Mary Immaculate College (MIC) is offering a free summer course for primary school teachers. The course will help teachers integrate ICT and digital literacy as well as robotics into their practice.
Critical thinking and problem solving for pupils
Dr Maeve Liston, Director of Enterprise and Community Engagement MIC, said that the initiative aims to develop teachers’ digital skills. As a result, this will extend opportunities for children to experience critical thinking and problem solving.
“It is our aim to continue to build on such initiatives in the STEM education domain, linked to the above mentioned Regional Action Plan for Jobs, Regional Skills Fora, Ireland’s National Skills Strategy 2025, and regional initiatives such as Limerick Digital Strategy and Limerick for IT etc,” said Dr Liston.
MIC will offer the free summer course for primary school teachers from July 3 – 7. The Professional Development Services for Teachers (PDST) and the Irish American Partnership as well as DELL EMC support the course.
Integration ICT across primary school curriculum
Bernie Kinsella, a primary school teacher from St Nessans National School, Mungret, Limerick will facilitate the course. Ms Kinsella explains the course will “focus on the potential of integration ICT across the primary school curriculum.” Teachers will learn to facilitate activities that encourage creative, problem-solving skills and critical thinking as well as project and team-working.
Dr Maeve Liston added: “The focus of such a programme is to develop new innovative classroom techniques and ‘hands-on, minds-on’ experiences that supports and enriches the entire learning process and to explore the use of robotics to support teaching, learning and assessment, with a particular emphasis on Science, Technology and Maths, Literacy and the Arts (STEAM)”.
