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PUBLICATION INFORMATION

TITLE OF PUBLICATION
DISCOVER PRIMARY SCIENCE AND MATHS PORTAL INFORMATION FOR TEACHER TRAINING IN PRIMARY SCIENCE
NAME OF AUTHOR(S)
various
NAME OF PUBLISHER
Discover Science & Engineering and Science Foundation Ireland
YEAR OF PUBLICATION
on-going
LANGUAGE OF PUBLICATION
English
PUBLICATION TYPOLOGY
Other:
TARGET GROUP OF PUBLICATION
School Directors, Teachers
SIZE OF THE PUBLICATION
Over 10 pages
DESCRIPTION OF CONTENTS
Discover Primary Science and Maths (DPSM) is the Irish national programme to foster interest in science, technology engineering and maths among children in primary schools. Training teachers to participate in the activities with their pupils is a major focus of the programme.
Participating schools carry out a range of science and maths activities in the classroom and are also encouraged to undertake additional explorative activities and projects.

In Ireland primary school science is embedded in a curriculum stream of Social Scientific and Environmental Education (SESE) but anecdotal evidence suggests that many teachers lacked confidence in delivering the scientific strand of the curriculum because of lack of training in their primary qualifications.
As part of this programme, teachers can attend a whole school hands-on induction afternoon, where they learn about undertaking science and maths activities in the classroom. The principle is that these teachers would then go back to their own schools to train other teachers within the school. To date some 5,000 teachers have participated in the programme, which now rolls over from year to year in most schools.
An Award of Science and Maths Excellence is available to schools that go beyond basic participation and carry out a minimum requirement of additional exploratory activities.
The web portal has a wealth of information and guidelines on all aspects of the programme including:

- Hands-on induction afternoon for schools (limited places available each year)
- Online access to easy-to-follow prescribed science and maths activities, aimed primarily at 8-12 year olds, though some activities are also suitable for junior classes. All activities can be used to develop primary science lessons.
- Guidelines and clear instructions for each activity.
- Easy to source equipment lists.
- Helpful hints for teachers and explanations of the science and maths background for each activity.
- Explanations of how activities link to the SESE curriculum.
- A listing of a network of Discover Primary Science and Maths Centres which offer exciting programmes to visiting Discover Primary Science and Maths Schools.
- A dedicated website which profiles schools, introduces new activities and provides a members only section for registered teachers.
- Regular electronic newsletters which give information pertinent to science and maths in primary schools and promote relevant science events.
A sample pdf listed below shows the level of detail available for each activity. Many of the items are also available in the Irish language for schools which edcuate through that medium.
REVIEWER’S COMMENTS ON THE PUBLICATION
This is an invaluable web portal for primary teachers whether they have pedagogical training in science or not. Having participated in the pilot programme and been one of the first set of teacher trainers, one can vouch for the success of the programme in generating enthusiasm - but more importantly confidence - for science education at primary level.
In the past pre-service primary school teachers had limited exposure to science teaching so this programme has successfully redressed that defecit. Since the implementation of the Primary Science Curriculum, newly qualified
teachers have taken up employment, most of whom have engaged in study at one of
the colleges of teacher education in Ireland. Colleges of teacher education at primary level in Ireland currently require all students to complete courses relating to primary science. The number of hours provided for curriculum science varies from college to college.
Cuiditheoirí support teachers at a local and regional level, in co-operation with the Education Centre Network, they can provide school visits, drop-in sessions and workshops.
However, the Discover Primary Science portal is an additional, actively-used and valuable tool for both students and teachers in primary schools in Ireland. It is a very good site that promotes science & maths and facilitates the teachers’ tasks by providing illustrations, experiments and tools to explain science. There has been uptake of this initiative in over 90% of Irish primary schools.
PDF OF THE PUBLICATION
NAME OF THE REVIEWING ORGANISATION
Limerick Institute of Technology

Comments about this Publication

Your comments are welcome


Date: 2013.11.25

Posted by Ramazan Göğüş (Turkey)

