[David McGrath]

Hi Aaron, I love the way you suggested exploring the local habitats of Clare. This is a great for learning to come alive for the children and break from the classroom- great idea!

[David McGrath]

Having explored the arc online lessons and resources I think this is an excellent resource to use in the primary classroom. The lessons seem very engaging and interactive, they also have lots of resources that would consolidate learning. I really think it would be very beneficial for students to use as it encourages great learning and gives an appreciation for our wonderful country and its aquaculture. The videos really are excellent and it makes the learning come alive.  Also, I think that the website offers huge potential for integration across the curricular area of Science and Geography. Again, more meaningful for the children in our classroom.

With regards to STEM, I think it would be a great to integrate this subject area into these lessons. For example, looking at data(Maths) children could construct graphs/visual charts to show economic growth/employment in a certain area because of the presence of Aquaculture farms. Also, using inquiry based learning as a priority to focus on a different marine specie. Children could research different species and develop questions they have and then present their findings to school community.

At a whole-school level, we can link this work to the School Self-Evaluation process by looking at how well we are teaching STEM and setting goals to improve. The ARC resources can help us build more comprehensive STEM education in a clear and structured way.

[David McGrath]

I very much agree with Marie’s points here on how aquaculture farms are preserving cultural heritage- I think that is so important.

As I stated also, It really does support economic growth of any local area.

[David McGrath]

 

I really have enjoyed the content of Module 2. I agree that the location of aquaculture farms can contribute massively to the socio-economical of many coastal communities.

The following are my reasons:

1) Job opportunities to local people- Aquaculture farms are a hub of employment to many local people of the town.

2) Provides resources to  local communities/ supply chains- Restaurants in the local community can really benefit from these aquaculture farms and also supply chains e.g supermarkets

3) Tourism- Tourism can benefit in a local community as people would be keen to see these aquaculture farms and then would be willing to eat in local restaurants.

4) Develop infrastructure in a local area- Proper resources in a community would have to be developed for these aquaculture farms e.g roads, schools, transport

5) Education- With the development of aquaculture farms in area, people will develop their knowledge and understanding of these sea species.

Overall, I strongly believe that Aquaculture farms would have a massive impact on the socio economic of any town in Ireland.

 

 

[David McGrath]

I really agree with Sandra here about the idea of processed food and children’s lack of knowledge about naturally sources food. I think this Module really gives a good idea about where are food comes from and important of eating well for our mind and body.

[David McGrath]

I have really enjoyed learning content of Module 1. It gave me a really big insight into Aquaculture and social sciences and how it can impact on students learning. Firstly, it gives school children a big insight into different species in the water and how they evolve. It can create great learning opportunities in the classroom and this module has given many interesting and engaging ways to learn about Aquaculture and social sciences.

Also, it offers many integration opportunities across other curricular areas e.g Science. I believe that it would make the content become more realistic and beneficial for the children. In module 1, I really loved the idea of the Aquaculture remote classroom. I think this would be a really engaging, fun and interactive about learning about the Aquaculture and social sciences. It is a break from the monotonous of the classroom and allows for learning in a creative way. Overall, I found module 1 to be very insightful and it gave me many ideas.

[David McGrath]

Hi Odhran,

 

I really like that you integrated SPHE here. It is a really good idea to allow for as much integration as possible.

David

[David McGrath]

Consider how many Songs / Poems /Art can you think of to connect us with the Night Sky?

 

I really enjoyed this module  and it was lovely to see how so many songs/poems/art can start as a trigger for this learning. Here are some of my own that I can think of that would be great to use with a class.

