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Dolores, this looks like a great project.
I really love the idea of bringing Boyles law into such simple focus in the classroom setting and it looks like the kids got great mileage out of the history and the science of it all. People like Robert Boyle explored and experimented to satisfy their own curiosity and ended up making a huge impact on the world. Science advances now at such speed, we actually take it for granted but when you look at the history and culture of the time in which these scientists lived and the strides they made and barriers they pushed through to get us to where we are today – its definitely inspiring.
Research a famous scientist or engineer associated with your local area and describe how you would use that person as inspiration for classroom science investigations
I would begin by showing pictures of Massy’s flapjack octopod, the hooked squid and the combed octopus and ask what the kids think they have in common.
They were all named in honour of Annie Letitia Massy (29 January 1868 – 17 April 1931 – an international known marine biologist and ornithologist – one of the founders of he Irish Society for the Protection of Birds which is now Birdwatch Ireland. She grew up in our local area and developed her love of birds and molluscs along the beautiful coast and broadmeadow.
The kids could research her life and then we could use geohive, looking at historical maps of the time – see where she worked and got her inspiration and create an artistic timeline of her life using mo;;uscs and birds as inspiration for the decoration and design of it.
THe Marine Institute also has a fabulous programme on the squid which includes a dissections and I will definitely be doing that with them this year and having a marine biologist in we could look at drawings and diagrams of the Massy species of squid for comparison here too.
We could look at the way the squid moves and discuss biomimicry – engineers taking inspiration from nature to invent more efficient technology in the case of octopi and squids, thai would be jet propulsion and its impact on the latest technology.
Using the Curious minds/esero map design and make process, they could invent their own jet propelled underwater vehicle….
In terms of the ornithology aspect of Annies life, we could engage with the Irish Garden Bird survey.
It would be nice to create an exhibition based on the project in the local library to inform the community about their local woman scientist who was ahead of her time and did so much for global science and look at the ways we could walk in her footsteps…….
Research a famous scientist or engineer associated with your local area and describe how you would use that person as inspiration for classroom science investigations
I would begin by showing pictures of Massy’s flapjack octopod, the hooked squid and the combed octopus and ask what the kids think they have in common.
They were all named in honour of Annie Letitia Massy (29 January 1868 – 17 April 1931 – an international known marine biologist and ornithologist – one of the founders of he Irish Society for the Protection of Birds which is now Birdwatch Ireland. She grew up in our local area and developed her love of birds and molluscs along the beautiful coast and broadmeadow.
The kids could research her life and then we could use geohive, looking at historical maps of the time – see where she worked and got her inspiration and create an artistic timeline of her life using mo;;uscs and birds as inspiration for the decoration and design of it.
THe Marine Institute also has a fabulous programme on the squid which includes a dissections and I will definitely be doing that with them this year and having a marine biologist in we could look at drawings and diagrams of the Massy species of squid for comparison here too.
We could look at the way the squid moves and discuss biomimicry – engineers taking inspiration from nature to invent more efficient technology in the case of octopi and squids, thai would be jet propulsion and its impact on the latest technology.
Using the Curious minds/esero map design and make process, they could invent their own jet propelled underwater vehicle….
In terms of the ornithology aspect of Annies life, we could engage with the Irish Garden Bird survey.
It would be nice to create an exhibition based on the project in the local library to inform the community about their local woman scientist who was ahead of her time and did so much for global science and look at the ways we could walk in her footsteps…….
How lucky are you to be that close to the oldest Bridge in Ireland!
I love this plan, especially getting a local historian in, it really brings the lesson to life.
We have a number of bridges in the village and it’s surrounds of all different types. A railway viaduct, a single arch old stone bridge over a road, pedestrian bridges over the train tracks, a few bridges over streams and the nearby M50 bridge. In fact, I wasn’t aware how many bridges were in the local area until I looked them up for ths purposes of this exercise as they some are ancient and hidden
1There are 2 possible lessons here
1. We could look at an ordinance survey map of our local area and try to find as many bridges as we can and plan a route to visit them.
Looking at the scale on the map the kids could determine which were bigger/ smaller and by how much and the distances we would have to walk between the bridges.
We could bring trundle wheels with us to compare and determine the accuracy of the os maps.
They could then come up with their own exploration worksheet to fill in on the walk to include pages for sketching each one and writing observations
On our return we could predict which one was oldest, why they came up with that conclusion and which was their favourite and why.
