Programme 377, Jane Shimizu & Science on Stage and More (30-10-19)

Presented and produced by Seán Delaney.

On this week's Inside Education I bring you another chance to meet with Jane Shimizu where she tells us about her participation in Science on Stage over the midterm break. We also discuss the participation of her class in the Scoil Féile Drámaíochta. From research I bring some insights around education and sleep following my reading of Matthew Walker's book, Why We Sleep.

Among the topics I discuss with Jane Shimizu are the following:

• Her participation in the Science on Stage Festival this week in Portugal, representing Irish teachers.
• Getting children interested in science through space using projectiles and rockets
• How she makes mouse, toilet roll, air, straw and foam projectiles with her class
• The science and maths that can be based around foam projectiles
• Making predictions and recording answers to questions
• Using controls and the importance of fair tests
• How she times activities to coincide with Space Week.
• Sharing work with other classes and hosting a space display day for parents.
• Structuring lessons around projectiles and rockets and how they provide integration opportunities with several other curriculum subjects.
• What happens when questions arise to which she does not know the answer.
• Online resources: https://www.dltk-teach.com/, https://www.safesearchkids.com/.
• Her school’s website. Here are some of the links Jane recommended.
• Recommended sources for ideas and materials for teaching about space and science from ESERO and Science Foundation Ireland.
• Her class, which is in a school serving an area traditionally associated with disadvantage, participates in An Féile Scoildrámaíochta by entering a musical each year. Because many of the available scripts are intended for students in Gaelscoileanna and Gaeltacht schools, Jane writes her own scripts for her class.
• How she prepares the class during the school year for staging the musical