Reflections

A teacher must differentiate the curriculum in a meaningful, relevant way, adopting teaching strategies based on three ‘pedagogical needs’: common to all learners, specific to groups of learners. and unique to individual learners (Lewis and Norwich, 2005). As I gained more confidence in my teaching and classroom management,… Read More »Differentiation

An interesting experience as a PME1 is to be involved in the Oide (teacher in Irish) school meetings. Oide is the new support centre for teachers that unites the Centre for School Leadership (CSL), Junior Cycle for Teachers (JCT), the National Induction Programme for Teachers (NIPT) and the Professional Development Service for Teachers (PDST). Fresh in… Read More »The Communication principle

Communication is one of the common skills to be developed in students from elementary to post-primary. It is a key element that we teachers need to have in our curricula too. In order for our students to retain knowledge, we need to find ways to align our curriculum… Read More »STEAM – Interdisciplinary possibilities

In class, I usually write the learning intentions on the whiteboard and don’t look at success criteria more than the result of the learning intentions. After watching Con Hurley’s (Sligo Education Center, 2024) presentation on how to Make formative assessment work for me and my students, I gathered… Read More »Co-creating success criteria

Opening up the new STEAM theme to 1st graders, I was asked, “Why are we doing this?” My answer was too quick: “To increase your critical thinking?”. Question back: “What is critical thinking?”. Pam pam! My mistake was evident. Too much, too soon? Or is it? I had… Read More »Teaching 1st years big concepts

So far, I experienced different ranges of quality teaching experiences as a PME student teacher. Some felt very low in terms of classroom management and fighting with post-traumatic stress, and some felt extremely high, reaching the rockstar teacher level where everything and more worked like a dream. These… Read More »My best pedagogical experience

When planning for units of learning, I find that finding a relevant theme and the disciplines that form it gives you the best start in planning and preparation. For a class that I would know for the first time, I would start with nature themes. This way, I… Read More »Relevant themes

I have two EAL students, Romanian and Spanish, in different classes. Out of class, the two students became friends, and they are communicating in Spanish. In class, they are both in the “silent” phase, where they are paying attention; they understand and are appropriate, but can’t express themselves.… Read More »EAL strategies