They could then work in groups, choose one of the bridges to research and build to scales using materials of their own choice. Part of their research should be “the bridge in numbers” e.g. length, height, structural shapes, how long it took to build, how many vehicles pass over it daily, how it compares in size to the other bridges in the area, details of the measurements they took in comparison with the OS maps.
Prior to the build, they should decide on a weight their bridge should hold, depending on the type of bridge and work to that. E.g. a pedestrian bridge should hold x amount of lego characters, a road bridge x amount of toy cars and a railway bridge a toy train with x amount of carriages. This could form part of a concept map built by the group showing their journey through wonder, exploration, planning, making and evaluating.
Each group can evaluate their own bridge highlighting WWW (what went well) and EBI (even better if) and then another groups bridge – via 2 stars and a wish
Just by way of combining it with a previous assignment, on visiting the bridge the kids could record the ambient noise around it and use that as a soundtrack when presenting their information.
They could also be encouraged to present their research on the bridge in any way they would like e.g. a poem, a song, a slideshow, a story, a play, a stop motion video. In Art they could create the backdrop for the bridge.
The bridges could be displayed with their stats and other info in the outdoor classroom.
2. We could focus on the Broadmeadow Viaduct and discuss the 2009 partial collapse.
Kids could give their hyopotheses on why the bridge collapsed. What do they think were the factors that put stress on the bridge?
Using the Curious Minds Design a Bridge resources, they could learn about the different types of bridges and research what problems might occur with each type and how to combat them.
As part of literacy/history, they could use news articles, footage and eye witness accounts to piece together the events that could have led to a tragedy.
They could then create a timeline of events that led up to the accident and include a who, what, when, where, why, how.
From a numeracy pov, the kids could research the numbers associated with the event
How long is the bridge, what was the length of the section that collapsed, what fraction of the bridge colllapsed,
How long did it take for the bridge to collapse? What was the time period between the driver noticing the issue and emergency services kicking in etc…
When precisely, will the 20th anniversary of the collapse occur?
How many tons could the bridge support?
What shapes are evident in the structure of the build, why do you think these shapes were used?
MATHS PROBLEM: if a train left Balbriggan at 6.20pm on that Friday, travelling at a speed of 140km/h would it have been on the section of bridge at the time of collapse?
Create your own maths problem based on the event.
We could then look at the short doc on the Tacoma bridge collapse in the 1940s and see if there were any similarities..
Using the Curious Minds Build a Bridge Reources and the curious minds esero design and make framework, the kids could build 2 prototypes to scale: One of the bridge pre-collapse and one to include of the new section of bridge.
They could then design the bridge in Tinkercad which involves using a lot of Maths and solving problems in 2D, before printing them in 3d.
Once the 3D models are built they could create a Seconds from Disaster type video on The incident in 2009 – Similar to the style of this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDzhIZafL4I
Using pictures, articles, footage and eye witness acounts.
This could then be presented to the rest of the school.
Follow up`Activities
The Viaduct goes over the european-protected Malahide Estuary. The kids could look at why the estuary is protected, what protections are in place, theflora and fauna present in the estuary and try to determine how traffic on the bridge and the collapse and rebuild of the bridge might have affected them
The kids could research the planning of a proposed estuary carpark in Malahide and research the pros and cons and look at why it was not approved.
I love the idea of designing and making the bird feeders and nestboxes too Seån to learn about the lives of different bird species around the school grounds and I agree, engaging with Birdwatch Ireland’s Irish garden birds Survey is a fantastic citizen science project for kids of all ages.
As we are based beside the sea we are lucky to have seabirds as well as land birds to observe and learn about, especially in the islands offshore like Lambay and Ireland’s Eye – home to puffins, peregrine falcons and kestrels no to mention the Estuary swans and waders …. so sea safaris are always on my wish list – though a trip to the beach is as good as it gets most years!
Outline how you would use some of the course resources to conduct a seasonal biodiversity project to run throughout the school year. What resources and recording sheets would you need? How often would you bring learning outdoors? How would you integrate other subject areas?
I loved all the videos in this module of the biodiversity in Birr Castle and its surrounds. There is so much knowledge in each one of them and it’s so lovely to see all the lovely flora and fauna. It’s only when you dive in to our surroundings that you realise the life teeming beneath the surface and how much we all take for granted. This is why its so important that the kids in our communities are invested in the environment of the area they live in and its up to us to ensure that happens with all these wonderful, grounding outdoor activities.
