EPISTEM PODCAST

In the EPI•STEM PODCAST Episode 8, co-hosts Geraldine Simmie PhD and Michelle Starr PhD read from a letter sent to EPI•STEM by the President of Ireland Michael D. Higgins. The President congratulates everyone connected to the Transition Year STEAM Education project entitled ‘Design a Sustainable Eco-Village in Ireland in 2050’, especially the students in the seven schools in Limerick. Geraldine and Michelle chat today with special guest Associate Professor Olivia Fitzmaurice. Olivia is a Senior Lecturer in Mathematics Education in the School of Education, an Affiliate of EPI•STEM The National Centre for STEM Education and Academic Director of the Mathematics Learning Centre. Olivia shares her passion for researching and teaching mathematics and how she was persuaded to select math in her undergraduate degree through listening to Professor John O’Donoghue on a UL Open Day, one of the original founders of EPI•STEM The National Centre for STEM Education. Olivia’s research is interested in the social scientific problem of teaching math for understanding in the context of classrooms in Ireland, the deep learning and the multifaceted approach needed. Many of Olivia’s research studies draw from Usiskin’s model, which includes the relational, procedural, conceptual, cultural historical, representational and the necessity to make the vital link to real world applications. Professor Fitzmaurice shares her insights from a joint research study on a diversity of careers and how they were all connected in one way or another to math. Finally, Olivia concludes with a brief summary of the findings from her recent national policy report examining the delicate transition for students of math between primary school and post-primary school. The musical selection is the Kilnamona Barn Dance from County Clare and played on fiddle by Avril McLoughlin. Avril is a researcher and a lecturer in The Irish World Academy of Music and Dance, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, University of Limerick.

In the EPI•STEM PODCAST Episode 7, co-hosts Geraldine Simmie PhD and Michelle Starr PhD present an introduction to research studies in the Critical Sociology of Education, and in the Critical Sociology of STEM Education and STEAM Education. Research studies in the sociology of education seek to make meaning of the present in relation to human development, both from the individual and the societal perspective. Critical sociology of education studies, at masters and PhD level seek to interpret the present in order to change it in the direction of the greater good of society, care, social and planetary justice. Critical sociology studies in education therefore assume both a research and advocacy stance revealing a problem-posing view, for human emancipation and connectivity to the common good of a democratic society and sustainability of the planet. There is a need for the researcher to interrogate and to share their positioning and to have an identifiable theoretical framework for the study. Geraldine and Michelle share some theorists they like to think with, including Pierre Bourdieu, Paulo Freire, Kathleen Lynch, Stephen Ball and Maxine Greene. The musical selection is from Liam Broderick. Liam is a singer and guitarist from Abbeyfeale in Co. Limerick. Liam is a fourth year student in the BA in Irish Music in The Irish World Academy of Music and Dance in UL. Here Liam performs a beautiful rendition of the traditional song Siúil a Rún, which means ‘Walk my love’ or ‘Come with me my darling’ with origins in the late 17th century.

In the EPI•STEM PODCAST Episode 6, co-hosts Geraldine Simmie PhD and Michelle Starr PhD chat with Associate Professor Regina Kelly. Regina is a Lecturer in Science Education, a Course Director of Initial Teacher Education science programmes in the School of the Education and an Affiliate of EPI•STEM The National Centre for STEM Education. Regina shares her passion for all things physics, looking at everyday phenomena to develop an understanding of physics concepts, moving away from just rote learning a set of formulas and definitions. Regina delves deeper into her research interest in the gender gap in STEM education, the lower participation rates of girls in senior cycle physics and of women in STEM related careers. We hear about WiSTEM2D and Regina’s research into the perceptions of female students enrolled in STEM courses at UL, a project funded at EPI•STEM by a local enterprise, Johnson & Johnson. Regina reminds us that while the ‘gender gap’ in the science disciplines tends to be viewed in terms of participation and performance, it is a complex multivariate problem and it is also important to be aware of more subtle, gender-based differences in the perceptions, experiences and aspirations of females in the science and STEM domain. The musical selection is from Ben King, a songwriter and guitarist from Nenagh in Co. Tipperary. Ben is a first year student, in the BA in World Music in The Irish World Academy of Music and Dance in UL. Here Ben performs his own Reggae composition called Warm.

In the EPI•STEM PODCAST Episode 5, co-hosts Geraldine Simmie PhD and Michelle Starr PhD chat with Emma King from the Hunt Museum about the workshop the museum is providing for the STEAM Education partnership project with EPI•STEM and the Limerick Education Support Centre. Emma shares how cultural practices from the past can inspire TY students’ vision for sustainable living, including the museum’s Georgian architecture and its transformation from a customs house. We share how the scarcity of resources led to a culture of reuse, repair, and redesign—sharply contrasting with todays’ disposable society. Students’ consider Sybil Connolly’s iconic dresses, providing inspiration for sustainable fashion practices in preference to fast fashion. Finally, we explore past innovations such as the Shannon Hydroelectric Scheme at Ardnacrusha. Students will consider how Irish society was initially hesitant but now finds it difficult to imagine life without electricity. It points to the current crossroads in relation to sustainable energy solutions. The musical selection is from Eoghan Waters, a songwriter and guitarist from Clarina in Co. Limerick. Eoghan is a third year student in the BA in World Music in The Irish World Academy of Music and Dance in UL. Here Eoghan performs his own composition called Bad News.