[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Elaine,

Thanks for this post. Stories and picturebooks are such an excellent way to explore all of the development education themes. They are particular useful for some sensitive issues, potentially around children in classes that may be at risk of poverty, social deprivation or discrimination as it allows the class to discuss this through the neutral context of the story and can often present issues in a light that allows children to empathise with different situations.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Sarah,

Thank you for this post and for your engagement throughout the course. The point you have made around pupil voice and development education is so important and ensuring these huge themes are reflected in classroom practice allows children to see themselves as members of an interconnected world, where small actions taken at scale can have huge impacts (in both positive and negative senses). Incorporating the SSE cycle into a school’s work in this area allows opportunities for reflection and adaption based on feedback from pupils and other members of the wider school community.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Amy,

Thank you for your post and for sharing some of the excellent work being carried out in Gorey in this regard. I really like the cultural celebration that you mentioned in December, which allows us to compare and contrast the ways in which different cultures celebrate similar events. Having the HSCL position attached to your school gives you a great link with the community and allows relationships to be formed between the school, its community and local organisations. Linking in with this family resource centre allows the school and community to support the excellent work each is doing.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Susan,

Thank you for sharing such thought-provoking comments around the SDG of reducing inequality. You have touches on such an important message around the importance of ‘community first’ and instilling values such as respect and active citizenship, which will be carried by these children throughout their lives, and are far more likely to trickle out into the ‘everyday’. This is likely to have further reaching impacts that some potential short-term actions which may focus on aspects such as fundraising for immediate needs (which are also understandably very valuable and important)

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Christine,

Thank you for your post and for sharing the impact of flooding in your school’s community. It is heart-breaking to hear of the damage extreme weather can cause to community projects such as those organised by the local Tidy Towns. However, I have mentioned previously that seeing the impacts of this in their own community makes the impact all the more ‘real’ and can instil a sense of justice in children to ensure we all act collectively to ensure this does not become the norm.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

HI Caoimhe,

Thank you for engaging with the module and sharing this here. One of the main points I have taken from your post is the ability of these Microsoft AI tools to make the learning experience more personalised for children in your classroom. Children thrive on feedback and interactive learning experiences – it is so hard to achieve this for every child every day due to the size of many of our classes. Having tools that can break down some of these barriers is so important and can be hugely effective in spreading ourselves that bit wider.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Alison,

Thank you for sharing your knowledge of the work being done by the Civil Defence in your experience. Small actions such as the welcome booklet or having a few phrases or words in their native language can be hugely important in fostering a sense of belonging for young children joining the school. It also allows us to build an initial connection and show that we value their culture and background, and how this can and will ultimately enrich the classroom dynamic.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Fiona,

Thanks for this post – it’s clear that climate change is having an impact on the weather we are getting here in Ireland with more extremes of all weather types being present over the past number of years. Having an event like Storm Eowyn can be a really useful stimulus for children, as it can highlight the local impact of such a global issue, and how it doesn’t just relate to other countries far away. Working on some of the small changes you listed can be useful in creating a duty in us all to make small contributions that are replicatable at scale.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Gillian,

Thank you for sharing your thoughts here around the SDG on reducing inequalities, with particular reference to how this relates to the context you are teaching in yourself. Some of the initiatives you are already doing are brilliant and you have a number of very relevant suggestions included also. There are also some suggestions in the Module 4 forum that you may find particularly useful in addressing this SDG, with people sharing work being done by organisations around the country in relation to migration.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Sandra,

Thank you for your post here and for sharing some of the tremendous work being done by community organisations across Galway. I think the initiative you are involved in around language acquisition is so beneficial for all children involved. It really lends itself to Cummins’ theory around BICS and CALP, and and the importance of children picking up the ‘language of the playground’ before being able to access the more formal elements of the ‘language of the classroom’. Forming strong relationships with others is central to enhancing the learning experience of all children in schools and this is a lovely way to achieve that.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Kevin,

Welcome to the course and thank you for this post. I love how you have used the way in which we all look at different stories and situations from different viewpoints as an ideal starting point for delving into development education themes in the classroom, Pictureboks are a particularly effective way of exploring some of these themes around stereotypes and inequalities and allow children to discuss these themes and formulate opinions through a fictional lens, before applying this to issues that exist in the ‘real world’.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Chantelle,

Thanks for sharing your thoughts here. I think its fair to say that some of these innocently-intended stereotypes start long before a child enters an infant classroom. Marketing is everywhere around us, and creates subconscious bias in us all around what roles, toys, colours, etc. are fixed towards certain genders. One flick through the Smyths magazine at Christmas will clearly point towards certain toys being geared heavily towards girls and others towards boys. It’s certainly a hard cycle to break, but I like your idea of raising awareness and the profile of this through the SSE cycle.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Joann,

Thank you for your post and for sharing the ways in which Osmo can be used, with particular reference to the infant classroom. I haven’t used it personally but really like the sound of the numeracy resources you have mentioned within it. The hands-on nature, with a focus on understanding and exploration, certainly aligns closely with the main aims of the PMC and the development of mathematical proficiency.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

HI Sarah,

Thank you for your post here and for sharing your reflections. I think focussing on just a few AI tools is a good step to take going forward. Once we are in the swing of things, the reality is that we will often return to the same one or two tools/resources/websites, etc. Seeing how these work and can be adapted to suit the needs of those in our class is so beneficial. Magic School is one that I constantly find myself reverting back to, even after experimenting and using some newer platforms that have been shared. Claude AI is another that is gaining traction recently, and seems like it could add huge value to lesson preparation.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Rose,

Thank you for your post and welcome to the course. I hope that you will be able to take some ideas back to your class next year, and I look forward to us all learning from your own experience of working in a special class, and how the 365 tools can be of assistance here. The Forms quiz you have attached is a perfect example of how the Microsoft suite of tools can be used within the classroom. Quickly capturing children’s attainment at either an individual or whole class level is so important to ascertain where they are presently at – indeed, the inclusion of visuals, videos, audio files, etc. could make this an activity that is accessible to all children in all contexts.

[Author]

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