Poems:

-The Lamplighter by Robert Louis Stephenson

-Warm Summe Sun by Mark Twain

-Twinkle, Twinkle little star (Children’s rhyme)

-Daffodils by William Wordsworth

Songs:

-Starman by David Bowie

-Counting Stars One Republic

-Night by Bruce Springston

-Night and Day by Frank Sinatra

-One of these Nights (The Eagles)

 

Art:

-Vincent Van Gough ‘The Starry Night’

-Nighthawks by Edward Hopper

-Moonlight by Winslow Homer

 

This is an example of some integration that you could do with the study of the night. I think the children would really enjoy these songs and it is good way to engage the children at the start of a lesson.

[David McGrath]

Hi Clodagh,

 

I think it’s a great idea getting the green schools team involved. We have a very active one in our school community and it would be something that they would really enjoy. Again, it doesn’t isolate this lesson of biodiversity and Light pollution to the classroom, but seeing it as a whole school approach.

[David McGrath]

Biodiversity in your local area and the effect of Light Pollution

To begin the lesson, I would brainstorm with the children the meaning of the word ‘biodiversity’. I would record their responses and elicit any prior knowledge on the topic. I would than pick an animal and show them the video of the bat- I found that very interesting and child friendly. It would excite the children about the topic.

I would than look at the town we live in and get the children to think of biodiversity in their local area. We would than plan a walk close by and investigate any biodiversity in that area. When the walk concludes, we would look at our findings and share the information. We would identify which animal and plant specie really stood out to us.

Then we would recap on the topic of Light pollution and pick a specie that we found and discuss the impact of Light Pollution on these species. Children could share their responses and do their own individual research. In pairs or individually, they could share their findings with the class on the disadvantages of Light pollution on their specie in question.

As a class, we could put forward a plan on how we could significantly reduce Light pollution that would have a positive impact on the species in our local habitat.

[David McGrath]

Hi Michelle,

 

I really like how you suggested the integration with Geography. I feel this topic of Light Pollution would offer a lot of scope for integration across the curriculum. I suggested Maths too. I think it would be a great one to do with Data. Children gather information on lights in their area and share results on a visual.

[David McGrath]

Light Pollution

Light Pollution is really effecting our society. I really enjoyed learning about it in this module, not only does it effect costs, it really has a significant impact on our biodiversity.

To engage students in this topic of Light discussion, I would impose a statement on the children suggesting how long lights are left on throughout the year and the amount of street lights in Ireland. This would trigger a conversation among the children. I would than arrange the children into groups and each group would have to brainstorm ways that we could reduce light pollution.

Other ways that we could look at the topic of light pollution is getting the children to design posters encouraging people in areas to switch of any unnecessary lights in areas. This topic of Light discussion also allows for some integration with Maths (Data). They could do some research on street lights in their own town and share their results on a visual (barchart/ piechart)
Overall, I think Light pollution would be a very interesting topic to do with children and I think it would be very beneficial. It offers a lot of discussion and integration across the curriculum.

[David McGrath]

Hi Sarah,

 

I really like the idea of the observation journals as it encourages responsibility for learning and it creates more of a realistic experience for the children. They will be more likely to remember this method!

[David McGrath]

Using Stellarium.

I think the Stellarium is a fantastic resource to use with the children and it would be very enjoyable for them.

Firstly, on topic of the Planet, I would begin to introduce it by imposing a question on the children about planet/ stars. This encourages discussion and guided discovery. We would than fill in a KWL chart on our topic.

I would than introduce the website of Stellarium to do the children. I would model this website using the interactive board and show the children the tools you can use. We are fortunate to have chromebooks in our school, once website is modeled to the children they are then free to use the resource on the chromebooks. I will give the children a certain time frame to identify different constellations and the stars/planets in each constellation. Once children are finished, they will have to present their constellation that they found to the class and discuss their findings.

We will conclude the lesson by a summary of our learning and self -assessment of one new piece of information that I took from my learning.

[David McGrath]

I really agree with Eoghan here. I love the hands on approach and how it will develop the children’s critical thinking.

 

As the new maths curriculum is beginning to be rolled out, I think it is crucial that we give ample of chances to our students to be critical thinkers and independent learners.

[Author]

Posts