It has definitely given me a new perspective on a subject I knew very little about before.Every year I lie to engage in STEM(pathy) with my class. We firstly go on a tour and take a photo of a local issue affecting the climate, deforestation, traffic pollution, littering, cars, and even housing crisis. We then present these images as codes and the children then in groups create out of lego or recyclable material depending on the age group a solution to this problem for their local area in 50 years time. This is a great way for children to start to see the effects of climate change at a local level and then use their critical thinking and problem solving skills to create a more sustainable future for their own local area. This is a project that can be tailored to any class level, more advanced classes could make an exhibiton for parents with displays and even more sophisticated technologies where as infants could explored this during Aistear construction stations or small-world play.
Excellent point re the language barrier Jamie. I think a social skills group of such or a buddy with children who speak the same language may be an idea to make these children feel more welcomed in the school environment. We used to have a language wall where every language spoken in the school was displayed
Maynooth University offer a ‘university of sanctuary’ scholarship to those seeking refuge or asylum. This could be explored at a local level in the school by having cultural awareness days and also exploring equal rights through the ‘take a step’ if game in SPHE lessons to draw the children’s attention to the fact that we are not all on a level playing field. Equally so our school explored global citizenship this year which was a great way to open our children’s minds to the multicultural world we live in. At my current class-level I believe building awarness and deepening their empathy towards Asylum seekers will help children be mindful to the fact that despite our differences we all deserved to be treated with the same kindness and respect we would like ourselves to be met with.