TEACHER TRAINING COURSES BIG SUCCESS IN IRELAND

Following the results of Sea for Society social science research that 'ignorance' and 'lack of understanding' are key barriers to the development of a sustainable marine ecosystem, Irish Sea for Society partners the Marine Institute (in Galway) and AquaTT (in Dublin) have just finished week-long training courses for primary school teachers on how to incorporate marine studies into their schools in an enjoyable way. 

Using the 'Explorers' Primary School Marine Education Programme (see www.explorers.ie) developed by the Marine Institute, local education centres and aquaria, teachers in Galway have been trained on bringing marine themes into the classroom to illustrate different aspects of the primary school curriculum – including mathematics, English, geography, history, science and art for the last eight years.

Cushla Dromgool-Regan (right) of the Marine Institute with
teachers in Galway

“Through the Explorers Education programme and teachers training course we provide an opportunity for teachers to learn about their local seashore as well develop an understanding about the importance of Ireland’s marine resource and ocean wealth,” explained Cushla Dromgool-Regan from the Marine Institute. “We hope the teachers will feel more confident and enabled to innovate and inspire students in learning about the marine.”

The Explorers annual teacher’s training course, which is run in collaboration with the Galway Education Centre and the Galway Atlantaquaria, continues to be popular with teachers, booking up early each year.

Building a submarine to demonstrate 'Energy & Forces' 

As teacher Bróna Smyth of Scoil Mhuire, Maree said, “the course was invaluable in offering practical concepts that can be used on the seashore and in class by interlinking the subjects. The hands on approach, learning about species and seaweeds, making seashore keys, collecting marine litter data for graphs, completing water experiments to creating seashore poetry and stories are all key to embedding the understanding of how important the ocean is and how it impacts our daily lives.”

Simultaneously, on the other side of Ireland in Dublin, twenty primary school teachers from all over the county worked with Sea for Society partner AquaTT, Tomas O’Brien and Pat Seever of the Blackrock Education Centre along with the team at the SEALIFE aquarium at Bray to learn how to teach about the contribution that Irish people have made to marine history through the founding of the American, Argentinian and Chilean navies, the invention of the Beaufort Wind Scale and the modern submarine, as well as to Arctic and Antarctic exploration and even (possibly) to the discovery of America through the efforts of St. Brendan the Navigator.

Using a Hoola-Hoop to quantify area
for seashore surveys in Dublin 

Sea for Society Area and Work Package Leader Dr. John Joyce led the course, with assistance from Lorraine Grant – a freelance marine biologist and marine mammal expert – and essential input from Louise Power – a working teacher who has great stories to tell of the positive impact of having a saltwater aquarium in the classroom.

“As always, the ‘Explorers’ course was a highly enjoyable and truly collaborative effort by all involved,” said John, who worked with the Marine Institute Communications Team, the Forfas ‘Discover Primary Science Programme’, local education centres and commercial aquaria to set up the Explorers programme eight years ago. “Teachers are the key to reaching the next generation of world citizens regarding the vital importance of our oceans to our everyday lives. If we can convince them to use their considerable skills to bring the Sea into their classrooms on a regular basis, then we can literally change the world for the better.”

Teachers in Dublin also undertook detailed analysis of marine life at Sandycove Point on the south side of Dublin Bay and were treated to a guided tour of the National Maritime Museum in Dun Laoghaire.

The Dublin teachers' group on the seashore in Dublin Bay

Response to both courses was overwhelmingly positive and teachers were keen to incorporate what they had learned in future lessons to their pupils . . . spreading the Sea for Society message and the concept of a 'Blue Society' to future generations of Irish men and women all over the country.