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Sustainability is very important in our local area, and there is a great sense of community involvement. Our local community council does a fantastic job of keeping our village looking beautiful. They plant flowers and plants around the village, and local people help to look after and maintain them.
Beach clean-ups are also organised a few times during the year. Everyone in the community is encouraged to come along and help. I think this is a great way of bringing people together while also teaching us how important it is to look after our beaches and marine environment.
Another exciting project is the new community garden being developed by the local community and the GAA. The plan is to grow fruit and vegetables and also create a sensory garden. This will be a lovely resource for children to learn about plants, food and nature.
This year, the children in our local school also took part in a project on marine life, which was a fantastic learning opportunity. I would encourage my pupils to take part in beach clean-ups, planting and gardening activities. These hands-on experiences would help children understand sustainability in a simple and meaningful way and show them that even small actions can make a difference.
I really enjoyed learning about the nutrition of seafood in this module. I knew that fish was a healthy food, but I did not realise how many important nutrients it contains. Fish and shellfish are a great source of protein, vitamins and minerals. Some fish also contain Omega-3, which is important for our heart and brain. Fish has an important place on the food pyramid and can be part of a healthy and balanced diet.
I also found the information about food labels very useful. It made me think more carefully about checking labels when I am shopping. Labels can tell us where our seafood comes from and how it has been produced. I think it is important to support seafood that is responsibly farmed or caught, and to look out for seafood produced in Ireland when possible.
There are many simple ways I could bring this learning into the classroom. The Salmon of Knowledge would be a fun starting point, particularly for younger children. We could then talk about different types of fish and shellfish and why they are good for us.
Children could also look at food labels, create a healthy food pyramid or design a healthy meal containing fish. This would help them learn about healthy eating while also understanding where their food comes from and how to make good food choices.
Hi Diarmuid
I love your idea of a tasting session. Some children probably have never even tasted fish!
I really enjoyed exploring the ARC online lessons and resources. I especially liked Professor O’Meara’s video because everything was explained in a very simple and interesting way. I think this would be a lovely starting point for teaching children about the sea, fish and aquaculture.
There are so many learning opportunities that could come from these resources. For example, we could look at the life cycles of fish and shellfish and explore what they need to grow and survive. Children could investigate water, habitats, food and different sea creatures. There are also lots of opportunities for playful learning. In the infant classroom, we could create a seaside or fish farm role-play area, sort and count shells, make sea creatures through art, read stories about the ocean and carry out simple water experiments.
I like that this topic can easily link with SESE, Maths, Literacy, Art and STEM. Children can ask questions, make predictions, investigate and talk about what they discover. This fits very well with the STEM approach of learning through curiosity and hands-on activities.
As part of the School Self-Evaluation (SSE) process, these resources could also be shared across the school. Teachers could plan STEM activities together and build on the children’s learning as they move through the different classes. I think the ARC resources make STEM learning feel practical, enjoyable and relevant to children’s everyday lives.
Before doing this course, I did not know very much about aquaculture farms in Ireland or where they were located. I was surprised to learn that there are many aquaculture farms along the Irish coastline, especially on the west and south coasts. These areas are well suited to farming fish and shellfish such as salmon, mussels and oysters.
I now understand how important these farms can be for small coastal communities. They provide jobs for local people and bring money into the area. They also support other local businesses and help people to continue living and working in rural areas. Aquaculture is also an important way of producing food here in Ireland.
The course has made me think more about where the fish and shellfish we eat actually comes from. Since learning more about aquaculture, I have even started buying and eating more fish and shellfish myself. I also think it is very important that aquaculture farms look after the sea and the environment around them.
Overall, I now have a much better understanding of aquaculture farms around Ireland’s coastline and the important part they play in supporting local communities, providing food and creating jobs.
I absolutely love this especially turning coastal locations into “living classrooms.” It is so important that children learn from their coastal surroundings. When we go “away” on holidays we are all great to explore other countries coastlines and learn but we need to teach the children of Irish about our coast and country
I really enjoyed learning about aquaculture and Social License in this module. These were new topics for me, and I now have a much better understanding of how aquaculture works and why it is important in Ireland. I also learned that it is important for people living in an area to understand what is happening and to have a chance to share their views.
I think the resources from this module could be very useful in my classroom. The videos and online activities are bright, simple and interesting for children. As I teach infant classes, I would keep the learning very simple and focus on topics such as fish, the sea, where our food comes from and how we can look after the ocean.
There are lots of ways to make this learning fun for younger children. We could read stories about the sea, draw sea creatures, talk about different types of fish and discuss ways to keep our oceans clean. The children could also learn about people who work with the sea and the different jobs they do.
Overall, I think learning about aquaculture is a good way to help children become more interested in the sea and understand why we need to care for our environment.
I am also really looking forward to using Reading Coach. I can’t wait to see what the children in my class will think of it
For Senior Infants, I would plan a simple ScratchJr lesson linked to our current classroom theme. The aim would be to introduce the children to basic coding while also developing their creativity, problem-solving and oral language skills.
I would use Microsoft Copilot to help me create a short story based on our theme. For example, if our theme was The Farm, we could create a simple story about a farmer looking for a missing sheep. I would show the story to the children and we would discuss the characters, setting and sequence of events together.
The children would then use ScratchJr to recreate part of the story. They could choose or create characters and backgrounds and use simple coding blocks to make their characters move, speak and interact. We could explore commands such as move, turn, start and stop. Children could work in pairs so they can discuss ideas and solve problems together.
Since completing this course, I have become much more aware of the different ways AI can support my teaching. Previously, I mainly used ChatGPT, but I have really enjoyed exploring Copilot. I particularly like its ability to create stories and visuals, which fits very well with thematic planning and integrating subjects such as English, Maths, Art and SESE.
Going forward, I hope to use AI to support lesson planning, create resources, differentiate activities and assist with assessment. However, I feel that the teacher’s input and judgement must always remain at the forefront. Children also need to learn that AI is not always correct and should be encouraged to question and check the information it provides.One idea from this module that really stood out to me was using AI to develop children’s critical thinking skills rather than simply using it as a tool to find answers. I particularly liked the example based on History and the events around 1916. It was very interesting to see how the information generated by AI could change depending on how the question was asked and whether the prompt was written from an Irish or British point of view.
I would introduce this to pupils by first choosing an event from History that could be viewed from different perspectives. I would ask AI the same question using different prompts and show the children the responses. As a class, we could compare the answers and look for differences in the language, facts and opinions presented. This would lead to a discussion about bias and why we should not automatically believe everything that AI tells us.
I also think tools such as Osmo could be very useful, particularly with younger children. It allows children to learn through play while still using technology. Children can physically move letters, numbers and shapes while completing activities on screen. This could make areas such as phonics, spelling, counting and problem-solving more enjoyable and interactive. It also gives children an opportunity to work together, discuss their ideas and learn through trial and error.
Overall, I think both examples show that technology can encourage children to become active learners rather than simply giving them information.