November 2017 – Sustainable Development Reflections

Learning Log 5

This input has taught me a multitude of things. To begin with, I learnt how to plan an effective lesson regarding a practical activity. In small groups, we were instructed to create own anemometer. After this, we were to create our own lesson plan taking into consideration Curriculum for Excellence and practicality.

This task had developed my group working and problem-solving skills, each of which are important qualities to have in a teacher. I developed these skills through trial and error. Cooperatively was the word of the day. You were supposed to work together and consider other suggestions that may be applied. Flexibility and adaptability were also important today as you had to make the task your own, the instructions weren’t completely followed.

We had a guest lecturer come in from an East Ayrshire primary who taught us all about the incorporation of STEM in the class room. I really enjoyed this lecture as it is an area of the curriculum that I am passionate about. However, I am also apprehensive when teaching it. She advised us ways to start off topics and provided ideas as to how to start off topics. It reminded me of why I got into teaching, something that is extremely important round about this time of year.

I developed written and oral skills also as we had to lay out a clear plan of action, with signposts as to how you did and what you would do differently, as well as any specific considerations that must be taken into consideration with primary pupils.

I would like to research STEM more and how to incorporate aspects into daily lessons. It is becoming an increasing part of school curriculums with particular importance to the Curriculum for Excellence. It is something that I am going to need to teach and so I would rather be ready for what is inevitable going to come up.

I was absent the first week of Energy and so this learning log is based solely on week 10.

Learning Log 4

These past two weeks have focused around natural disasters, a topic that I am extremely interested in. To begin with, we looked at the political and economic aspects of natural disasters. We then moved on to look at the science behind certain disasters and how they have an impact on the world (see blog titled ‘Disasters’).

The tasks we did were both interesting and useful as each were linked in some way to teacher, whether that be how you would teach it or if you would teach it to a class, depending on age, maturity etc.

For our directed study task, in small groups we were to research a natural disaster and create a presentation collating all the relevant information that we found. My group researched hurricanes, tornados and typhoons. Each of these is some form of extreme weather and so any reading that we had to do was interesting as opposed to a hindrance. In our presentation, we were to include; definition and explanation of the disaster, mitigation strategies, facts and figures, preparation, recovery, response, teaching points, lesson ideas, E’s & O’s and a reference page. As this was a big workload, my group divided the tasks and worked together to create the PowerPoint.

I have developed several skills whilst taking part in these workshops and tasks. Skills include;

1. Team work skills– the ability to work well with others and divide up tasks effectively.

2. Investigative skills- the ability to research relevant topics.

3. Reading and extraction skills- the ability to read through information and pick out the best parts.

4. Presentation skills- the ability to create an eye-catching presentation.

5. Speaking skills- the ability to project my voice to the whole section.

6. Listening skills- the ability to listen to the other groups present.

7. Confidence- I was not as nervous as I was last year to present in front of the section.

8. Communication skills- the ability to share and receive information in a civilised and controlled manner.

The topic of disasters relates to primary teaching in several ways. In the news there are increasing coverage of natural disasters such as hurricane Irma, so you have the possibility to teach disasters as a stand-alone topic in the sense that the children are curious and want to know more. Or you could teach it as part of topic work. However, you need to be cautious of the information you give as you don’t want to scare the children. Therefore, you need to know your class before you decide what to do.

The relevant Experiences and Outcomes include:

· I can describe the physical processes of a natural disaster and discuss its impact on people and the landscape. SOC 2-07

After all the inputs, I have decided that disasters is a potential choice for me to write about in my end of module assignment. It has a lot of information from reputable sources and is an interesting topic to discuss.

Useful links/resources:

• Americares (n.d.) Emergency Programs [Online] available at: https://www.americares.org/en/what-we-do/emergency-programs/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMInKH7mNab1wIVRbcbCh1rYASvEAAYASAAEgJp0PD_BwE (Accessed 31^st October)

• a-z central.(n.d). How to prepare for a Typhoon. [Online]. Available: http://healthyliving.azcentral.com/how-to-prepare-for -a-typhoon-12124957.html (Accessed 31/10/17)

• Beyond The Basics- Best Practises in Local Mitigation Planning. (n.d.) [Online] Available: http://mitigationguide.org/task-6/mitigation-actions/ [Accessed: 29/10/17]

• C.N.N. (26th September 2017). 3 storms, 3 responses: Comparing Harvey, Irma and Maria. [Online] Available at: http://edition.cnn.com/2017/09/26/us/response-harvey-irma-maria/index.html (Accessed 1^st November 2017)

• Department of Homeland Security.(n.d).Tornadoes. [Online]. Available: https//www.ready.gov/tornadoes (Accessed 31/10/17)

• Department of Homeland Security.(n.d). Hurricanes. [Online] Available: https//www.ready.gov/hurricanes (Accessed 31/10/17)

• Middleton, N. (2003) The Global Casino (3^rd Edition). [Online] Available: https://www.dawsonera.com/readonline/9780203529249 [Accessed: 01/11/17].

• National hurricane Center. (n.d). Hurricane Preparedness- Be Ready. [Online]. Available: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/prepare/ready.php (Accessed 31/10/17)

Disaters Presentation…

This week in sustainable development, we took part in microteaching. As a small group, we were to create a PowerPoint presentation on a chosen natural disaster and include within; definition and explanation of the disaster, mitigation strategies, facts and figures, preparation, recovery, response, teaching points, lesson ideas, E’s & O’s and a reference page.

My group presented on hurricanes, typhoons and tornados. The PowerPoint we created is linked below.

I really enjoyed this week as it allowed me to increase several necessary skills. These skills included;

1. Groupwork skills- the ability to work well with others and divide up tasks effectively.

2. Investigative skills- the ability to research relevant topics.

3. Reading and extraction skills- the ability to read through information and pick out the best parts.

4. Presentation skills- the ability to create an eye-catching presentation.

5. Speaking skills- the ability to project my voice to the whole section.

6. Listening skills- the ability to listen to the other groups present.