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I enjoyed reading about your thoughts on how to adapt lessons and resources to suit younger classes. I agree that they lend themselves to problem-solving and teamwork skill development.
The ARC online resources and lessons gave me plenty of practical ideas that I can use in my own teaching. One of the biggest things I took from the resources was the value of giving students opportunities to investigate, ask questions and work together to solve real-world problems instead of focusing only on finding the correct answer. I think this approach helps students become more confident, curious and willing to take risks in their learning. The lessons also showed that STEM does not have to be a separate subject. It can be built into different areas of the curriculum through hands-on activities, problem-solving and projects that connect learning to everyday life. This links well with the STEM Education Policy Statement and its focus on creativity, critical thinking, collaboration and digital skills. As part of the SSE process, schools can work together to review STEM practice, set realistic goals and share successful approaches to improve learning across the whole school.
I agree that these resource encourage children to develop a greater appreciation of the industries and marine environment around them while they are visiting coastal areas.
Aquaculture is a very interesting topic that lends itself to many subject areas in a primary classroom. The resources available encourage teachers to reflect on what is readily available in our locality and to provide children with opportunities to explore and appreciate local industries. The images, videos and maps lend themselves to active-inquiry learning The social license encourages children to reflect on their own impact on the world around them which promotes the idea of being an active citizen. The engaging and visual nature of the resources encourage curiosity and interest in student. As well as encouraging children to be mindful and active citizens, the resources also highlight the industries that are available and have the potential to spark a genuine interest in a career in aquaculture. Overall, I found this module very interesting as I believe exploring and promoting industries such as aquaculture farming support appreciation, employment and understanding within the sector.
I agree that this module encouraged me to take a closer look at the importance of aquaculture farming in coastal towns in Ireland. The employment that it provide people in these areas is a vital part of local economies.
This was an extremely interesting topic of me to explore. Being from a landlocked county on the South-East if Ireland, my knowledge of aquaculture farms was quite limited. Understandably, most of the aquaculture farms in Ireland are located on the west coast of Ireland where the water is nutrient-dense and suitable for fish farming. Coastal communities on the west of Ireland benefit greatly socio-economically from this industry, with many areas being well-known for their high quality, fresh seafood. This can be seen in areas such as Galway, where they are known for oysters and mussels and Kerry for high-quality salmon. Such aquaculture farming benefits locals by encouraging tourism to particular areas on the west of Ireland. This module highlights the connection between the resources around us, the industries that utilize these natural resources and the communities that benefit from them whether it be in employment through production, distribution, sales or hospitality.
It is definitely important to encourage children to reflect on their own consumption as it makes it very relatable and relevant to their own experiences. I agree that critically thinking about their food choices has a wider impact on their wellbeing.
Seafood has fantastic nutritional benefits and can be an excellent source of protein, vitamins and essential fatty acids. Providing children with this information in a fun and inviting way can help promote healthy food choices and an appreciation for seafood available in Ireland. Teaching children about the nutritional value of seafood has a wide variety of benefits as it incorporates a variety of subject areas including geography and SPHE. Children have a natural curiosity when it comes to nature and wildlife, so the topic of seafood lends itself to interest and engagement. Using curiosity as a starting point, children could explore seafood through images and pictures of seafood that can be found in their locality. Children could work in groups to research all of the fantastic nutritional benefits of particular fish before presenting their findings to the class. At the end of the research and presentation, children could be given an opportunity to taste the food they had researched in a fun, safe and engaging way.
Hello Annette. I really enjoyed reading about ways that your locality promotes sustainability. It is great to see all of the local amenities that can be used to promote a more mindful way of being in your school and greater area.
It is very important sustainability to children from a young age in order to help them develop skills and habits that they can take with them throughout their lives. In a classroom environment I promote sustainability within arts and crafts lessons by encouraging children to think about their usage. This can be done in simple ways such as using scrap materials like cardboard and toilet rolls for art projects, or by using both sides of a piece of paper. We also have a collection box in our school to gather old bottles and cans which children bring in from home. We have a whole school display of the money that has been raised through the returns scheme from bottles in our school. The money raised goes towards reusable water bottles to be used throughout the school. This encourages children to think about simple swaps that can make a big impact as they see the volume of bottles that have been collected and how they can be replaced by a more sustainable solution.
Hi Claire,
<p style=”text-align: left;”>I really enjoyed reading your ideas and how your school puts such an emphasis on taking care of and connecting to your locality. I am sure this makes such lessons very meaningful for your students.</p>Research question: How does rainfall in our local area affect the growth of plants in the school grounds
I would encourage pupils to take ownership of this investigation by linking it to their everyday surroundings. Pupils could measure rainfall using simple rain gauges that they build themselves and then record plant growth over several weeks. By making observations directly in the school garden or playground, the research becomes real and meaningful rather than an abstract concept.
I would divide the class into small groups with each responsible for monitoring a particular plant bed or type of vegetation. This would give everyone a role and promote collaboration. I would also introduce digital tools such as spreadsheets or simple apps to record and visualise the data, helping pupils to see patterns more clearly. Reflection sessions would be built in so pupils could share their findings, compare results and think about what the data tells us about changing weather and its impact on the local environment.
Hi Miriam,
I also found this very interesting as I had never watched the orbit of satellites and noticed their proximity to Ireland. I think it would be an interesting and engaging activity to use in class.
I used the Satellite Tracker app to observe satellites passing over Ireland recently. Here are five that showed up:
1. International Space Station (ISS): a large crewed orbital laboratory visible as a bright trail in the sky and appearing frequently on a daily basis.
2. Starlink satellites: part of SpaceX’s internet constellation and often visible in groups moving together as satellite trains.
3. AJISAI: a passive Japanese geodetic satellite that reflects sunlight and enables Earth structure studies.
4. Aqua: a NASA Earth observing satellite monitoring the water cycle and climate including oceans, ice and atmosphere.
5. Envisat: a European Space Agency satellite that used to monitor environmental conditions globally. Although it is no longer operational it is still tracked as space debris.The app’s visible section gave next pass times and real time sky view guidance. Discussing these in class could spark curiosity about different satellite missions from scientific to environmental to commercial and human spaceflight.
Hi Brid,
I agree that this is definitely a challenging topic to introduce with young chikdren. Greta Thunburg would be an excellent starting point given her enthusiasm but also the fact that she has been advocating from a young age. I believe this helps children to reflect on how you can make a difference at any age.