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Yes I agree it is so fascinating the list of satellites you were able to track. I think it would really pique the children’s interest in space in an area that they probably have never looked at before.
I think this is a great idea. Very do-able also. Having the structure of Climate Detective Research Planner as you have laid out would make it a very valuable learning experience for the pupils.
My research question would be How much energy is consumed by data centres in Ireland and what is the impact of this?
My school is in west Dublin. Out of the 107 data centres in Ireland 84 are in west Dublin so I think it is the most pressing local issue for the children in the area. I would certainly begin by working on Weather v Climate as was laid out in module 1, then on to Climate Change. They need to learn about the Climate and Climate Change first before jumping into the topic of Data centres as think it’s an area we know very little about.
Using the Climate Detectives Research Planner I think we can answer the questions:
Does the question fit the theme of climate? – Yes as energy consumption affects climate change. But it has links to lots of other areas in STEM (electricity, energy sources) and across the curriculum (literacy, maths, critical literacy).
Is the question focused on a single problem or issue? – Yes but it can be looked at from a global perspective also and how data centres affect other countries too, in relation to water consumption etc also.
Is the question too broad or too narrow? – Think you could expand it a lot but still keep a focus for the children.
Is the question clear and concise? – Yes
Is the answer to the question too readily available? – In some ways yes as the figures are available online but I think it would be good for children to do the data analysis themselves and see how the consumption of data centres compares to household consumption/ school consumption etc. Working out percentages and making graphs based on Ireland’s emissions from previous years to current years would be very interesting and they would be working scientifically.
Is the question feasible? – yes. Many of our pupils are from Indian, Bangladeshi, Pakistani or Filipino backgrounds. I think with the older classes it would be good to research how climate change is affecting people in these countries to make a more tangible link to the lives of others around the globe.
I think exploring how data centres market themselves as using renewable energy sources while drawing heavily on the national grid that still relies on fossil fuel is an interesting discussion in relation to developing critical thinking in the children.
Finally our school has participated in the curious minds award for the last few years- we were awarded gold this year. Our Science coordinator pulls all the info together and submits the application. Teachers throughout the year are reminded to take photos during STEM time and send them on to her. 5th class hold a maths fair in the hall for maths week and 6th class do a science fair for STEM week and these are both very successful initiatives. The school also has a bi-monthly VLOG that is received well in the feedback. Although the application is work for the post holder, there isn’t any extra work for teachers as we are all teaching STEM anyhow so it is nice to get the acknowledgement for it and it gives us a focus with our STEM teaching. I would encourage other schools to participate.
Option 3: Download the Teacher Guide & Pupil Activities for the ESA
Resource ‘ Nose High Up in The Sky’ ( slide 19) carry out the pupil
activities yourself and post your thoughts on the resource and if you
would use it in class.Activity 1: Talking about the weather.
Activity 2: Sensing the Weather
Activity 3: Build your weather station
I think the three activities would be very easy to do in a class. The resources are well structured and easy to follow. For activity 1 I would let the children explore the website from module 1 also: https://www.artofmanliness.com/skills/outdoors/22-old-weather-proverbs-that-are-actually-true/ . Activity 2 is suitable for all ages and think it would be good to do this when introducing the daily weather journal that a child would fill in at a set time each day (data gathering). I think the children would be really engaged in their learning with the weather station. Measuring using a thermometer and designing and making a rain gauge and anemometer would be an excellent hands on experience for the children to engage in in small groups. Completing this at the end of Sept/ Oct would be great as it would then tie in with Space week where they could further their exploration of weather and climate by looking at the satellites orbiting earth.
I don’t think I would like to use the video HOME in my classroom. I think it wouldn’t engage a class as it is quite slow moving especially at the start and is very long. Maybe segments would be useful? I think a lot of it would really be anxiety inducing for children and would be more appropriate for secondary schools. I think some children could find this a bit scary and leave them worried and feeling helpless.
The aerial shots that others found beautiful, I thought they would be difficult to make out – I watched this part with my 11 year old and he repeatedly said I don’t get what that part is.
The parts on mining / consumption were interesting and could be used in a class as a discussion point as well as the water consumption in India v Las Vegas. The agriculture segments are more based on the American system whereas in Ireland I don’t think farming should be portrayed in such a negative light.
I think there are lots of other videos available that are more engaging and age appropriate and would prefer to use others instead of HOME.
Enya I like your exit strategy idea of one cause, one effect and one action. As well as being an assessment it concludes the topic on a positive. Nice idea.
Yes I agree Susanne. I think you would need to do a lot of work around what is weather v climate, weather journals, weather stations etc before learning about climate change. I would use some of the excellent videos provided to help explain the topic before using the TEAL tool. As you said the data in them could be a bit much without all the work prior. Getting the engagement right as each group presents their model to the whole class would be important too sso they get the full picture.
I think the resources from the ESA are excellent. I would think Activity 3 is most suited to an older class. The bank of lessons are best done over a decent stretch as there is a lot to unpack in them and to get quality learning it would be best not to rush the topic. I think it would certainly be a good idea to start on activities 1 and 2 first before jumping into activity 3 on climate change.
I think children would really enjoy the activity. They would be using proper scientific skills with their investigations and modelling.
The Paxi videos are great – very engaging and explain complex topics in a very accessible way. I have used them before to explain night and day and the solar system. I think the Paxi video would be a great prompt when introducing the topic to engage the pupils’ interest. The SEAI Model the Greenhouse effect activity (pg 34) would be good to do in class also before Activity 3. The videos in the slides are great engagement tools and for prompting discussions but the small group investigations is where you would get the best engagment and where the children would really be getting to put their scientific skills into action. I like the 4 Cs – collaboration, critical thinking, communication and creativity and think this would be a good activity for the children to use all these.
I think in a senior class we would have to look at data centres in Ireland and how they are contributing to our emissions. This slideshow may have been created before there were so many in Ireland but they currently account for 23% of our energy consumption in Ireland. This could be an extension activity.
The ESA Kids Weather vs Climate resources were really good. They are very clear and easy to follow. I think activity 1 would be a great starting point for discussions. I like that lesson plans are thorough including answers without too much detail to wade through. I like the third exercise too that was the discussion point: Climate scientists say that the temperature is increasing but the weather today is rainy and cold. The Weather Detectives would be a fun hands on activity. I had a student teacher who did a similar exercise with my 5th class a few years ago and it went really well – making the rain gauges and anemometer in small groups worked well and they integrated it with digital literacy to share their results as data charts. I never thought of filling the bottom of the coke bottle with jelly to make it level before – such a simple solution, will definitely do it this year.
I think the weather journal example in the slides would be so easy to implement even in a younger class – have two pages divided into the 5 days of the week and then a different child could fill it out after morning meeting each day. Could just be part of the daily classroom routine. Or else maybe lunchtime could be a better time from a perspective of gathering more data? (I’m not sure if that’s scientifically accurate or not but mornings are so often cloudy?)