100 Primary school teachers learn about the ocean with the Marine Institute’s Explorers Education Programme
29th July 2022: The Marine Institute's Explorers Education Programmes' five day Continuing Professional Development (CPD) teachers training courses 'Exploring Ireland's seashore' have been successfully delivered to over seventy teachers in Waterford, Kerry, Galway, and for the first time to teachers from Cork. A further forty teachers are also completing the programme online.
Congratulating the Explorers team involved in the delivery of the training programmes, Ms Patricia Orme, Corporate Services Director, Marine Institute, said "these courses are key to introducing teachers to ocean concepts, environmental awareness and climate change.
We are delighted to see in person CPD courses back in full swing and the Explorers first online course is also doing extremely well. The expansion of the CPD summer teachers training courses reaching over 100 teachers this year is testament to the hard work of the Explorers team and the ongoing support also provided by the education centres in Galway, Waterford, Tralee – Kerry, West Cork, and Mayo."
The Explorers teachers training courses, approved by the Department of Education and Skills, provides primary school teachers with the ocean knowledge and skills to introduce marine themes through cross curricular teaching, such as science, maths, geography, English and arts in classroom, as well as conducting fieldtrips to the seashore.
Exploring sand dunes and rock pools, creating art pieces from flotsam and jetsam, conducting beach-clean games on the shore, as well as learning about the seashore animals and the different types of seaweeds, are all ways to teach children how to interact with the natural world.
Ms Cushla Dromgool-Regan, Explorers Strategic Education and Communications Manager, Camden Education Trust thanked the teachers for their enthusiasm in teaching marine subjects in their classrooms. "We were delighted with the positive feedback and especially where a number of teachers said that the skills learned during the training have also provided them with far reaching skills beyond the classroom and within their communities.
"One teacher explained that she had recently seen a mother finding it difficult to answer her child's questions about what they were seeing on the shore in the rockpools, and unfortunately quickly pulled the child along. The teacher said at the time she felt disappointed she couldn't help, but now after completing the Explorers course, she feels confident to help potential seashore explorers in this situation – she is now looking forward to paying it forward and encouraging children and parents to keep exploring over the summer – as well as when she gets back to school.
Ms Cushla Dromgool-Regan said "the teacher's positive feedback and enthusiasm is very encouraging and highlights the importance of sharing our knowledge about the ocean. The idea of 'paying it forward' to inspire a new generation of ocean advocates is key to helping children develop a greater appreciation of the importance of the ocean and an understanding of the significant impact it has on our daily lives".
The Explorers CPD online training course Exploring Ireland's Seashore through Science, Maths, Geography, English and Art is still open for teachers to complete online. Registration closes on the 17th August. For further information, see elearning.mayoeducationcentre.ie
The Explorers Education Programme is managed by the Camden Education Trust and support services is provided by Galway Atlantaquaria. The Explorers teams involved in the CPD training include Leave no Trace - Ireland (Waterford), Lifetime Lab (Cork), Sea Synergy (Kerry), and Galway Atlantaquaria (Galway). For further information about the Explorer Education Programme see www.explorers.ie.
The Explorers Education Programme is funded by the Marine Institute, Ireland's state agency for marine research, technology development and innovation.
ENDS
Media contact:
Cushla Dromgool-Regan
Strategic Education and Communications Manager
(Marine Institute's Explorers Education Programme)
Camden Education Trust
Mobile: + 353 (0) 87 9185519
Email: cushla.dromgoolregan@thecamdentrust.org
Website: www.explorers.ie
Photo captions:
#1. Shazia Waheed from Old Cork Waterworks Experience delivers the Marine Institute's first Explorers Education CPD 5-day face-to-face primary school teachers training course on the seashore in Bantry, where the teachers learned about marine biodiversity, environmental care and climate change. The training was also delivered by Danielle Crowley, Camden Education Trust and is supported by the West Cork Education Centre. Photo: Danielle Crowley
#2. Over 20 primary school teachers take to the seashore in Annestown, Waterford to learn about marine biodiversity, environmental care and climate change as part of the Marine Institute's Explorers Education Programme's 5-day CDP training course. The course was delivered by Explorers outreach team Gillian Wheatley in Waterford and Mairead O'Donovan from Leave No Trace – Ireland, and supported by Waterford Teachers' Centre. Photo: Gillian Mills
#3. Up to 20 primary school teachers take to the seashore in Galway to learn about marine biodiversity, environmental care and climate change as part of the Marine Institute's Explorers Education Programme's 5-day CDP training course, which has now been running for over 15 years. The course was delivered by Explorers outreach team Explorers outreach team Rory McAvinney and Maria Vittoria Marra from Galway Atlantaquaria and is supported by the Galway Education Centre. Photo: Maria Vittoria Marra
#4. 25 primary school teachers took to the beach at Fenit seashore to learn about bringing the ocean to the classroom, as well as learn about marine biodiversity, environmental care and climate change, with the Marine Institute's Explorers Education outreach team Natasha Howard and Anna Kellagher at Sea Synergy, Waterville. The course is supported by the Education Centre Tralee, Co Kerry.