In terms of a seasonal biodiversity project. I like the idea of creating a podcast with my 5th class kids, based on a biodiversity walking trail around the school. There’s a lovely how to video here https://www.heritageinschools.ie/online-tutorials/how-to-podcast and we could create a template for the script, (to include sights, sounds, smells and ‘feels’ ) that we update every season.
Our school has lots of trees, insect hotels, a pond, a vegetable garden, bird feeders, wild flowers, a weather station and hedgerows so there is plenty content to observe from season to season.
I like the idea of a podcast (broadcast to the school seasonally) because, it should encourage the whole school to look out for things mentioned in the podcast. My 5th class could also create a raft of activities based on the material in the podcast and distribute them to classes or create a template map (using resources from the tree council of ireland, winldflowers if ireland, globe.gov etc…) that the classes can fill in and compare from season to season. We could also create a riddle re. one of the points of interest on the trail in each season of the podcast and have the kids post their guesses as to what it might be, then chose a winner and have them create the riddle for the next podcast.
Classes at other levels might decide to photograph the trail or focus on one aspect and watch it change seasonally e.g. trees greening down and greening up; the weather each season with a view to how its impacting the flora and fauna on the trail; we could hold a seasonal art/photo competition, engage in citizen science projects … the options are endless.
Whatever the choices, we would have layers to lay on top of our podcast from the rest of the classes in the school, resulting in a multi-curricular, multisensory, collaborative project at the end, integrated with everything from art to science to music, to geography,literacy, numceracy (graphs , plotting changes in growth) etc…. which could be displayed in our local library for the coomunity to enjoy.This is a lovely lesson. I particularly like the tactile map creations – It would also be interesting to discuss if their map might still work well in 5 years time by imagining and discussing what might change and how…..
For younger classes, describe how you would plan and conduct a lesson on map making and explain how you might incorporate some online tools such as Google maps or Geohive
I have 5th class buddied with Senior Infants. As part of a collaborative buddy activity I could do a sound walk around our area, from the school, through the castle and gardens, by the church, down by the marina and along the beach… I would call out stop a few times along the way and the kids listen, record and answer questions.
The kids could work in groups of 4 – 2 older, w younger. The younger kids pointing out and recording the sounds on ipads and taking pictures of where they are at, the older ones, making notes of where they are and drawing pictures….
They could fill out a questionnaire with questions like – is the sound near or far, loud or soft, natural or manmade… etc….
Once they are back in class, we could look at the route we took on google maps and point out where we stopped and talk about what we heard there.
On the whiteboard and chromebooks they could then look up all kinds of other styles of Maps of Malahide and decide what style they would chose to draw – 5th class could cdraw the route and landmarks, buddies could draw the things they heard at those particular spots.
following on from this, there could be a lesson on noise pollution – why were the sounds to be heard in those particular locations, why were sounds that were heard elsewhere not heard in certain locations. (Trees, beach booats etc) How do you think the loud sounds affect the area, how do manmade sounds affect natural sounds and vice versa.
This walk could also be done moorning and afternoon and the sounds compared.
It could also lead to a discussion on the concerts in the castle and how they affect the neighbourhood and the wildlife….. and what we can do to find a balance for all
I have used the heritage in schools website to create a biodiversity map of the school and its surroundings and the kids loved it and I also love the idea of creating a riddle poem about your favourite heritage site in the area without mentioning where it is!
I agree Gina. Its fantastic to have these lessons laid out in such a succint practical way and also with so many options. The kids are going to love them. I’m definitely going to build a telescope with ine for Space Week!
MODULE 1
Having reviewed the paper Unravelling STEM: Beyond the Acronym of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (Liston 2018) reflect on what STEM education looks like in your classroom.
My experience of STEM, by definition in this document has been brought to my classroom by outside experiences and programmes e.g. the Make, Create, Innovate programme; Junior Entrepreneurs, Science Blast, STEPS, Globe.gov projects, Sustainability in education projects etc…. because these have a built in framework for STEM and allow for the Creativity and input of the children with an outcome that demonstrates their value to society.
