[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.

 

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Cian,

Welcome to the course. Thanks for sharing your feedback on the different activities and resources in this course so far.

Home is a very powerful resource with excellent imagery to allow for lots of critical thinking and discussion, especially among your 5th class pupils. I teach senior classes too, this age group does have awareness of climate change and sustainability and would engage in meaningful discussion after this video as you have mentioned.

I also agree that there can be a level of anxiety in learners regarding climate change and it is important for us all to focus on positive solution-focused tasks and empowering the learners to take action. This can be in the school, at home or in their wider community.

Thanks for sharing, I hope you enjoy the course.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Cathriona,

Welcome to the course. It is great to hear that your enjoyed Activity 3 and how the Paxi video was clear and engaging, and would hold the attention of your 1st class.

I think there is a lot of vocabulary development opportunities in the video and as you have mentioned it is an opportunity for pair or group work to focus on the vocabulary initially. The video does allow for lots of classroom discussion that could be guided by the teacher in the younger class. I like how you are planning to extend the learning further with posters of how the learners could take action, at home or in school, and this would empower them to encourage others to take action, at home, in school or in their local community.

Thanks for sharing, I hope you enjoy the course.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Michelle,

Welcome to the course. Thanks for sharing your reflection on Liston’s paper and how this applies in your own school and how STEM could be developed.

Thanks for your feedback on the resources and activities in this module. They do allow for connections to real-life examples and problems while also addressing the different areas of STEM. It is great to hear how you will use these resources in your own class next year and how, through project based learning, you will engage the learners in STEM and also 21st century skills.

I hope you enjoy the course.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Karen,

Welcome to the course. It is great to see you starting with the vocabulary and discussing the meaning of the word biodiversity with your learners. This will give them a good understanding of biodiversity before they explore the school grounds.

You are very fortunate to have the swift boxes to observe the birds nesting, and watching the swallows going back and forth to the nest, the swift boxes will allow the pupils to see what happens next. While we have swallows nesting in the school, we have seen them passing by the classroom window and now I am thinking of how we could have spent some time watching them and making our own observations.

Exploring the lights around the school through the survey is a lovely idea for 1st & 2nd class and I like how you are planning to make posters to reduce the light pollution. This will encourage the learners to take action and maybe continue this action at home.

Thanks for sharing, I hope you enjoy the course.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Sarah,

Welcome to the course. Thanks for sharing your observation plan for the moon. I like your starter question to allow for talk and discussion and some critical thinking. It can also help to address any misconceptions such as the moon only comes out at night.

I also like how you will encourage the learners to record the time, date and shape of the moon using labelled drawings. This will encourage the learners to show what they know, some may even be aware of the phases of the moon prior to this task and you can develop their understanding by using the ball on a skewer to represent these phases following the observations as you have mentioned.

Some great ideas, thanks for sharing. I hope you enjoy the course.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Aoife,
Welcome to the course and thanks for sharing your Globe at Night activities. It is important to discuss the issue of light pollution and its impact on nocturnal animals and insects along with energy use, as you have mentioned, prior to using the app or allowing for the homework task.

I think it is a great idea to encourage observations at home and show the learners how to submit their findings to become part of a larger citizen science programme. This also will raise awareness of light pollution in the home and the local community and it may encourage families to take action of their own to help this.

Thanks for sharing, I hope you enjoy the course.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Mary,

Welcome to the course. Thanks for sharing your observation plan for 3rd & 4th class.

It is important to go to the same spot on the yard for each observation and you could choose a location where there could be landmarks to help the observations such as trees, another building etc. This will guide their observations and as you have mentioned it is important for the learners to record their own notes and drawings too for comparisons.

I like how you plan to create a timeline or poster for the learners to share their learning on this task. It is engaging and as you have mentioned, it allows for curiosity and also develops the skill of observation. Thanks for sharing, I hope you enjoy the course.

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