[Carmel Wright]

Hi Emily,

Thank you for your post, and welcome to the course!

You have described a series of experiments that will work well together to build learners understanding and skills. I like your plan to make this work in your class by setting up three stations and rotating; ensuring everyone has a hands-on experience with all the activities is invaluable.

Eliciting prior knowledge and reflecting on results and their real-life applications can help reenforce the learning and join the dots from the classroom to the practical application of the science, e.g: the use of periscopes is not just limited to submarines but also tanks and armoured vehicles to inspect the surrounding area, in some gun turrets, etc.

[Carmel Wright]

Hi Fiona,

Thank you for your post, and welcome to the course! You have described how to conduct this activity well, factoring in aspects of the framework for inquiry. I’d suggest an opening trigger, which could be anything from a video related to telescopes, a photo taken by a telescope, or even a poem related to the topic, to open the conversation and engage learners in this new and exciting topic.

At the end of the activity, it is helpful for the learners to reflect on what they would do differently if conducting this experiment again, and this is also a helpful approach for teachers to take with each activity, taking time to reflect on how it could be carried out better next time.

[Carmel Wright]

Hi Diarmaid,

Thanks for your post; I hope you are enjoying the course!

Your plan is comprehensive and has a wealth of opportunities for learners to develop their STEM skills. I highly recommend eliciting their prior knowledge during the discussion phase-sometimes the students can become the teachers!

Learners showcasing their findings as you describe, is a great way to further their skills development in STEM communications and put their art skills to use. Presenting their findings is a great way to engage the rest of the school and the broader community in this important topic.

As you mention in your plan, inviting a local wildlife expert is a great way to deepen learners appreciation for local species. If you are lucky, one of the parents of the learners may have the expertise necessary to come in and provide a free talk on biodiversity/native species.

 

[Carmel Wright]

Hi Orla,

Welcome to the course, and thanks for your post. It sounds like your classroom is doing very well in providing learners with an integrated STEM experience, with activities like “Is it weather or climate?”,.

By equipping students with learning experiences that bring together STEM holistically, such as through weather activities outlined, building a weather station, etc, they benefit from an enriched overall understanding and joined-up thinking that will serve them well in approaching real-world problems. By working together, they develop teamwork skills as they work on weather station observations and data analysis.

 

[Carmel Wright]

Hi Colin,

Welcome to the course, and thanks for your post!

Liston’s paper certainly provides much food for thought on how we approach STEM in the classroom, and it is great to see that STEM education integrates these principles through hands-on activities in your classroom.

I highly recommend the weather station as an activity to develop learners’ STEM skills and grow in their understanding of the ever-changing nature of weather, with teamwork used to gather, analyse and report data from the station and technology to create visual charts and presentations, there are ample opportunities for a holistic STEM approach and skills development with this activity!

 

[Carmel Wright]

Hi Enda,

Welcome to the course, and thanks for your post! Liston’s paper covers a great deal about the true nature of STEM and its applications in the classroom, and it sounds like you are already very much aligned with her approach in the classroom through the way you approach STEM with hands-on activities, collaborative projects, and a focus on critical thinking and innovation.

Please note that there are a few more parts to this assignment that you are also required to comment on. Refer back to the top of this section for more information. Thanks!

 

[Carmel Wright]

Hi Grainne,

Welcome to the course, and thank you for your post. You raise important points from the paper ‘Unravelling STEM: Beyond the acronym of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics’, including the need for a hands-on approach for learners. There are a lot of takeaways from the paper that can be applied to the classroom.

I am delighted that you are inspired to engage your learners with a weather station in the coming year. It can be very cost-effective to build your own equipment, but I see you have a long-term plan in mind. Equipment can be worth getting if used regularly!

By gathering data on an ongoing basis, learners will develop their STEM skills and be able to create graphs, use technology etc, to display learnings visually. Senior learners can also present their weather station to younger classes and teach them how to read the various instruments to get the whole school involved. I like your idea of having it in a safe place for practical reasons, just remember to keep the thermometer out of the sun!

 

[Carmel Wright]

Hi Patrick,

Thanks for your post, and welcome to the course! The sundial activity is a terrific option for learners, and sixth class will certainly get a lot from this activity which lends itself to a host of other topics beyond STEM, including history, geography and art, to name but a few!

I recently visited The Time Museum in Waterford city. The tour is a wonderful way to continue the learning journey for those nearby enough to visit-with displays from sundials to ornate grandfather clocks and even an old precision frequency standard. It demonstrates how timekeeping design has evolved over time to create increasingly accurate devices, from the rudimentary sundial to the international atomic time we use today.

Your plan for this activity in the school is well thought out, empowering learners with the autonomy of assessing suitable sites, and making choices, making this a truly learner led experience.  Revisiting it at different times of year will renews learners’ interest and learning from repeated observations. Best of luck with this activity in the coming academic year!

[Carmel Wright]

Hi Tom,

Thanks for your post, and welcome to the course!

I see you have encountered a common problem on this forum. If you write in another app like Word, when pasting, you need to right click and select “paste as plain text,” otherwise you end up with extraneous formatting.

I think the plan for your learners will provide a deep understanding of the planets, by taking the time to research at home, and using iPad’s to further their understanding.

There is a lot of potential for further exploration and using math’s-like calculating how much someone would weigh on other planets or the moon (1/6th), guessing the ranking by weight, or games timing how quickly learners can rank planets in the right order for those only starting to understand the order of the solar system.

I like the idea of teamwork to present and engage younger classes, making it a whole school exploration of the topic. This activity has lots of potential and is accessible for a broad range of classes, when pitched right.

 

[Carmel Wright]

Hi Sinéad,

Welcome to the course, and thanks for your post!

Your plan for engaging learners is comprehensive. By carrying this theme across several classes, and including in homework, learners get to develop a deeper understanding of the topic, and build upon what they previously learned, step by step.

By making use of available resources including the Paxi videos and technology like Book Creator, learners will develop an array of skills.

Learners from senior classes can also present their sundial, and explain how to use it, their findings, etc. to the junior classes. Of course, if it falls/breaks, this too is a great learning opportunity to refine and redesign, nurturing creative problem solving. The sundial is a relatively simple activity but with so much potential for learning across a broad array of topics.

 

[Carmel Wright]

Hi Tara,

Welcome to the course! I see you have encountered a common problem on this forum when pasting. If you write in another app like Word you need to right click and select “paste as plain text,” otherwise you end up with extraneous formatting.

Your plans for engaging your students in this activity are well thought out, factoring in the unique level and abilities within your class. The learners will come along in their understanding of the solar system through this simulation of mass differences. For helping to get the order right, I am a big fan of the common mnemonic “my very educated mother just served us noodles” and of course, it can be fun for learners to come up with their own, as an English cross ciricular link, or physically link up, holding their tubes, representing the planets.

Games like the one you described ranking weight are a wonderful way to engage learners in a fun and informal exploration using the senses.

I hope you enjoy the rest of the course!

 

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