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I believe that my own practice over the past number of years has been shaped and moulded by the level of expertise around me from my colleagues, friends and the strong focus my school has placed on using and implementing digital technology effectively. In my role as an Assistant Principal II I shared a number of assessment strategies and resources with my staff. By creating focus groups, as a staff, we were able to foster and develop leadership capacity. Newly qualified teachers had a real voice in sharing new assessment strategies with more senior members of our school whose vast experiences was pivotal in outlining potential advantages and pitfalls to implementing new strategies.
Going forward, I am extremely cognisant of ensuring I have the right balance from a teaching and wellbeing perspective in identifying one/two areas to upskill in and then embed it over the course of the year. I feel with the new curriculum being enacted, it is imperative I do not take on too many things or try out too many ideas from CPD as what can possibly happen is a number of ideas being explored with average results as opposed to mastering the effective instruction of one or two – e.g. google forms and slides.
There were a number of standout points from this paper that struck a chord with me and enabled me to review and reflect on my own assessment journey as a teacher over the past 16 years. The reference to formative assessments being used as a form of assessment ‘before the big one’ is an interesting quotation for me. Does this suggest teachers previously ‘taught to the test’? or does it simply suggest that teachers have constantly scaffolded their students and prepared them appropriately to be able to undertake and perform in an assessment/test scenario. I have over and back with the use of assessments over my career. A weekly spellings test suggest some children practice their spellings diligently every night. In the same breath, children who struggle with spellings work tirelessly throughout the week only to be disappointed with an assessment that is tailored towards those who will always flourish in a skill/concept they are naturally string at.
The Assessment Reform group I feel is linked intrinsically to the SSE process we are using in our schools today. The involvement of children in conversations and processes around assessment will have a positive and practical effect on their learning experiences and levels of enjoyment. In terms of how this paper has influenced my own views on AoL and AfL, I believe teacher autonomy and confidence is critical. The longer I have taught, the more confident and sure I am that I can make a decision based on my level of teacher observation of the group I am teaching. There is no one size fits all and this is something I feel Oide, school leaders, the inspectorate and department are cognisant of, thankfully!
Hi Robert,
This is a very interesting way of using Google forms. It also seems quite practical when making a variety of essential decisions for a school over the course of the year. Anything that cuts down on time being wasted at meetings is always a plus. I’ll definitely share some of these ideas when I return to school in September with my own staff.
Hi there Una,
This is a really nice idea to enable your school to focus on ‘Being Well.’ What impressed me hugely here was your reflection about how you would adjust for future lessons. The efforts being made towards inclusion of neurodiverse children ensures we must start thinking outside the box a lot more to make sure our lessons and activities are tailored to meet the needs of all children in a truly inclusive setting.
Hi Darragh,
You have clearly broken down the 6 step SSE process directly related to digital learning. I also agree that exit ticket activities using Google forms is an excellent way to close off a topic or lesson. I like that this can be saved and revisited at a later date or again the following year. It also creates an opportunity to compare and contrast results between year groups.
I agree wholeheartedly with you with regard to creating a ripple effect at whole-school level. It is essential to ensure there are a number of stakeholders to try and achieve growth in digital learning across the entire school community. Different voices and characters will bring different outlooks and strengths to the team leading digital learning.
Research a famous scientist or engineer associated with your local area and describe how you would use that person as inspiration for classroom science investigations.
I have decided once again in this module to focus on people from the locality that children can really identify with. It is clear that a famous person can have a hugely effective impact on children when they see them on TV, the internet or flashed across billboards. However, the national achievements of those who can realistically visit a school setting and understand the lives of the children you are teaching can have a longer lasting and more relevant impact. Twins Aimee and Ashely Keogh are two such people who went on to develop the Mind the gap app for second level students. This focuses on second level students who are studying for exams. The transition from 6th class to second level can be a daunting and nervous time for our primary school pupils. These girls highlighted their ability to conduct research on an incredibly important topic. It would inspire the next generation to get involved in the BT Young Scientist programme and they are clearly amazing role models for their community.
