[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Karolina

Well done on completing the course I hope you enjoyed it. Again, thanks for sharing your perspectives of all the different activities and resources in this course and how you would use them in your specific setting. Incorporating Lámh signs is a fabulous idea and so inclusive, something we could all consider.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Caitriona

It is great to hear you found this task interesting, we often think of the larger items in space and not the smaller satellites and the amount of them that pass over every day.

This might be a nice idea during Space Week and have different groups track satellites at the same time every day and for others to guess what the role of the satellite is.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Mark

Thanks for your feedback on the resource Nose Up High in the Sky. As a senior classes teacher I agree that it is very well structured and engaging. My class have enjoyed making the weather instruments and collecting their own data. Something I want to build on next school year with more connections to satellites as you have mentioned.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Ashton,

Welcome to the course. Thanks for sharing your reflection on your own STEM work in school in light of Liston’s article. This module offers us the chance to reflect on what is working well and how we can develop STEM in our own teaching and learning. As you have mentioned, a starting point could be integrating the STEM areas together while also looking at making connections to real-life examples or projects. This would give a focus and allow for meaningful connections between curricular areas and to allow for problem solving, creativity and collaboration among the learners as you have mentioned.

I hope you enjoy the other modules in this course.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Owen

Welcome to the course, it is great to hear your feedback on this module along with the resources in this module.

As you have mentioned, STEM is beginning to focus on cross curricular learning and this can be seen in the new curriculum framework with SEE and STEM allowing for inquiry based and project based learning. And yes, we can all be guilty of looking for tasks in a very tight timetable and monthly plan and not looking at a bigger concept or project. Something we can all reflect on and look at how we can make changes in the new school year.

Thanks for sharing, I hope you enjoy the course.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Bernie

Welcome to the course. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the Paxi video and how you could use it in your own class.

I agree that for any class level, there needs to be some vocabulary explicitly taught prior to watching the video to help engage the learners. It is great that you can then use the knowledge from the video and apply it to real life situations such as Green Schools. You could link the greenhouse gases and rising temperatures when the learners are in and out of the polytunnel as it would allow for connections from their experiences.

The Teal Tool is a fantastic resource but as you have mentioned, your class level would probably need to work with older pupils in order for them to engage with it but it will give them some knowledge and understanding of the concept too.

Thanks for sharing, I hope you enjoy the course.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Orla,

Welcome to the course. Thanks for sharing your moon observation plan. It is important to challenge their thinking that the moon is only out at night time prior to their observations. I like how you will encourage the learners to justify their thinking too, allowing for critical thinking and discussion.

It is great to have an idea of dates ready now for observations as the school year can become hectic. I think Stellarium would be a great starting point to show the students where the moon might be in the sky and also lead to the discussion of the shape and phases of the moon.

Thanks for sharing, I hope you enjoy the course.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Louise,

Welcome to the course and thanks for sharing your biodiversity plan with your infant classes.

I like how you plan to use playful learning approaches to raise awareness of biodiversity in the school grounds and also light pollution and the impact on nocturnal animals. The playful approach would be very engaging but could also lead to guided discussion by the teacher and critical thinking by the learners. While exploring the concept of the sleepy hedgehog initially they can then transfer their learning when looking at the street lights around the school.

I like how you plan to get the learners engaged in turning off lights with the stickers. It is important for all learners to recognise the action they can take themselves. Many thanks for sharing, I hope you enjoy the course.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Orla.

Welcome to the course. Thanks for sharing your feedback on the resources and activities in this module. The tasks are engaging and active and as you have mentioned allow the learners to have ownership of the tasks.

There are many ways to integrate other curricular areas with these activities which can make it more engaging for pupils as they explore the concepts across multiple lessons and it also allows for skills development along with collaboration and teamwork as you have mentioned.

I hope you enjoy the other activities and resources across the other modules of this course.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Claire

Welcome to the course. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the Paxi video. I agree that in order for the learners to engage fully with the video they would need to have certain specific vocabulary and this may need to be explored prior to watching the video in an oral language lesson.

The Teal Tool does allow for lots of work with and analysis of real life data which is very engaging for learners in the senior classes. I would recommend exploring the tool with the class as a demonstration initially to allow for questions and to explore how to read and understand the climate graphs. I really like your activity to create a weather report for 2050 based on the data. This is creative and would allow for lots of critical thinking. Thanks for sharing, I hope you enjoy the course.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Matt,

Welcome to the course. Thanks for your feedback and lesson outline when using the resources in this module. The Paxi video explores the concept of greenhouse gases in a very age-appropriate and engaging way.

The Teal Tool is a great resource for the senior pupils to explore data and using their own skills to analyse the data. As you have mentioned this may need to be differentiated to suit the needs of your class. As with every task, we need to consider the different levels and offer different ways to present tasks to pupils with multiple ways for them to engage and show their learning too. The Teal Tool could be used as a demonstration task initially to allow for all learners to become familiar with finding data and using this data in presentations or in reports as you have mentioned.

Thanks for sharing, I hope you enjoy the course.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Diarmaid,

Welcome to the course. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the resources and activities in this module. The Weather V Climate resource outlines both concepts in an age-appropriate way and will discuss the weather on their birthday and the climate over time to ensure the learners can outline the difference. As you have mentioned categorising the statements is a great activity and you could consider how this could also be used for assessment to outline that the learners understand the concept.

Thanks for your feedback regarding the data sets, while the data up to 2018 is relevant and allows for data analysis and skills development, more recent data could be take from Met Eireann also.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Mark,

Welcome to the course. Thanks for your feedback on the Paxi video. While it does provide a great starter point for the greenhouse effect, I agree that there would need to be a level of vocabulary pre-taught so the learners are familiar with the concept and can engage fully with the video.

The Teal Tool would be a fantastic resource for the senior pupils and as you have mentioned, they can explore data analysis in more detail and you can also integrate with geography too. I like how you are planning to differentiate the tasks with multiple options for learners to engage and share their learning.

Thanks for sharing, I hope you enjoy the course.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Nicola

Welcome to the course. I agree that observing the moon is a great way to develop curiosity about Space. Space Week is run every year in October and this might be a good time to introduce this topic. I like how you are planning to predict what the moon might look like prior to going outside and using different ways to show their observations using drawings and also the different terms for the phases of the moon. You could also use Stellarium to help in guiding their observations too.

Thanks for sharing, I hope you enjoy the course.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Triona

Welcome to the course. Thanks for sharing your biodiversity plan.

I like how you are beginning with the school environment and the bio blitz using many resources and digital tools to indentify the different plants, animals and insects. The biodiversity map would compile all the learners observations and learning. You could consider including images of nocturnal animals and insects and ask if they were spotted and why not? This would introduce the concept of nocturnal animals as part of the biodiversity plan also.

You could also consider including the different light sources on the map also to have more focus on light pollution. This would help the learners in the next part of the lesson as they focus on what the school should look like and consider how to reduce the light pollution.

I like how you will repeat the survey to see if the plan worked and what has changed as a result.

Thanks for sharing, I hope you enjoy the course.

 

[Author]

Posts