Message: This paper informs the reader about a very useful web portal which primary teachers has the potential so as to utilize it as a tool when they perform activities with their students or in order to have an in-service training. This tool is called as “Discover Primary Science and Math” (DPSM) and it exists in one part of the Irish national program which is dedicated to rise the amount of enthusiasm for science, technology engineering and mathematics among children in primary schools.
This Web Portal is really significant because It consists of many things the aim of which is to make science and math easier and more interesting for young learners and to make the teaching more impressive. It has a lot of activities, videos, games, worksheets, and procedures which has the potential to inspire not only primary school teachers but also the students.( at the age of 4-12). Everybody takes the notice of the proposal of experimental activities that utilize the materials which are not to hard to find and not expensive to buy. The cheap materials are designed by paying attention to the cognitive skills of the students, their ability and safety. The experimental descriptions are very tiring and cause the teacher to feel more comfortable with the application of the science.
I think the portal important for two basic reasons. The first one is that teachers not the primary school teachers doesn’t feel enough comfortable while they are doing experimentations as a result of the safety rules. Therefore, It causes some limitations on conducting the experiment. Furthermore, they are not educated enough about the design of the practical activities and they are lack of the essential information about how to use them. The second reason why the portal is important is that impressive and appropriate teaching of science must start very early, absolutely at primary school and the science is concrete. So, the concrete side of science should be taught ,as well. And this portal is really helpful in that matter.

Date: 2013.07.26

Posted by Caterina Bignone (Italy)

Message: The publication presents a very useful web portal that primary teachers can use as tool for their activities with pupils or to get an in-service training. The name of this tool is “Discover Primary Science and Maths” (DPSM) and is part of the Irish national programme devoted to increase interest in science, technology engineering and maths among children in primary schools.
The portal is valuable and contains many items aiming to make science and math easier and more attractive for young pupils and to make the teaching more effective. It contains activities, videos, games, worksheets and procedures that may inspire both primary school teachers and pupils (of the age 4-12). Particular attention is paid to the proposal of experimental activities that make use of easy to find and cheap materials. The latter are designed keeping in consideration the cognitive skills of pupils, their abilities and safety. The experimental descriptions are exhaustive and make the teacher more confident with the practice of science.
In my opinion, the portal is important for two main reasons:
- teachers, not only primary school teachers, are often scared to try out real experiments with young pupils because they are worried about the safety rules that highly limit this activity. Moreover, they are not sufficiently trained in the design of practical activities and they do not know how to use them at the best;
- an effective and correct teaching of science has to start very early, precisely at primary school. Science is a concrete and experimental discipline and, in order to respect its nature, it is necessary to teach it underlining this aspect; pupils have to learn to observe, reflect, discuss what happens in their everyday life and connect it with the concepts they learn at school.
Accordingly, the portal is a very useful tool, that primary school teachers can consult and where they can find hints and suggestions for their work.

Date: 2013.07.15

Posted by Dominique Lambert (Belgium)

Message: The publication promotes and speaks about a very useful web portal that primary teachers can use, whether they have pedagogical training in science or not.
The name of this tool is “Discover Primary Science and Maths” (DPSM) and is part of the Irish national programme to foster interest in science, technology engineering and maths among children in primary schools.
To date, this initiative involved over 90% of the Irish primary schools and some 5,000 teachers have participated in the programme, which now rolls over from year to year in most schools.
This is so a success that can be considered as an examples for other European Countries.
The web portal contains many information and some guidelines on all aspects of the programme such as guidelines and clear instructions for each activity, easy to source equipment lists, helpful hints for teachers and explanations of the science and maths background for each activity, a dedicated website that profiles schools, introduces new activities and provides a members only section for registered teachers and a regular electronic newsletters which give information pertinent to science and maths in primary schools and promote relevant science events.
I find this publication very relevant, it promotes the use of ICT in the field of education even if it doesn’t directly speak about it. A science portal is at the end a technological instrument and in this specific case, the Discover Primary Science portal is an additional, actively-used and valuable tool for both students and teachers in primary schools in Ireland. It is a very good site that promotes science & maths and facilitates the teachers’ tasks by providing illustrations, experiments and tools to explain science.