Research engineering in your local area and describe how you would use a local building, structure or other engineering feature as inspiration for a classroom or outdoor design and make project
I think the most appropriate building to use from the area I teach in is Tallaght stadium, the home of Shamrock Rovers and indeed more recently of the women’s International Soccer team. This is the home of so many Rovers fans, many of which are students I have taught in the past and will teach in the future. There is an automatic sense of community when identofying a building or structure that has relevance to the children you are teaching. There are many examples of how this structure could be part of a larger project on Sporting Stadiums in Ireland and the world.
Maths: Comparing capacity of fans from Tallaght stadium to rivals Shelbourne in Tolka Park. Not veering too far, Croke Park is just a short walk from Richmond Road to Jones’ Road when leaving Tolka Park. Google maps once gain comes into focus here. Timeline of stadiums being built/renovated can also be compared here, while always linking back to the stadium deep in the heart of the Tallaght community.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?
In this assignment, I would draw on the nearby park to our school for a regular visit to explore the flora and fauna that is relevant to the lives of children in my school in Tallaght. Tymon Park is quite close to our school and there is a range of biodiversity that the children could be exposed to. This could begin in the confines of the classroom in a study of animals native to Irish parks. Students could select an animal that is found in any of our National parks E.g. Glenveigh/Killarney etc and compare if this animal is found in Tumon Park. The direct link to the community of the children will enable learning to occur in a much more appropriate setting and prove far more relevant to their learning. In terms of recording, students could bring the Ipads with them to take photos to combine project work into a photostory.
A realistic aim would be to visit Tymon park once per month. There are so many cross-curricular opportunity here with Outdoor and Adventure in P.E. as well as Art and Map skills.
For younger classes, these are the steps I would use to plan and conduct a lesson on map making and also how I would incorporate online tools such as Google maps or Geohive into a lesson for 1st class children.
I would open my lesson with a provocation question. This would state ‘What is a map?’ This would follow by think, pair and share work with these questions: Have you seen one before? Have you used one before? why do we need them? What do you think should be on a map?
At this point we would go outside the classroom with clipboards and walk around the school grounds. The children would only have a starting point marked on an A4 page. AT various points we would draw images of important areas of the school e.g yard, pitch, courts, school entrance/boundary, junior end/senior end etc.
Children would then return to the classroom to label and colour their maps, while also being introduced to the concept of a key. Using Geohive, children on Ipads in pairs could look at aerial photographs of the map of the school and compare and contrast both.
After reviewing the paper Unravelling STEM: Beyond the Acronym of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (Liston 2018) reflect on what STEM education looks like in my classroom, I have come to the conclusion that I need to be more receptive andf open-minded to the exploration and incorporation of STEM activities throughout each day of my teaching. This must be prepared appropriately in my planning and therefore delivered with consciousness of time-management so that the recommended department subject time allocations are adhered to. From looking at Liston’s views, it is apparent to me that cross-curricular integration is essential in delivering effective STEM lessons efficiently. Going forward I need to be braver in increasing elements of STEM across all levels. It doesn’t necessarily relate to Science – STEM-based activities should be central elements of Maths and Geography lessons also.
Having previously worked in an Inquiry based school in the UAE, I have seen the benefits of students leading the learning with appropriate scaffolding supporting them along the way.
Hi Joan,
This is an excellent idea. I think there is so much scope here for children to conduct research projects about famous Irish people who have a major impact across the globe. There would be a huge interest in this provocation about possible asking what country the designer of the white house was from. Students from Kilkenny in particular would be immensely proud of the history of James Hoban.
Hi Shaun,
I like the emphasis you have placed on the variety of historical buildings in your area. We often overlook our own locality and target national historical sites and indeed international ones. There is a clear cross-curricular focus in your ideas here which can be used across all class levels.
Hi Denis,
Thanks for sharing your ideas about how biodiversity is flourishing in your school. I think a lot of people living in urban areas could identify with the need to make their gardens more friendly to biodiversity. I’m looking forward to exploring the All- Ireland pollinator plan further.
Hi Veronica,
I really like the variety of resources you have tapped into here. The use of a large visual map, google maps and then Geohive exposes the children to a multitude of resources which they can find solutions to problems from. Thanks for sharing.
