[Carmel Wright]

Hi Padraic,
Thanks for your post, and welcome to the course. I can see you have taken the time to truly reflect on Dr Liston’s paper and its implications for STEM delivery in your classroom.

The weather station has a lot of potential and can be as small or big a project as time allows, whether that’s a week of observations, a month or even a term! It is also a wonderful way to give all learners a movement break outside, and it can extend to the whole school, with presentations to other classes to develop communication skills.

Wishing you the best of luck with this in the coming academic year!

[Carmel Wright]

Hi Lorna,
Thanks for your post, and welcome to the course. There is certainly a lot to unpack from Liston’s paper, and I can see you have already focused on STEM in your classroom through challenge cards, providing learners with hands-on problem-solving challenges.

You make an excellent point about learners who do not enjoy maths may not even know they are developing skills in this area when working on a STEM activity like the weather station. By making maths practical and relevant to real life activities, we can cultivate a deeper appreciation and more positivity towards this subject as part of a fun STEM lesson.

[Carmel Wright]

Hi David,

Thanks for your post, and welcome to the course.

I really like the opening prompt you suggest for this activity. Sundials, particularly the ones from medieval times, are not easy to identify and can differ significantly, from some marks on a windowsill, to upright versions of monastic dials. It will certainly get your students curious about what they are.

I can see you are following steps from the Curious Minds framework, as you mention reflecting on what can be done better. This is such an important step for any STEM activity, fostering a reflective, solution-focused mindset.

[Carmel Wright]

Hi Marie,
Thank you for your post, and welcome to the course! I can see you have put considerable thought into how you would run this activity with your learners and the considerable opportunities for cross-curricular links.
Speaking of history, here in Ireland, we still have some sundials from medieval times that have stood the test of time! Here is a link with some examples from across the country: Sundials in Ireland (sundials-ireland.com)

I think your learners will certainly enjoy the opportunity to take ancient technology and use it to tell the time at home. It is a really accessible activity with so few materials required- the most difficult part is probably getting a bit of sunshine!

[Carmel Wright]

Hi Josie,
Thanks for your post, and welcome to the course!

You have created a comprehensive short teaching resource using Stellarium. As an app that will be new to most, if not all, learners, the teacher’s guidance is invaluable in bringing their skills along with this technology that provides a new way of learning about our skies, and I can see that you have put a strong focus on demonstrating this app’s use, and its features.

There are a lot of wonderful ways to integrate other subjects into this activity, from art to storytelling; the constellations can provide plenty of inspiration. It is also a great activity for learners to learn further about at home, through installing the app on a parent/guardian’s phone where possible sharing this learning experience with their family.

[Carmel Wright]

Hi Gemma,
Thanks for your post, and welcome to the course! I am delighted to see how you are planning to use the resources outlined in this module in your special ed class. As you said, the materials can be adapted to your class and its unique abilities. With this approach, all learners can enjoy meaningful STEM experiences, developing their skills in this area.

I highly recommend the weather station as it offers learners an opportunity not only to capture data but also to take a break in the outdoors- something all learners benefit from, and it can form part of a schedule during the day for observation. It can be used by the whole school and is a topic that offers many cross-curricular links in terms of language, art, etc.

[Carmel Wright]

Hi Karena,
Thanks for your post, and welcome to the course. The Paxi video is a great entry point for all learners and covers quite a lot in a short space of time in a fun and accessible way. A mind map is a great idea for eliciting prior knowledge.

TEAL is a really accessible tool, and with a teacher’s support and guidance will help consolidate learning in this topic. While it is most suited to the more senior classes, I think there is some potential to look at one of the variables with more guidance from the teacher.

How to Save Our Planet is a beautiful video, and through simple and engaging language, it helps learners get a snapshot of our planet and the sustainable approach that is needed for our best future.

[Carmel Wright]

Hi Evelyn,
Thanks for your post. I can see you are encountering a common issue on this platform. When pasting written content from elsewhere, you must right-click and select “paste as plain text”; otherwise, extraneous material will appear.

This activity works well across a range of ages and abilities, and I like how you are supporting the learner’s discussion through sentence starters to get the ball rolling on fruitful discussions about similarities and differences. It can also be turned into a game- which team can identify/match the fastest, etc adding to the fun of this activity.

