Participating teachers will receive 10 ECTS through University of Galway’s Centre for Adult Learning and Professional Development fully funded by CÚRAM.
To apply or find out more email sarah.gundy@universityofgalway.ie, or click here
Deadline for applications is Friday 29th September 2023.
What is the programme?
CÚRAM’s Teachers in Residence programme supports both primary and secondary school teachers in science education. The initiative is designed to bridge the gap between scientific research and the classroom to foster science education. This year the programme is expanding to incorporate researchers from an additional four SFI Research Centres across Ireland.
The programme has ten places available for five primary and five secondary school teachers and will run from October 2023, over ten evenings until March 2024. The online sessions will be held twice a month from 7pm to 8pm.
By bringing together experts from both academia and the classroom, the programme seeks to enhance science education. Our collaborators include APC Microbiome Ireland, BiOrbic Bioeconomy SFI Research Centre, FutureNeuro the SFI Research Centre for Chronic and Rare Neurological Diseases, and SSPC SFI Research Centre for Pharmaceuticals.
Why take part?
Participants will learn about and receive resources for the classroom, including science engagement activities and lesson plan kits developed by teachers for teachers, that are linked with the primary and junior cycle science curricula. Teachers and their students also have the opportunity to attend interactive workshops at science centres/exhibits across Ireland.
Teachers will collaborate with scientific researchers to develop engaging and relevant educational materials to enrich classroom instruction and spark students’ interest. Lesson plan kits developed from previous years’ teachers including Irish versions can be downloaded at:
www.curamdevicesengage.ie/teachers-in-residence/
Dates for the 2023-2024 Programme
Tuesday 10th October – Welcome and overview
Tuesday 24th October – Medical devices and biomaterials
Tuesday 8th November – Microbes (microbiome) in health and disease
Tuesday 21st November – Neurological disorders and treatments
Tuesday 5th December – Sustainability and ‘bioeconomy’, supplying society’s needs from renewable biological sources
Tuesday 23rd January – Medicine and drug delivery
Tuesday 6th February – Lesson plan development in collaboration with researchers
Tuesday 20th February – Science engagement
Tuesday 5th March – Lesson plan development
Tuesday 19th March – Presentations of lesson plans
Teacher Feedback
“The highlight has been the way in which CÚRAM has allowed me to take the wonderful, and sometimes I suppose, abstract research that’s happening here in NUI Galway, and make that difficult material manageable for students, and to bring that to a classroom in a fun adaptable way, whilst reminding the students of the broad careers that are available to them. The CÚRAM Teachers in Residence programme allowed us to develop teaching and learning resources and with these resources we could have fun and engaging workshops which led to much better and broader understanding for our students, and with that, better engagement. It’s going to bring an awful lot of students into STEM careers.”
Clive Monaghan, St. Jarlaths College, Tuam
“The main highlights for me being involved in the programme have been having access to the researchers and simply to collaborate with people who are so passionate about what they do, and with our skills then, it’s about being able to bring that passion and knowledge to a whole new generation of scientists.”
Carmel Moore, Eglish NS, Ahascragh
“The most interesting part was learning about new technology that has really developed since I left college which was a long time ago, .. 30 years ago, things like, stem cell research, particularly embryonic stem cells, the ethics involved, and also like things like the development of biomedical devices.”
Anne McGreavy, Coláiste Éinde, Salthill