Inside Education On 103.2 Dublin City Fm

Presented and produced by Seán Delaney Theme tune by David Vesey This week I follow up on last week's programme where I shared some of my own ideas about school tours by talking to two practitioners who have lots of experience of organising school tours and field trips - as teacher and as principal. Caitriona Cosgrave teaches second class in Scoil Áine Girls School in Raheny and Martin Kennedy is principal of Scoil Cholmcille in Skryne, Co. Meath. Among the topics discussed on the programme are: School Tour venues and activities Choosing a school-wide theme for school tours; variety and continuity in tours Bringing parents on a school tour with children Creating memories on school tours Learning on school tours Going abroad for primary school tours Preparing for school tours

Presented and produced by Seán Delaney Theme tune by David Vesey On this week's programme I talk about school tours and how to make them more educational. Among the topics discussed on the programme are: Where to go Health and safety Risk Assessment Cost Planning the tour Bringing the route to life Communicating with parents about the school tour Other venues Resources Here is a link to ships and boats certified by the Marine Survey Office of the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport. Educational materials that can be used to support school tours are available from the National Museum  here and here and from the National Gallery.

Presented and produced by Seán Delaney Theme tune by David Vesey On this week's programme I bring you the second and final part of my interview with Professor John P. Miller from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto. John P. Miller is the author of The Holistic Curriculum, the third edition of which was recently published. Among the matters we discussed on the programme this week were: The importance of examining our beliefs The soul as the unconditioned self The connection between holistic education and mental health The relationship between holistic education and affective education, humanistic education, confluent education and transpersonal education. The Holistic Ed Review started by Ron Miller The lack of university programmes in holistic education up to doctoral level What school is for The Sudbury Valley School People mentioned by John P. Miller Suzuki Roshi (Zen mind beginner’s mind) Richard Alpert – Ram Dass Joseph Goldstein (meditation) Norman Feldman (medi

Presented and produced by Seán Delaney Theme tune by David Vesey On this week's programme I speak to John P. (Jack) Miller, of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto, and author of of The Holistic Curriculum, about holistic education. Among the topics discussed on the programme are: What is holistic education? In a tradition from indigenous people, Buddha, Socrates, Plato, Rousseau, Emerson, Thoreau, Peabody and Tolstoy up to Waldorf, Montessori and Reggio Emilia. How The Equinox Holistic School in Toronto was inspired by and follows the ideas in Miller’s book, The Holistic Curriculum. The story of the school is told here. Use of textbooks and a holistic curriculum What is the experience of a holistic curriculum like for a student? Autonomy for children in holistic education settings Characteristics of teachers to teach holistically Difference between teaching a subject holistically and teaching the same subject conventionally Planning for holistic teaching James Bean and

 Presented and produced by Seán Delaney Theme tune by David Vesey On this week's programme I bring you the second part of my interview with Professor Barbara Schneider from Michigan State University. Among the topics discussed this week are the following: The need to review the Irish science curriculum in line with other countries How can a curriculum value both knowing and doing, especially doing Her upcoming book titled, Learning Science (2020) The role of family and school in aligning one’s education with one’s career choice (“aligned ambitions”) and how this led to the “College Ambition Program.” Enhancing one’s career prospects with a “dual degree” Educational outcomes v occupational outcomes Fluidity of careers and implications for developing curriculum materials How media influence career choices Career paths of females A typical working day for her What schools are for Two books she regularly returns to are Foundations of Social Theory and Flow

Presented and produced by Seán Delaney Theme tune by David Vesey This week on the programme my guest is Professor Barbara Schneider from Michigan State University. She uses sociology and psychology in her work and talks about how that works. She discusses optimal learning moments in science teaching and learning and about helping students make transitions from middle school to high school. Here are my notes on some of the topics discussed: How sociology has always about equal educational opportunity, access and social justice The development of adolescence in context How relationships created in school affect the inequality students experience in schools Why relational trust in school is so important The importance of student welfare How they studied flow in the classroom Converting flow into “optimal learning moments” The “in it to win it” app and the College Ambition Program How teachers can prepare for “optimal learning moments” Why it’s important for children to learn science at school A hybrid model of

Presented and produced by Seán Delaney Theme tune by David Vesey On this week's programme I bring you the second part of my interview with Professor Lin Goodwin from the Faculty of Education at the University of Hong Kong. We continue the discussion we began on last week's programme about mentoring and progress onto other topics. Among the matters discussed this week are: How to recognise when the moment is right for mentor input What trends she perceives in the future of mentoring Rounds as a practice in teacher education Her work as Dean How she uses her teaching skills in her work as Dean Looking at education and teaching across cultures Ruth Wong Who and what inspires her When I asked A. Lin Goodwin for her favourite book about education, she nominated, The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, a book that was also recommended by Karen Hammerness when I spoke to her.

