Dr Louise Lehane and Dr Gráinne Walshe from EPI*STEM were successful in the recent Education and Health Science Faculty seed funding competition focused on providing funds for early career researchers to engage in research.
Louise and Gráinne’s study is entitled “Teacher-based Curriculum Development incorporating Nature of Science in Junior Cycle Science”. It is primarily focused on facilitating in-service teachers to develop their understanding and practice of Nature of Science (NoS) within their classrooms in preparation for the inclusion of NoS within the new Junior Cycle Science syllabus, due for implementation in September 2016. This study will take the form of a pilot study with 3 schools (n=6 science teachers) in the Limerick region with a view to extending the work with future funding opportunities. Teachers’ professional development will be supported by provision of a workshop, schemes of work and lesson plans which reflect NoS. The team in EPI*STEM will develop a resource pack prior to this workshop with samples, scenarios and practical information. The findings from the study will hopefully provide insight into the teachers’ perceptions of NoS before and after a professional development opportunity and will allow the researchers to understand how the provision of professional development enhanced the teachers’ classroom practice with regards to NoS.
If you are interested in taking part in the study, please contact Louise Lehane via email at Louise.Lehane@ul.ie or by phone (061) 234788.
Dr Gráinne Walshe was also successful in her application for EHS seed funding to implement a pilot trial of activities based on integrating mathematical practices into Junior Science in the classroom. Mathematical practices are an integral aspect of the scientific practices that, along with scientific knowledge, constitute the discipline of science, and which are often neglected in the second-level classroom. A number of exemplary units have been developed, in collaboration with practitioners, and are ready to be implemented into the classroom in order to evaluate their impact on students’ learning, motivation and attitudes to STEM. The lesson units will be adapted for teachers’ local circumstances and their students’ needs, prior to their implementation, in collaboration with the teachers involved.
If you are interested in taking part in the study, please contact Gráinne Walshe by email at Grainne.Walshe@ul.ie or by phone at 061 234907