Inspiring Science Education

Dublin City University successfully conducted a cutting edge, national workshop aimed at post primary school teachers involved in science education. It was held on Thursday 18th February 2016 as part of the European Inspiring Science Education (ISE) project.

The event 'Exploring Inquiry Based Learning (IBL) in Science and Maths - An ISE supported Workshop'was attended by over forty enthusiastic teachers specialising in maths, biology and science throughout Ireland, which resulted in over 40 different post primary schools nationwide being represented on the day. As the title suggests, participants were treated to practical and dynamic inquiry-based approaches to teaching and learning for the science and maths curriculum. The principal reason for the workshop was in preparation for the Inspiring Science Education Scenario Competition, which seeks to recognise, highlight and reward excellence in the creation of learning scenarios based on the resources and tools available on the ISE portal.

Topics covered during the day ranged from understanding the full potential of the ISE portal and STEM resources available, to a practical, step-by-step analysis of Vernier demonstrators.

The Eratosthenes demonstrator was also explored, which resulted in a keen response from the participants to partake in the Eratosthenes Experiment - Online Lesson Contest. The overall event proved to be invaluable for all involved, as it provided the foundations for live discussions, ideation around learning scenarios, knowledge exchange and capacity building in the science curriculum.

In a nutshell it demonstrated how DCU is a leading collaborator at the forefront of Science education innovation in Ireland.