Presented and produced by Seán Delaney Theme tune by David Vesey On this week's programme I interview Professor A. Lin Goodwin, Dean of the Faculty of Education at the University of Hong Kong and formerly of Teachers College, Columbia University about mentoring and teaching. Among the topics we discuss are the following: What mentoring is and is not Everyone can be a mentor but people need to learn to mentor Her experiences of being mentored by Celia Genishi The kind of honesty that mentors need to have The kind of feedback that is helpful Skills and behaviours of mentors Mentoring future researchers Mentoring future teachers Mentors learning from mentees Letting mentees make mistakes Problems if a mentor is reluctant to give candid feedback Why having a framework or a mindset is better than having a formula for giving feedback Getting away from looking at teaching dichotomously Mentors for different occasions Reluctant mentees Some moments are more productive for mentoring than others

Presented and produced by Seán Delaney Theme tune by David Vesey This week on the programme I speak to Colm Byrne who graduated as a primary teacher from Marino Institute of Education in 2003 and two colleagues Sophen and Sowuen from Cambodia about education in Cambodia. They all work for the non governmental organisation See Beyond Borders. Among the topics we discuss are the following: How Colm Byrne went to live and work in Cambodia The state of education in Cambodia Why teachers matter more than buildings at this time Learning English in Cambodia Children dropping out of school after second class Support from the INTO, Irish Aid and Horseware Horseware

Presented and produced by Seán Delaney Theme tune by David Vesey This week I am joined on the programme by Professor David Clarke and Dr. Man Ching Esther Chan from the Graduate School of Education at the University of Melbourne. We discussed many aspects of research and teaching, with a focus on mathematics, tasks, questioning and language. Among the topics discussed were: Why a laboratory classroom was set up at the University of Melbourne The social unit of learning research project The layout of the laboratory classroom Negotiating of meaning in mathematics tasks (e.g. meaning of average) Using open ended tasks in teaching mathematics Marking answers to open ended mathematical tasks Involving students in assessing Sources of open-ended tasks If the area of an apartment is 60 square metres, what might the five-room apartment look like? Picture a bar graph where all you have are the bars and the axes but no labels of any sort. What might this be a bar graph of? Label the bar graph and explain what informa

Presented and produced by Seán Delaney Theme tune by David Vesey This week on the programme I explore the area of postgraduate study in education. Why do a postgraduate accredited course? Where to do it? When is a good time to do it? How to choose it and ways to do it? Who to study with? Such courses are addressed to the extent that they can be within a 30-minute course. To respond to any of the ideas raised, leave an idea on the programme's website or on Twitter using the handle, @insideed. One website mentioned on the programme is the MOOC, Coursera.

Presented and produced by Seán Delaney Theme tune by David Vesey This week my guest is Thomas Moore who gave a talk on "The Inner Landscape of the Educator in Difficult Times" in Marino Institute of Education earlier this year. Among the topics we discussed are: How as a culture we prefer training to education and the differences between them Where he would like education to take place Why the colours, sounds, images and textures around you matter when you learn Source of curriculum: What does it mean to be an educated person? What it requires of each of us to be human, to be good citizens The spiritual nature of humans in our search for meaning Having students go on a “pilgrimage” back to their childhood to get in touch with their essential selves Aspects of spirituality religions have traditionally ignored in their emphases on dogmatism and moralism Exploring basic questions through literature and the arts He referred to Homer’s Odyssey, Horton Foote's play The Trip to Bountiful, and the poets Emily Dicki

Presented and produced by Seán Delaney Theme tune by David Vesey On this week's programme I bring you some interviews I recorded at the 2019 annual conference of the Irish Primary PE Association which was held in the Watershed, Kilkenny on 9 March. First I spoke to Dr. Liam Clohessy, who is chair of the Association and Cameron Stewart who is a member of the Scottish Association of Teachers of Physical Education. Among the topics we covered were Adapting games for use in PE Using PE to develop leadership, resilience and fair play Why physical education is more than physical activity Time allocated to teaching physical education The place of physical education in Scotland Motivating children who are reluctant to engage in physical education class Benefits and drawbacks of specialist teachers for physical education Cameron recommended Joey Feith's website and Liam recommended the websites Move Well and Move Often and the PE section of the PDST website. Next I spoke to Dr. Frances Murphy from Dublin City Univer

Presented and produced by Seán Delaney Theme tune by David Vesey On this week's programme I bring you more from my interview with Professor Gert Biesta, who is Professor of Public Education at Maynooth University. What comes through in everything he says is the respect and love he has for teaching. Among the wide range of topics we discuss are the following: Who he writes for when he writes about education Speaking and thinking about education in an educational way How philosophy can inform the practice of teachers Designing and teaching a module on philosophy for future teachers The importance of asking good questions The relevance of Kierkegaard and “Double truth giving” in teaching Teaching for the possibility of being taught John Dewey’s critique of the modern scientific world view PE teachers who had a significant impact on him Why schools should surprise What inspires him The book he is currently reading is in German and it is Allgemeine Pädagogik by Dietrich Benner. He also referred to the work of Ho