Date: 2013.07.12

Posted by Vlastimil Dudytek (Czech Republic)

Message: The source includes a portal for education of primary school teachers who are always educated in pedagogy but they can have lack of knowledge or experience in science at the same time. The portal is very nice and contains lots of items trying to make science and math teaching easier. There are activities, videos, games, worksheets and procedures that may inspire both primary school teachers and pupils (of the age 4 to 12). The experiments are designed having in the mind the safety of the pupils and their abilities. The content is sorted to two levels, for younger and older children. Some of the activities can be performed by children themselves. The portal is excellent and it is used by the most of Irish primary school teachers. To the best of my knowledge, there is no such well organized primary school-oriented portal in the Czech Republic.

Date: 2013.07.03

Posted by Beata Brestenska (Slovakia)

Message: This Discover Primary Science is a very interesting tool, which primary school teachers have the possibility to train themselves in teaching science in young pupils of ages 4 – 12.Portal provides teachers with useful resources making teaching easier with a series of experimental activities that make use of easy to find and cheap materials. The experimental descriptions are quite clear and make the teacher feel confident that he/she can deliver the experiment. Content is displayed in an active and attractive way, teaching is illustrated with clear examples directly connected to daily experiences for students in order to evoke their motivation.Portal has a many information, which are clearly divided into sections and applied to different levels: children from 4 to 7 and children from 7 to 12. Examples are very good organized: equipment, class level, preparation, background information, activity, etc. More than 5000 teachers have taken part in the project. This fact ensures its distribution to many schools. We have no in Slovakia so good organised tool to train teachers for this level.

Date: 2013.05.31

Posted by Doumkou Fotini (Greece)

Message: This is an excellent portal via which primary school teachers have the possibility to train themselves in teaching science in young pupils of ages 4 – 12. As noted in the “Description of contents” section of the document, Greek teachers also lack confidence in teaching science in primary school. On one hand, this is due to the fact that they do not have a solid knowledge background and on the other to the fact that they have had very little (if any) pre-service practical training in science teaching methods.
Quite often, primary school teachers, are scared to try out real experiments with young pupils because they worry a lot about safety issues. Needless to say that science laboratories are very rare in the primary public schools in Greece.
This portal provides primary teachers with a series of experimental activities that make use of easy to find and cheap materials. The experimental descriptions are quite clear and make the teacher feel confident that he/she can deliver the experiment. In my opinion, it is useful to have an experienced teacher/trainer show young teachers the experiments first and give practical advice and this is actually happening in Ireland. In Greece, there exist no organized initiatives of this nature… However, the site can be a very useful resource for a primary teacher who can actually can become motivated on his own to test a few experiments in class (self-training).
Besides its usefulness as a training tool for primary teachers, the site contains also a very well designed and colorful section for pupils as well. It is also worth noting that the portal is constantly enriched with new material, videos, photos, newsletters, etc. It is not surprising that there is an uptake of the Portal activities and applications by a very large percentage of Irish primary school.

Date: 2013.05.26

Posted by M. Purificación Sánchez-Sánchez (Spain)

Message: The authors present an interesting portal, Discover Primary Science, as an additional and efficient tool to teach in primary school as well as to motivate students to study Science. This portal provides teachers with useful resources making teaching easier. Addressed mainly to primary school teachers and students in Ireland, its content is displayed in an active and attractive way. Teaching is illustrated with clear examples directly connected to daily experiences for students in order to evoke their motivation.
The web portal has a wealth of information included, which is clearly divided into sections and applied to different levels: children from 4 to 7 and children from 7 to 12. There are many suitable instructions available.
The example is well organized: Equipment, class level, preparation, background information, trigger questions, activity, etc.
More than 5000 teachers have taken part in the project. This fact ensures its distribution to many schools.
It would be interesting to distribute a survey to participating schools and teachers
to gather some information about the impact of the Project in academic results.

National Reports on successful experiences to promote lifelong learning for chemistry The national reports on chemistry successful experiences to promote lifelong learning for chemistry are now available on the related section of the project portal. The reports presents examples of successful experiences in the partner countries and the results of testing of ICT resources with science teachers.

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