The latest one has been with iform 3d printing where I did a course, got a 3d printer for the school and have had the children ideate, and solve real problems in their classroom, school or locality by brainstorming to identify the issues, interview those affected by the issues, define the issues, collaborate in small groups to ideate, design and draw up solutions; build prototypes with regular materials in the classroom, reiterate and modify; build out the prototype digitally in Tinkercad, check its printability in the 3d printer software (slicer) and tweak to ensure it will print properly; printing, testing, snag listing, reprinting, retesting; coming back together as a class to present findings and highlight what went well and what could have worked better, reviewing the work of other groups then discuss if hybrids of any of the solutions by work even better. Printing off the final solution and solving the problem before presenting their findings to the school.
Using this programme we have fixed the flusher of a toilet in the infant classroom, creating missing games and jigsaw pieces to make whole sets again; made universal drink holders to stop spillages in the classroom, created clips to keep the tablecloths on the tables for the school garden fete, made doorstops, created Eco-opoly a boardgame to teach about the sustainability goals and engage in practical ways we can apply them. All of this involved investigations, creaing technology through engineering, using Maths for dimensions, stats etc… but also incorporated art and research, digital literacy, literacy oral and a variety of written texts. This to me, seems to correlate with the definition of STEM in the aforementioned paper but I wouldn’t have executed any of it so holistically by myself for sure. This is why I love the ESRO framework and in fact, the contents of this course. Its an elevated starting point.
I learned so much about teaching and engaging with STEAM from doing these programmes with the children and subsequently used the Design thinking principles together with the investigative framework from Science Blast to consider and tackle all kinds of problems. The ESRO framework has it all in one.
I agree with Liston re. the engineering part of STEM.
With AI a driving force for the forseeable future its important to teach children how to think – regularly using the framework, tools and strategies put forward in these programmes which ultimately are all hands-on defintely made a difference in my class
Also, if you think about it, noone fully understands the difference between acquiring knowledge and applying knowledge (the engineering aspect of STEM) until they experience it and that goes for all interactions in life including emotional and social as well as practical so there are so many ways STEM principles can be applied in teaching and learning.
This module was a great start to this course. Interesting, practical and applicable so far!
Module 5 Lesson Plan
Lesson Plan:
I asked CHATGPT to create a lesson plan for me based on the following prompt:Create a lesson plan based on the irish 5th class curriculum on the topic of improper fractions and mixed numbers, Include a warm-up activity using an AI app, use of concrete materials complemented by use of AI based Maths manipulatives, include collaborative activities and activities on the topic that align with other subject areas
An AI-based warm-up activity
Concrete materials + AI-based maths manipulatives
Collaborative work
Cross-curricular linksLesson Plan — Improper Fractions & Mixed Numbers
Class Level: 5th Class
Strand: Number
Strand Unit: FractionsCurriculum Objective:
Recognise and convert between improper fractions and mixed numbers.
Compare and order fractions.
Use models and visual representations to explain thinking.Time: 50–60 minutes
1. Learning Outcomes
By the end of the lesson, pupils will be able to:
Define and identify improper fractions and mixed numbers.
Convert between improper fractions and mixed numbers accurately.
Use physical and digital manipulatives to model fractions.
Apply understanding of improper fractions and mixed numbers to real-world and cross-curricular contexts.2. Resources
Concrete materials: Fraction circles, fraction bars, Cuisenaire rods, LEGO bricks in equal lengths.
AI-based manipulatives: Online fraction tool such as Toy Theater Fraction Bars or an AI-powered platform like Brainingcamp or Mathigon’s Polypad (students can ask the AI helper for hints and explanations).
Whiteboard/flipchart.
Tablets/laptops for AI activity.
Worksheet with conversion problems.
Art materials (coloured paper, markers).3. Lesson Sequence
A. Warm-up (AI-based – 10 mins)
Activity: Fraction Quest Challenge
Pupils open an AI maths chatbot app (e.g., ChatGPT with a classroom-safe mode or MathGPT-style tutor) and complete a gamified fraction quiz where they “rescue” a character by answering quick-fire fraction ID questions.
The AI gives instant feedback and explains mistakes with visuals.
Questions progress from “Is this fraction proper or improper?” to “Write this improper fraction as a mixed number.”B. Introduction & Exploration (10 mins)
Concrete exploration:
Give each group fraction circles/bars. Ask them to build:
1 whole (e.g., 4/4, 5/5, etc.)