Presented and produced by Seán Delaney Theme tune by David Vesey On this week's programme I speak to Gert Biesta who is Professor of Public Education at Maynooth University. Among the topics we discuss on the programme are: Why he took up a position in Ireland The work of the Centre for Public Education and Pedagogy at Maynooth University How he’ll get to know the Irish education system How teacher education in Ireland differs from teacher education in England The emergence of a competitive mindset in education across countries What good education is in an age of measurement Balancing three purposes of education The place of equity, diversity and social justice in education Implications of the disappearance of teaching and the rise of learning over the last 25 years The gift of teaching

Presented and produced by Seán Delaney Theme music by David Vesey This week I bring you my third and final episode from the 2019 annual conference of the Irish Primary Principals' Network. First of all I step inside the Aquaculture Remote Classroom to find out what's in store for schools when the mobile classroom visits and I speak to John Hurley of H2 Learning who was involved in designing the experience. I also speak to Damian White who is Deputy President of the Irish Primary Principals' Network. Among the topics we discuss are: The highlight of the conference for him Prioritising initiatives for schools The role of a school in a community How the IPPN has encouraged cooperation across schools Teachers who taught him How he’d like to be perceived by students in his school

Presented and produced by Seán Delaney Theme tune by David Vesey On this week's programme I continue my conversation on teaching literacy in the early years with Dr. Tara Concannon-Gibney from Dublin City University. The occasion was to mark the publication by Routledge of Tara's book Teaching Essential Literacy Skills in the Early Years Classroom: A Guide for Students and Teachers. Among the topics we discuss on this week's programme are: Her definition of literacy Digital texts and literacy Why some children struggle with reading How parents can help their child to read How a parent should react to a child reading when the child comes to a word that is not known Advice for choosing a book for a child The benefits of repetitive reading of texts Poetry and literacy skills How she became interested in the area of literacy How she went about writing the book In the course of our interview Tara mentioned texts by the following writers: Mem Fox, Georgia Heard, Lucy Calkins, Oliver Jeffers, Hervé Tullet, and Ju

Presented and produced by Seán Delaney Theme tune by David Vesey The guest on this week's programme is Dr. Tara Concannon Gibney who is an assistant professor in Dublin City University. The interview is to mark the launch of Tara's new book Teaching Essential Literacy Skills in the Early Years Classroom: A Guide for Students and Teachers, which is published by Routledge. Among the topics we discuss this week are the following: Why she wrote the book Phonological awareness and how to develop it using games Using big books to teach literacy (e.g. Owl Babies) How to teach phonics Sequence for teaching phonics Developing fluency Teaching concepts of print Tier 2 vocabulary Comprehension strategies – Gradual release of responsibility model High frequency – Dolch - words Guided reading literacy centres Role of play in developing language and literacy    

Presented and produced by Seán Delaney. Theme tune by David Vesey. On this week's programme, the guests were two of the keynote speakers from the 2019 annual conference of the Irish Primary Principals' Network, the IPPN, Adam Harris and Patrick O'Shea. Adam Harris is the Chief Executive Officer of AsIAm, an organisation set up to give people with autism a voice. My conversation with Adam included the following topics: His message for primary school principals The importance of school culture The “scattered skill sets” of people with autism The value of focusing on a student’s strengths Disclosing the having of autism Support for students with autism A student’s relationship with their SNA The work of As I Am Awareness of versus Understanding People with autism Coping mechanisms for difficult situations and places Being diagnosed as having autism   Professor Patrick O'Shea was appointed President of University College Cork in 2017 following a three-decade career in academia in the United States. My conversa

Presented and produced by Seán Delaney Theme tune by David Vesey. This week I bring you the first of my interviews recorded at the 2019 annual conference of the Irish Primary Principals' Network. The theme of the conference was Sustainable Leadership: Challenges and Opportunities. My interview today is with the Chief Executive Officer of the Network, Páiric Clerkin. Among the various topics discussed this week are: Relief from teaching duties on one day a week for teaching principals Restoration of posts of responsibility in larger schools Establishment of the Primary Education Forum (Calendar of reform) Problems in schools arising from children who are homeless or in direct provision His priorities for the year ahead (mentoring and the Centre for School Leadership; redeveloping online services) Members’ positive response to the address by the Minister for Education and Skills Applying for a position as School Principal Prioritising for principals and making school leadership "doable" Teachers’ developing th