In November 2019 the Teaching Council announced the recipients of funding under the John Coolahan Research Support Framework initiative. This Framework offers support to teachers and others conducting new research, or sharing, synthesising or applying existing research in their practice, either independently or in collaboration with others. The Framework forms a key part of the Council’s Collaboration and Research for Ongoing Innovation [CROI] Research Series which places a strong emphasis on research activities which strengthen the links between research, policy and practice, and on collaboration among teachers, and between teachers and other stakeholders in education. Three members of staff in EPI STEM were awarded funding under this scheme.
Merrilyn Goos and Kathy O’Sullivan were awarded funding to support their Numeracy Across the Curriculum project, which is developing teachers’ understanding of numeracy and providing guidance to teachers on how to recognise and embed numeracy opportunities within their subject area. The Teaching Council funding will enable us to hold a one-day conference at the end of this project to share its findings and launch a national network of teachers in order to influence numeracy practice and policy.
The Numeracy across the Curriculum summer school took place in Epistem in August. This was a three day summer school facilitated by Professor Merrilyn Goos and Kathy O' Sullivan. The teachers really enjoyed the different tasks assigned to them and looked forward to putting these activities into practice in their own schools for the upcoming academic year.
Dr Niamh O’Meara was also awarded funding under this call to conduct a study investigating the uptake of mathematics grinds among Irish second level students; the provision of mathematics grinds and the reasons behind the grinds. The research team consists of four researchers including Niamh, Dr Mark Prendergast (University College Cork), and two practising second level teachers (Ms Iseult O’Rourke & Ms Laura Lynne Duffy). The study will involve the dissemination of surveys to teachers across Ireland in February 2020 to ascertain their thoughts on the grinds culture currently in place in Ireland, particularly in the area of mathematics. If you would like to participate in this study and would be willing to complete a survey please contact Niamh.omeara@ul.ie for more information.
Jillian White, in conjunction with Eric O’Donnell and Thomond Community College, were awarded funding from the Teaching Council of Ireland under the John Coolahan Support Framework for their project Stance on STEM. The study is focused on measuring and monitoring the impact of in-school STEM initiatives on primary school students as they move from upper primary school into secondary school. This three-year longitudinal study is currently in its second year.