[Eva Murray]

Showing poorly made bridges are interesting and great point. This could help the class make a success criteria before they start and avoid easy mistakes. Giving the chance for the children to modify their bridge is a really good idea for their resilience and builidng confidence in the design and make process.

[Eva Murray]

Using the suspension bridge in Birr Castle Demesne or a bridge in your local area as inspiration, describe how you would plan a class or whole school challenge to design and make a bridge. How would you integrate mathematical thinking and incorporate the maths skills appropriate to your class level.

We are beside broombridge so we could go and visit that bridge. There are other local bridges that we could compare and contrast with. How are they different, what is the most efficient, could each of them hold the same weight.

First allow the children to explore materials and brainstorm how to make bridges. THen they will be given the purpose of the bridge, as a class we will decide what features are needed and then they can begin building.

When evaluating we can use weight of objects as our deciding factor if the bridge is fit for purpose. A pederstrian bridge would not need to hold as much weight as a bridge on the motorway for example. The class can discuss and suggest ways to improve their bridge.

[Eva Murray]

Having a nature journal is such a great idea to record and collect all the information the class have gathered over the year by visiting this park. Great idea giving the journal a purpose beyond nature and integrating it with art too. Including data in maths is a great practical maths lesson that has signficance to the class.

[Eva Murray]

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 think I would take the advice of the course and just get the children outside first. I would focus on types of trees and identifying trees. This could be a year round project as we can revisit the same park and use different tools based on the season. The tree council will be helpful to have keys for all seasons.

We could go out once per term as a minium. We could sketch the trees during each season to integrate art. We can investigate what seed disperal the trees use and write an information report on it to incorporarte english. We could measure the difference in space between trees and wonder if that benefits or hinders their growth.

[Eva Murray]

Using google earth and google maps is a good starting point because I believe it would be the maps most familiar to the children. Including physical maps also is great for the children to build an understanding of life in the past (connecting to history also).

Dividing the class into groups is great way to ensure a detailed map of the whole school grounds. Google my map is a great way to connect back to ict

[Eva Murray]

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

For younger classes I would complete a walk down the canal that is beside our school to conduct a map lesson. I will have the children a picture of a destination or flora that we will see on this route. As we go I will ask the children to look out for this picture. We will then put it on a whole class page that orders what we saw.

When returning to the class we will repeat orally the steps we took and what order we saw our landmarks in. THe children will then create their own maps, either using toys, classroom equipment or natural equipment.

When complete we will look and compare our maps to google map. We will discuss which is better, what elements are better, what would you add to improve

[Eva Murray]

Gaining the children’s knowledge prior through the ways listed is very important and efficient. I agree that using the resources provided help teachers with integration which benefits the children in many ways

[Eva Murray]

Describe how you could apply some of the concepts and skills you have learned in this module to your own teaching practice in line with the STEM Education policy statement:

The planning framework is very helpful to give structure to the inquiry lessons.
Based on this framework I was refelecting on how and when was the most beneficial times in the day to complete these investagations. I would complete the wonder at the end of the school day. This is when the children are tired and struggle to concentrate. Allowing them to watch, look at something and develop their own opinions would be engaging. This would give me time to gather the equipment for exploration which could be done in stations depending on what the children have wondered.

I see from this learning that the inquiry can be prescriptive or child led. I think getting a balance of this will be most efficient. For example the inquiry question could be prescribed by the the teacher but the next steps and making connections could be led by the students. To ensure there is a balance

[Author]

Posts