[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Enda,

I think many of us here can relate to what you are saying about how we can see the impacts of climate change and extreme weather on our local communities in recent years. Children are also experiencing this, and unfortunately know no different. You have provided some very useful suggestions for getting the school community on board. If space was there, I love your tree-planting idea. Each tree could be planted for a particular purpose and children would always be aware of that, both in school and the local community.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Seán,

Schools and community organisations have been able to provide so many additional supports to migrant and refugee children in recent years. It has showcased so much of what is good about local areas. I really like your suggestion around the implementation of school-wide practices to education children about the plight of refugees – very often children already enrolled in our schools have no idea about what life was like for the migrant children that have joined us here. Highlighting this is so important for all involved.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Emer,

Welcome to the course and thank you for your post here. You are correct in pointing out that this area, like so many others, requires education for us all. I love how you have been able to relate something that exists in many schools (Green Schools) and have tied it in with the themes of development education. This model and approach is one which we could take and apply to other themes within this area.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Barbara,

Many thanks for your post here. It really is interesting to think that the pre-conceived stereotyping children come to primary school with can have such an impact on their future subject choice/career. Research would point to a significantly lower proportion of female students sitting chemistry, physics and other similar Leaving Cert subjects. Young children can often view things as a ‘girls’ or ‘boys’ activity, and like you have said it is very important to provide opportunities for children themselves to challenge these in a safe and supportive environment.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Seán,

You have highlighted some of the key themes and sub-themes that can be addressed through development education, such as critical thinking and empathy. These make up central themes of the key competencies located in the Primary Curriculum Framework, and will be key to future curriculum rollouts, particularly in Wellbeing and STE. As you have pointed out within your post, the organisation of simple things like intercultural days can also be transformative for progressing these themes.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Catherine,

It is certainly fair to say that Ireland has changed so much over the past 40 years, and we are now a truly multicultural society. This has heightened the need and importance of development education and global development themes in our schools. I like the way you have highlighted the importance of collaboration in terms of developing this, and you have provided some excellent concrete examples of projects they could become involved in.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Colin,

Thank you for your post in which you have raised many pertinent issues. I like the way you have taken an approach which would place the children at the centre, with a focus on both local and global issues. Very often, seeing and witnessing inequalities locally can stir an awareness in children that will eventually progress to campaigning against global inequalities.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Enda,

Thank you for your post. It is interesting that you have chosen the topic of ‘construction’ within play in your post. Irish female students typically perform worse than their male counterparts in ‘shape and space’ testing across PISA, TIMMS, NAMER, etc. This trend is common internationally and Douglas Clements points to the fact that traditionally boys will be concerned with the construction of the object, whereas girls will be considering areas for them to engage in imaginative play within the structure.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Orla,

Welcome to the course and thank you for your insightful post. NCCA research from 2016 points out to how upskilling ourselves as teachers can allow children experience different learning opportunities in school. I feel the tone of your post really speaks to this – it is so important that we ourselves become education on these global development issues. You have correctly identified ongoing CPD as a significant factor in enhancing our knowledge around this. I also like the way you have incorporated ideas around getting the whole school community involved, such as the Global Citizenship Days.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Laura,

Thank you for our post here. It’s fair to say that there really are a plethora of apps that are available for tablet devices that can make the learning process that bit more engaging. The ability for children to respond to tasks through the creation of videos and presentations supports a UDL approach to teaching and learning. This approach is well suited to our classrooms, and promotes more inclusivity through the availability of choice.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Amy,

Thank you for your contribution here. It is heartening to read your opinions on the use of digital technologies and how your use of them has led to improvements for the pupils across the school. Whatever your focus is, this should always be what you set out to achieve with SSE.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Claire,

Welcome to the course and thank you for your contribution here. I am fully in agreement with you in regards to the assistive technologies that are often recommended on psychologists reports – in some cases, a plethora of assistive technologies are listed on the assumption that one may be useful. However, as teachers, it is us who must go through the trial and error stage with the children. If more knowledge was freely available in this area, it may be possible to narrow down the list of assistive tools that may be useful for a child based on his/her needs. Perhaps, schools could benefit from assigning responsibility for assistive technologies to a member of the management team.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Ciara,

Welcome to the online part of this course. Thank you for your contribution here. The ease at which digital tools allow students to access content at their own pace and own level make them very useful in schools and classrooms. It is great to hear that your school has been in a position to invest in its digital infrastructure in recent years. It is very challenging to implement a Digital Learning Plan with poor access to devices for students – once the infrastructure is in place, you can work as a team to ensure that a plan is being put in place to ensure the full benefit is being reaped from their use.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi James,

Thank your for your contribution here. You have raised a central point that is really at the core of what SSE should be, when you point out that staff, students and the wider school community are all at the core of SSE. It is a whole-school effort to enact the improvement plan, and all parties should be consulted at different stages. With regard to the incorporation of digital technology use within SSE, we must ask students (as well as staff) how they found the new initiative when you are monitoring and evaluating the actions within the improvement plan.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Ruth,

Thank you for your post here and for sharing your lesson outline with us. I have often completed a similar lesson that involves children creating the strongest and tallest structure possible with the materials you have listed. However, I love how you have incorporated a strong maths focus into this. There is plenty of room for differentiation and you will see higher achievers attempting to manipulate materials to create new shapes – indeed, there’s also the possibility of introducing the children to the concept of tessellation.

[Author]

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