[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Andrew,

Thank you for your post here. I really like the point you have made around Development Education using diverse role models to challenge stereotypes and inequalities related to a wide variety of issues. Like earlier posters have said, female sports stars gaining prominence in recent years has helped to break down barriers and increase participation in women’s sport.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Orlaith,

Thank you for your post. It is heart-warming to hear the extra help and support these migrant children are receiving, both in the local community and at school. It is also great to hear that the Christmas shoe box appeal is still going strong, as in many cases, it is the first real experience children have of relating to the hardship experienced by children in these countries.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Orla,

Thank you for sharing your post and your experience of working within the UK. Certainly, some countries have severe gender-ingrained ideologies, which unfortunately limits what can be achieved by females (or forces males down areas they may not wish to pursue also). We are in the fortunate position to be discussion gender stereotypes on a more superficial level, but nonetheless these can contribute to directing children down paths that could shape the type of future they have. I’m sure you will have seen some of these from the other forum contributors.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Janet,

Thank you for your post. I like the way you have zoned in on environmental awareness and deepening knowledge around the impact of climate change and how humans can generate the conditions to accelerate or decelerate this. The Green Schools Initiative is a great way to raise awareness and achieve buy-in from the whole school community. However, like you have said meaningful development education is an ongoing process, and initiatives like this need to sustained and built on after the ‘flag’ has arrived.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Catherine,

Thank you for your post and welcome to the course. You are so right to point out the value of CPD in relation to development education (and all other areas). It is clear that this course will provide you with knowledge, skills and ideas around the incorporation of these global themes into your teaching. If all teachers had access to relevant CPD, this could be seen across the board.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Alyson,

Thank you for your post and your response to Ehigie’s article. As you have pointed out, SESE is the perfect place for you to integrate development education themes within the curriculum. I really like your idea around a Development Education week, which could be treated in a similar way to Active Schools Week. Especially when starting out, this can be a great way to raise awareness and build a culture of this around the school.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Shane,

Thank you for your post. The Teachable Machine is such a powerful tool and has so many potential uses. Using it to reinforce number formation is one which I would never have thought of, but would be so useful. It is great to have a selection of teachers from across class levels who can use their knowledge of the different curricula to provide relevant and suitable ideas for us all to learn from.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Chris,

Thank you for your post here. As you have taught the same class level for a number of years, you are well placed to make judgements on different interventions that may be useful for your group. Immersive Reader is a fantastic tool, and one which can really level the playing field for those struggling and emergent readers. In addition, AI tools can create differentiated pieces of text on the same topic which may enable learners to become more independent readers in time, whilst also being able to contribute to the overall class discussion and development.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Sarah,

Thank you for your post and for sharing this experience. I am sure many of us will relate to this. It can be easy to identify that these stereotypes exist and that we can feed into it with our own practices. However, it can be difficult to break away from this as many of these are so deeply ingrained societally. Like an earlier poster has said, seeing these being broken down, (such as through footballers wearing pink boots) is so powerful and can transform the way societal norms are created/re-created.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Linda,

Thanks you your post in which you have outlined many societal realities. The reality points to commercial interests driving many of these gender stereotypes and pigeon-holing children into certain interests, activities, etc. You have made an interesting point in relation to colour and how football jerseys, boots, etc. are now made in many ‘non-traditional’ colours. When children see major football teams and individual players wearing theses colours, it can have a powerful impact in breaking down any stigma associated with these.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Cora,

Welcome to the course and thank you for your thoughtful post here. It is really clear that the Ehigie piece has really resonated with you and you have highlighted many relevant and pertinent points from the article. Your comment around ‘every little helps’ is such a powerful little nugget from your piece – if we all can do that ‘little’ bit, it doesn’t be long until it becomes quite large.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Christine,

Thank you for your post. From reading this forum at such an early stage it is clear that many others have shared similar experiences to you. It is such a shame that infant children come to school with these ideas around what is appropriate for each gender, in terms of toys, games, professions, etc. At such an early age, it should matter little what toys they choose to play with. Very often, children will often deviate away from something they wish to pursue because of the fear that it does not align with societal norms.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Orlaih,

The SDG related to climate action is certainly one which carries much relevance at this present time. Children are witnessing examples of extreme weather and climate change locally in may areas in recent years. The content of module 5 will allow you to explore this topic in more detail. Knowing that fellow student sin the school have created the posters you have mentioned can also have a greater impact than commercially produced posters/flyers from my experience.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Orla,

Thank you for your post here. You have raised several great points. Its great that you will be able to incorporate some of this into your unit of work on the Aboriginal people. I fully agree with the point you have made regarding the prompt and the output. Making the children aware that the text they are analysing was AI generated and to ask them to identify what the prompt was has huge implications for developing and deepening their critical thinking skills.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Rachel,

Thank you for your post and your engagement throughout the course. As I mentioned earlier, Immersive Reader is such as excellent assistive resource for children with literacy difficulties. In terms of numeracy, I would also recommend Amplify/Mathigon as a virtual manipulative tool to assist children. https://polypad.amplify.com/

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