More than 1 whole (e.g., 7/4) and ask: “What do you notice about this fraction?” or use a collaborative online i notice/I wonder chart
Discuss improper fractions (numerator > denominator) and mixed numbers (whole number + fraction).
Model conversion physically (e.g., 7/4 = 1 whole + 3/4).
Digital reinforcement:
On Mathigon Polypad (AI-assisted), pupils drag fraction bars to model the same example. The AI tool can suggest different ways to represent the same fraction and guide conversion steps.C. Guided Practice (15 mins)
Teacher-led on board:
Step-by-step conversion examples:
Improper → Mixed: Divide numerator by denominator, quotient = whole number, remainder = numerator of fraction.
Mixed → Improper: Multiply whole number by denominator, add numerator = new numerator.
Pupils use tablets to input fractions into AI manipulative and get instant visual feedback
Collaborative twist:
Pupils work in pairs: one uses concrete materials, the other uses AI-based manipulative to show the same conversion, then swap roles.D. Collaborative Application Task (10 mins)
“Fraction Pizza Café” Game
In groups of 3–4, pupils receive “pizza orders” written in mixed numbers (e.g., 2 1/2 pizzas).
They must:
Convert to improper fractions to know total slices needed.
Use fraction circles (or AI manipulative) to “make” the order.
First team to prepare all orders correctly wins.E. Cross-Curricular Integration (5–10 mins)
ART: Create a Fraction Art Poster showing improper fractions and mixed numbers as part of a design (e.g., a mosaic or quilt pattern).
GEOGRAPHY: Link to “Map Scales” — e.g., 1 1/2 km distances converted to improper fractions for calculations.
SPHE: Recipes — doubling/tripling ingredients in fractions (e.g., 1 3/4 cups).
Making Pizzas and dividing in a variety of ways to demonstrate understanding of improper fractions and mixed Numbers.4. Differentiation
Support: Provide visual step-by-step conversion cards; allow use of manipulatives throughout.
Extension: Pupils create word problems involving improper fractions in real-life contexts and solve each other’s challenges.5. Assessment
Formative: Observe during pair work, AI quiz responses, and “Fraction Pizza Café” game.
Summative: Short conversion quiz at the end using both physical and AI-based model6. Reflection
End with a quick “AI Fraction Coach” session where pupils type one question they still have into the AI app and discuss the explanations given.7.Homework
Pupils demonstrate their understanding of the concepts in their own creative ways for presentation to the class.Reflection:
Chatgpt’s response to my lesson request was a great basis at which to start. It suggested Mathgpt at one point which I looked up but its explanations are too complex for 5th class. AI is a great tool and an excellent way to complement experiential learning and use of concrete resources. In order to have whole school uptake and a cohesive use of these tools in a school, its important to align the sse dlf and laos doc to incorporate specific AI tools according to subject and in our case – where we have a Reading Unit -incoporate tools like leveller (magic school) and personalised learning tools. We also need to address policy and cybersecurity and ensure awareness by all staff of the content, inform parents, exchange knowledge and information regularly and bring in experts to support and demonstrate certain tools. There is a wealth of information in this course that will make it alot easier to start any school on this journey.
Hi James,
I have used Scratch with my pupils and they love it. its very versatile and can be used in all kinds of ways and subjects. I agree working in pairs or groups is a good way to go. Some of mine already had experience of Scratch or block coding and they were able to move around and help others but you could also ask in ‘experts’ from other classes too, I used the in-app tutorials but scratch.ie looks more structured and less cluttered.
I like the idea of using Teachable Machine.
I have 5th class and I could use it as part of the ‘feelings’ module in SESE.
The children could train the AI to recognise facial expressions such as sad vs happy; excited vs bored; angry vs calm etc….
Follow up discussion about the variety of expressions used by kids to show different emotions (one child’s happy, might be another child’s excited);whether the AI made mistakes and how easy/hard the AI found it to identify to 100% vs how easy/hard it can be to determine other peoples emotions because not all of use express them in the same way.Pupils could also draw comparison charts – perhaps in the form of a decision tree- to show how we learn vs what a machine learns and role play human reactions versus AI reactions. This could then be the starting point for a conversation on the topic of whether or not AI should make decisions for us – the importance of empathy and the ways in which AI is helpful to us and ways in which it is not.
