Greetings from Ireland!

1. Greetings from Ireland!

2. Active Methodologies for Active CitizensThe Irish Experience Conor Harrison, National Co-ordinator, Civic, Social and Political Education, Ireland Reykjavik, Iceland 29th May 2006

3. Citizenship Education in the Irish Curriculum

4. Understanding Dimension Course Content, Concepts Skills Dimension Active Learning Methods Action Projects Formative Dimension Opportunities to Reflect Co-Facilitated by Practising Teachers Inspire confidence, ‘doability’ Structure to In-service Events

5. Primary Education SPHE(Social, Personal and Health Education) SESE (Social, Environmental and Scientific Education) Lower Secondary Education Junior Cycle CSPE(Civic, Social and Political Education) Citizenship Education in the Irish Curriculum • Upper Secondary Education • Senior Cycle • Transition Year Modules • Social Education(Leaving Certificate Applied) • Social & Political Education (Short course, Full course) • 3rd Level Education • Political Science • Sociology • Anthropology • Lifelong Learning • One of the six priority areas

6. Education for& throughCitizenship “Citizenship is doing our share to make our community and country a better place.” A L Steele “The essential task of citizenship is not to predict the future, it is to create it.” Foróige

7. Core curriculum One 40 minute class period per week or equivalent 70 hours over 3 years Students should undertake 2 Action Projects Assessed as part of the Junior Certificate Civic, Social & Political Education: Lower Secondary Education

8. Civic, Social and Political Education: • is a course in Citizenship based on Human Rights and Social Responsibilities. • aims to develop active citizens who have - a sense of belonging to the local, national, European and global community - a capacity to gain access to information and structures - an ability and the confidence to fully participate in democratic society. • is concerned about issues at personal, local, national and global levels. • promotes the development of knowledge, concepts, skills, attitudes/values, as outlined in the syllabus, through active learning methods.

9. Based on 7 Concepts Rights & Responsibilities Human Dignity Democracy Law CITIZENSHIP Development Stewardship Interdependence

10. Education for Democratic Citizenship within the Council of Europe • Teaching essential knowledge • Developing skills • Developing attitudes • Undertaking action • Emphasis on participation and on Active Learning Methods

11. Getting the Balance Right Action Methodology Content Education aboutCitizenship Education forCitizenship Education through Citizenship

12. Active Learning Methodologies

13. Two Key Approaches • Active Learning • Taking Action “A student must be able to do more than “know about” what s/he is studying.”

14. Active Learning Methods Centre for Teaching Effectiveness, University of Texas, Austin

15. Learning Theories • Visual/Auditory/Kinesthetic • Left Brain/Right Brain • Multiple Intelligences • Co-operative Learning • Constructivism

16. Visual/Auditory/Kinaesthetic Learners • Visual Learners Prefer to see information • Auditory Learners Prefer to hear information • Kinaesthetic Learners Learn best by doing, touching, making

17. LEFT Brain RIGHT Brain • Language • Linearity • Logic • Number/Maths • Sequence • Words of a Poem • From whole to parts • Phonetic reading • Unrelated Facts • Forms and patterns • Spatial manipulation • Dimension • Synthesis • Images and patterns • Rhythm and Music • Tune of a Song • From parts to Whole • Imagination

18. LOGICAL-MATHEMATICAL How can I bring in numbers, calculations, logic, classifications, or critical thinking skills? SPATIAL How can I use visual aids, visualisation, colour, art or metaphor? INTERPERSONAL How can I engage students in peer sharing or co-operative learning? LINGUISTIC How can I use spoken or written word? Planning for Multiple Intelligences INTRAPERSONAL How can I evoke personal feelings or memories, or give students choices? MUSICAL How can I bring in music or environmental sounds, or set key points in a rhythmic or melodic framework? NATURALIST How can I draw in/evoke the world of nature? BODILY-KINAESTHETIC How can I involve the whole body or use hands-on experiences? Adapted from Howard Gardner

19. Gardner proposed a change in emphasis….. from How clever is s/he? to How is s/he clever?

21. The Learning Experience VAK Multiple Intelligences Motivation Left/Right Brain Learning Styles Student Constructivism Ability Methodology Attitude Resources Interest Teacher Subject Style Level Relationships Learning led Expectations Exam driven Teaching Strategies

22. Why Active Learning? • To support memory • To experience learning at a deeper level • To problem solve • To encourage discussion • To engage pupils • To develop critical thinking/reflection

23. Making Lessons Memorable “Knowledge, for most people, has a very short sell-by date. Unless it is used very quickly it goes off.” Charles Handy, The Hungry Spirit, 1997, p217 “Experience plus reflection is the learning that lasts.” Charles Handy, Myself and other more important matters, 2006, p43 “Lessons should be hard to forget” Student

24. Review/Reflection “Trying to learn without reviewing is like trying to fill the bath without putting the plug in.” Mike Hughes, Closing the Learning Gap, 1999, p54

25. The Role of the Teacher • Creative • Motivator • Listener • Choreographer • Facilitator • Empowerer “The student is empowered and becomes the expert”

26. Active Learning - General Roy Watson-Davis, Creative Teaching Handbook, Teachers’ Pocketbooks, Hampshire, 2004 Gordon Dryden & Jeannette Vos, The Learning Revolution, Network Educational Press, Stafford, 2001 Paul Ginnis, The Teacher’s Toolkit, Crown House Publishing, Carmarthen, 2002 Mike Hughes, Closing the Learning Gap, Network Educational Press, Stafford, 1999 Mike Hughes, Strategies for Closing the Learning Gap, Network Educational Press, Stafford, 2001 Mel Silberman, Active Learning: 101 Strategies to Teach Any Subject, Allyn and Bacon, Needham Heights, 1996

27. Active Learning - Citizenship CDVEC Curriculum Development Unit, Citizenship Education Teaching and Learning Resources (CD-Rom), CDVEC CDU, Dublin, 2005 Council of Europe, COMPASS: A Manual on Human Rights Education with Young People, COE, Strasbourg, 2002 United Nations, Teaching Human Rights, OHCHR, Geneva, 2003 Save the Children, Participation: Spice it Up, Save the Children, Cardiff, 2002

28. John F. Kennedy “One person can make a difference and every person should try.” “Vision without action is a dream. Action without vision is a waste of time. Vision with action can change the world.” Nelson Mandela

29. The Starfish Story A young lad was walking down a deserted beach after a major storm. He was astonished by the number of starfish that the storm had washed up on the beach. He thought that there was nothing he could do because there were so many. In the distance he saw a frail old man. As he approached the man, he saw him bend over, pick up a stranded starfish and throw it back into the sea. The young lad gazed in wonder as the old man, again and again bent over, picked up stranded starfish and threw them from the sand to the water. He asked, ‘Why do you spend so much energy doing what seems to be a waste of time?’ The old man explained that the stranded starfish would die if left in the morning sun. ‘But there must be thousands of starfish on this beach alone!’, exclaimed the young lad. ‘How can you make a difference?’ The old man looked at the small starfish in his hand and, as he threw it to the safety of the sea, he said, ‘I made a difference to that one, didn’t I?’

30. Fond memories of … Iceland, May 2006