[Carmel Wright]

Hi Edel,
Thanks for your post. A KWL is a great choice, particularly for this topic, where there can be some confusion. I particularly like how you plan this lesson to extend to the family home, where students can learn from the older generation about the weather long ago. Was the winter colder? Was there more snow? Etc. By the meticulous capturing of weather data worldwide, over time we can see how our climate is dramatically and rapidly changing.

This summer, the temperatures across Europe and beyond continue to break previous records and will continue to do so. Read more on this here: Hottest summer ever? Experts reveal what could be in store for Europe in the next few months | Euronews

[Carmel Wright]

Hi Michaela,

Thanks for your post. I can see you have a comprehensive plan for delivering this to learners, including an enriching discussion on predictions and climate change overall.

By developing an action plan to reduce carbon footprints, learners can gain empowerment and environmental values that will serve them well in the future they currently face.

Case studies are a great idea, and there are some startling examples of climate refugees, etc. Closer to home here in Ireland, we are already seeing an impact, with increased heavy rain and storms resulting in increased flooding, profoundly impacting communities. Read more on this here: Human-caused Climate Change Brings Increased Storm Rainfall – Met Éireann – The Irish Meteorological Service

[Carmel Wright]

Hi Dara,
Thanks for your post. Home really is an eye-opener to the level of devastation in our environment and how even the bounty of our planet has limits that we exceed every year. It is powerful, and may be at times overwhelming, depending on the age and maturity of the viewer, so teachers may choose to show a segment rather than the whole film, as It is a lot to take in in one sitting. The focus must be on growing awareness without eco-anxiety. It is also important to shed some light on the positives, of which there are many, particularly those at a local level. We are making progress here in Ireland and need to continue to do so at an accelerated rate, as reported recently in the Irish Times: Ireland’s greenhouse gas emissions in 2023 reach lowest level in three decades – The Irish Times

[Carmel Wright]

Hi Orla,
Thanks for your post, and welcome to the course!
I really like your collaborative approach to this activity, getting another teacher on board to extend the learning to more students in your school., and reaching the local community. It is an approach with many benefits, fostering curious minds throughout the entire community.

To further at-home connections with STEM, learners at the senior end of the primary cycle can also make a rain gauge at home as homework, as it only requires simple materials that can be found in a recycling bin. Learners can be given the task of measuring rain in their area, discussing challenges they encountered and reflecting on how they would do it differently next time.

[Carmel Wright]

Hi Kelly,

Thanks for your post.

I am delighted to see that your class would really enjoy a sundial activity. It is one with so much potential for cross curricular links, uses very little by way of materials, but has the potential to teach learners so much.
It can be fun at the start of this lesson to get the class guessing as to how we told the time before, imagining a time before clocks and modern technology before introducing the topic of sundials.

You make a valid point about ideally having sunny(and dry!) weather for this activity. It also needs to be positioned away from anything that could cast a shadow on the sundial, and this is something the learners can decide on when planning.

I hope you get the opportunity to try this activity with your learners in the coming academic year.

[Carmel Wright]

Hi Jamie,
Thanks for your post, and welcome to the course!
A KWL is an ideal starting point for this class, and your learners may surprise you with the extent of their prior knowledge as climate change becomes a more recognized concern for us all. The Green Flag programme is a great way to tie in the climate aspects of the activities outlined in this module and the real-life ways learners’ choices are making a difference. It can also be interesting to touch on any relevant stories from the locality that can be attributed to our changing climate, increased flooding, etc.

For cross-curricular links, the SEAI has a terrific ebook that can be downloaded in English or Irish and may suit senior learners. Follow the link here for more: SEAI | Schools | Climate SOS

 

[Carmel Wright]

Hi Christina,

Thanks for your post, and welcome to the course.

You make a very valid point about the limitations that young learners have in the choices they make-usually it is the parent/guardian who determines how they travel, etc., but by creating climate literacy in these young learners, teachers play an incredibly important role in providing a fact-based understanding of climate change, and humans role in this. Of course, there are also small and simple ways they can make a difference, too, and at the senior end of the cycle, they should be able to give some examples, like those mentioned in the Paxi video.

A KWL chart can be helpful for this lesson, as there are many misconceptions about what climate is and the extent of our impact, and TEAL is ideal for a senior class like yours and can help bring the topic to life on a dynamic and engaging platform.

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