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I love this idea of recording/documenting the various sounds heard in the natural environment when on a nature walk. I know I’m mostly concerned with the visual aspect of such activities. It would be a great way to include a child with visual impairment. I think if everyone takes a moment to close their eyes and just listen we would be surprised at the variety in what we would hear. It would help be more “in the moment”!
- 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
William Dargan the famous road and rail engineer was born in Co. Carlow. He was involved in some of the most important road and rail developments in Ireland during the 1800s. Among his most notable projects was the construction of Ireland’s first railway line, the Dublin & Kingstown, which opened in 1834. The success of this project led him to winning many of the contracts for subsequent railway projects in the 1840s and 1850s. He was also a successful canal engineer building the Ulster Canal connecting Lough Erne and Lough Neagh.
Using Dargan’s many achievements as inspiration I would ask members of a senior class in my school (I’m an admin principal) to take on the imaginary engineering project of building a new rail line from our town of Borris to Waterford city.
This would involve a large amount of research with many questions to be answered. Among these would be:
Should it be a straight line or shortest distance between the two?
Should it go through some towns along the way?
What natural obstacles have to be overcome or avoided?
Will bridges/tunnels be needed?
Among skills being used will be map reading with emphasis on topography.
Engineering skills such as bridge design will surely feature with the local Borris Viaduct being a possible inspiration
I would like to think that geography, history, art, science and maths can all be encompassed in this project which I feel would go on for at least a full term.
Needless to say, this would only happen with the support and co-operation of the class teacher.
Referring to this unique local structure is a great way to use history and built heritage as inspiration to create something unique and new with a specific use.
- 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
Our school, Borris NS in Co. Carlow, is located next to Borris Viaduct which is a marvellous 16 arch railway bridge completed in 1860. Rising to a height of 18.3 m (60 feet), the structure is celebrated as one of the finest examples of 19th-century monumental bridgework and masonry in Ireland and it is the dominating feature of the town. It was championed by the famous local landlord Arthur MacMurrough Kavanagh (Born without arm or legs and became Westminster MP for the area). It is an obvious reference for a build your own bridge project.
The project would begin with researching the history of the structure. We would be able to approach the current residents of Borris House (the ancestral home of Arthur MacMurrough Kavanagh), the Kavanagh family, where there may be documentary evidence of the commission of the viaduct. The family have always been very facilitating to requests from the school. Investigating the uses of the viaduct both past and present would also be an important part of this aspect of the project.
For the children then to design and make their own viaduct they would firstly begin to gather their chosen materials. Because it is such an iconic landmark in the area, I would give the children the option to build a copy of the structure while also giving them the option to create their own unique bridge. The children would be in groups of three or four with each group delegating tasks to individuals e.g. material sourcing, historical research. On completion of the project I would hope to hold an exhibition of the bridges in our school hall and also in the branch of Carlow Co. Library which is adjoining our campus. The library would also be a valuable resource when researching the history of the viaduct.
Hi Anna,
Giving the older children the task of making the squares is a great way of helping developing their sense of leadership and ownership of the project. Your various age appropriate ways of recording the findings have given me some great ideas to share with our staff when we return at the end of the summer.
- 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?
We have a wildflower area inside a roundabout at the entrance to our school. At the moment and in the lead up to the summer break it was really vibrant and in full bloom. I’m sure it is a great attraction to pollinators but unfortunately, we have never really observed or studied this ready made resource. So, for next year, maybe even when we return at the end of August, I will suggest that we begin a Pollinator Recording project. The Curious Minds Framework for Inquiry Investigation 5 is the perfect resource to help us get started with this. There is so much opportunity to integrate with various subjects such as art, geography and especially maths with the recording of our findings in various chart forms. I think that this project is a simple way to make children aware of the importance of our pollinators and is something which can be introduced to all grades from Infants to 6<sup>th</sup> Class. Making the children aware of the Citizen Scientist Biodiversity recording portal and how they can play their part in helping our biodiversity would also be a worthwhile aspect of this project.
Hi Riona,
This sounds like a great way to introduce the mapping activity to the younger children. I think giving them the few things to look out for on their walk beforehand is important as it will help them to have a focus and a purpose during the walk itself. I wonder if a group or individual could be tasked with looking out for a particular feature like man made objects with a view to them creating a specific map layer later on.
- For younger classes, describe how you would plan and conduct a lesson on map making and explain how you might incorporate some online tools such as Google maps or Geohive
Just before the end of the last term this year, I asked a friend of mine who does drone photography to come into the school to take some video and photos of the school grounds with the children and staff included. This was to form part of a presentation we were putting together to mark the retirement of our Deputy Principal. It was done on a beautiful day and the footage and stills are excellent. It was a lovely part of our celebration on the last day of term but now I can see it as a valuable resource to help with a mapping activity for younger classes. The video footage in particular can be used as a reference to introduce the idea of a bird’s eye view of our school campus and how we can identify different and specific areas and what they may be used for. Google Maps would be a suitable resource to introduce at this stage as an “airplane view”. The video resource from this module will also be useful in helping the children visualise how they can use natural materials that can be collected on the school campus to create the various different parts of our map. I think it may be possible to introduce the concept of layers with maybe two groups taking on the task of mapping a specific land use or biodiversity feature but this may be over complicating things at this early stage. An assessment of the strengths of the children involved with the class teachers can be done to identify children whom this activity might suit. Whether this works or not can be assessed at the end of the activity. Maybe less is more. (I am an admin principal and think this would be excellent activity to allow the children to see me as a teacher and not just the fella up in the office!)
Hi Rachel,
I agree that effective STEM teaching can be seen as helping the children develop critical skills rather than necessarily building a knowledge base. This is what helps the have the confidence to participate fully and not to be anxious about making a “mistake”.
Having reviewed the paper Unravelling STEM: Beyond the Acronym of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (Liston 2018) reflect on what STEM education looks like in your classroom.
As an admin principal in a school with 8 class and 3 SEN teachers, and looking at how STEM is taught with Liston’s paper in mind, I would be quite happy with how our team approaches the “subject”. Whenever I have a chance to visit a classroom during a STEM lesson or activity I am always impressed at how teachers can give the children the necessary information and tools they need but still accommodate them in their discovery learning. As teacher with quite a few years under my belt I find myself having to hold back from interfering when I see a pupil or group having difficulty coming to terms with the task in hand. The children aren’t being told they’re wrong or incorrect, they’re given the agency to develop critical thinking, problem solving, teamwork. They can arrive at a solution in a way that is real and relevant to them in that moment. Resilience is a characteristic which grows when children are allowed to see they can get something “wrong” without having a negative consequence. This offers a huge learning opportunity and in turn helps grow confidence to try something new, to innovate in the future.