For this theme we began with a lecture about Energy. This included learning about what energy sources (fossil fuels) we use and how long these finite resources will last. We later discussed what alternatives can be used such as wave, nuclear, solar and wind power.
The science workshop allowed me to develop the mist skills as a future teacher as we again had a number of stations where we could try different science experiments. The majority of these experiments could easily be replicated in school to educate pupils about energy such as the balloon experiment which involved blowing up a balloon and seeing what reaction it would have with different materials such as salt, pepper and small pieces of paper.
However, the second workshop allowed me to develop more knowledge and skills as a learner. We had a choice of sources about wind turbines to read and select key points from. We were later numbered into four groups and summarised our findings into points for and against wind turbines. This helped me develop my critical literacy skills as I was able to read through the text and pick out the most relevant points. Later, two of the groups joined to make the for argument with the other two joining to make the against argument. We then engaged in a debate, which was both enjoyable and informative. This helped me to build my confidence and persuasive speech skills such as altering my tone of voice. Using a debate in class is a memorable lesson and varies from every day lessons and so would be a valuable lesson to use with pupils at second level.
In the directed study task, we were challenged with constructing an anemometer with the given materials. We then had select relevant Experiences and Outcomes for this task before creating a lesson plan. This task developed my problem-solving skills as creating this anemometer itself required a couple of attempts before it would work properly. However, whilst developing the lesson plan my group continued to come up with many other ideas to incorporate technology into our future lessons.
