https://padlet.com/ian_colligan2/ncg46xg67ac6 Made with eyes on the prize en-us 2017-10-18 11:29:41 UTC 2017-12-06 14:38:37 UTC hello@padlet.com ian_colligan2 https://padlet.com/ian_colligan2/ncg46xg67ac6/wish/198166174 During this first class we were introduced to the key skills that are becoming the core part of the new junior cycle .We learned that we should be focusing on trying to improve these skills in our students and how everything that we do should involve an element of these key skills.
We then moved onto an activity about energy sustainability. The problem was set to us where we had to assess the best type of renewable energy that each tribe should use on each part of the island and why they should impalement it there. This was a good example of PBL and i feel that it would be a very interesting activity to do in a classroom]]> 2017-10-18 11:33:21 UTC https://padlet.com/ian_colligan2/ncg46xg67ac6/wish/198166174 ian_colligan2 https://padlet.com/ian_colligan2/ncg46xg67ac6/wish/198166225 in this lesson we were split into groups and we discussed why plants grow better in the summer, and came up with a group reason. Most answers involved the sunlight  so we were asked why we thought there might be more sunlight during the summer. Most groups came to the conclusion that the tilt of the earth caused there to be more sunlight during the summer. we used models throughout this lesson to help us visualize how the angle of the rays can affect the intensity of them and how the tilt can change the seasons. we were then asked to do a project on a question to why the seasons are colder when thw earth is closer to the sun ]]> 2017-10-18 11:33:33 UTC https://padlet.com/ian_colligan2/ncg46xg67ac6/wish/198166225 ian_colligan2 https://padlet.com/ian_colligan2/ncg46xg67ac6/wish/198166276 i the course of this lesson we got into our groups and we were told how different foods can act as indicators. we were told to rate different indicators based on how well they react with acids and bases. we had to crush up the fruits and vegtables and smear them onto a piece of paper and put them on a piece of aluminium foil. we then added a few drops of HCl and NaOH on the pieces of paper to see how the colour change due to the pH of the solutions. we then rated each based on how they changed in colour due to the pH change. we created a poster and presented our conclusion to the class and reviewed the other groups presentations]]> 2017-10-18 11:33:48 UTC https://padlet.com/ian_colligan2/ncg46xg67ac6/wish/198166276 ian_colligan2 https://padlet.com/ian_colligan2/ncg46xg67ac6/wish/198166344 we started this lesson in our groups and we were set the task of randomly pairing a bunch of lollipop sticks, with one of green red and orange colors at the end. each of these pairs would represent the genotypes of a fish. we found out from our worksheet that green was a dominant trait whilst red and yellow were co-recessive. we filled in our worksheet and eliminated any fish that had a yellow phenotype. we went through a few rounds of this eliminating of the yellow genotypes and the fish population slowly decreased. we were then told that the river plants were now dying out due to pollution so that green phenotypes where easier to see and we found that most of the fish were being wiped out. this showed us how evolution occurs through natural selection and how humans can have an adverse effect on this. We then moved onto looking at quotes from different people in favor or against the theory of evolution. we were discussing the merits of each argument and deciding where they belonged. this caused many good and stimulating conversations. we then looked at and critiqued many some of the evolution projects that Robert had brought in and decided on whether they were good projects according to the criteria given to us]]> 2017-10-18 11:34:07 UTC https://padlet.com/ian_colligan2/ncg46xg67ac6/wish/198166344 ian_colligan2 https://padlet.com/ian_colligan2/ncg46xg67ac6/wish/198166438 This lesson began with us in our groups. each group was given a small box and we each had to discuss what was in the box based on what we could observe about it. after we had finished with out guesses we all wrote our guesses on little post-it notes and put them up on the wall. we were never told what was in each box due to that being part of formulating a hypothesis.
we then moved onto a discussion on whether animal rights. we were given a sheet which had different statements on it and we had to say how much we agreed with each statement.i feltr that this was an interesting and thought provoking topic and that it would be interesting for students and they would get a lot out of the discussion ]]> 2017-10-18 11:34:34 UTC https://padlet.com/ian_colligan2/ncg46xg67ac6/wish/198166438 ian_colligan2 https://padlet.com/ian_colligan2/ncg46xg67ac6/wish/207337195 In our groups we were tasked with creating a presentation about our findings with UV beads. we were given several different coloured UV beads a UV light different coloured film and a colour chart for the beads. we were tasked with finding the the coloured plastic that absorbed the most amount of UV light. we measured this by testing the colour change in the beads with and without the films and comparing the two. the less that they changed the less UV light was coming through. we then moved onto layering the films as to make the best uv glases using the films. we couldnt put them all on top of eachother cause then you couldnt see through. we found the most effective combinations and we presented this information and our conclusions to the class]]> 2017-11-15 17:45:16 UTC https://padlet.com/ian_colligan2/ncg46xg67ac6/wish/207337195 ian_colligan2 https://padlet.com/ian_colligan2/ncg46xg67ac6/wish/208201393 during this lesson we were tasked with finding the densest juice out of a range and they trying to layer them in a test tube. we did this by using different fruits as flotation devices to determine the difference in the juices density. we then tried to get the fruit juices into different layers by syringing them into the test tube carefully. we then went about ranking the density of different fruits and vegetables . we had been given worksheets with different approaches to how you might teach this lesson, including a heavily guided, a structured, a scaffolded and an open approach. we discussed the merit of each approach and when they would be used. ]]> 2017-11-17 16:58:49 UTC https://padlet.com/ian_colligan2/ncg46xg67ac6/wish/208201393 ian_colligan2 https://padlet.com/ian_colligan2/ncg46xg67ac6/wish/213353638 this lesson began with us looking at a picture of children giving their opinions on a situation. the situation was that they were deciding whether putting a jacket on a snowman , would make him melt ,keep him cold or not make a difference. we were then asked of ways on how do to melt ice. we came up with heating it up and adding salt to it like they do when the streets get icy during winter.we were then asked if salt does speed up the melting of the ice. we got two beakers two thermometers and two ice cubes and measured the rate of change in the temperature and how quickly the ice cubes were meting. we were asked to predict what would happen to the temperature in the beakers as the ice melted. most of the class said that the temperature will go up or it will stay the same as the ice melted. however surprisingly we found that the temperature in the saltee beaker went way down to -5 degrees. this was quite surprsing since the ice was still melting. we were then asked to fill up the beakers with water and add ice cubes with dye in them so that we could see the melting process more clear;y and we were then asked which would melt more quickly. this was tricky as we weren't sure whether the sa;t melting the ice and keeping it cold would prevent it from melting as fast as the normal fresh water . after this experiment we went onto talk about the types of learner that you could have in your class and how their responses to this question can tell you their brain age and functionality. an astonishing amount of students were shown to have a brain age 8 years behind their chronological age.]]> 2017-12-05 15:53:37 UTC https://padlet.com/ian_colligan2/ncg46xg67ac6/wish/213353638