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How can Physical education be used to promote well-being in primary education? Rachael Dunn, 16 th April 2018 It is obvious that physical activity is very important for everyone, it keeps people of all ages fit and healthy and can help to promote positive outlook on the importance of good health, physical activity is especially important for developing children of all ages, physical activity through physical education can improve many things such as fitness, strength, confidence and promote a healthy outlook on life. There is much documentation stating that physical education contributes to holistic development including personal and social development(McGuiness & Shelley, 1996),Physical education doesn’t just provide benefits for fitness, it also allows room for working in teams so improving social skills, how to accept success and deal with failure, learning how to be fair to others and acceptance of others abilities with respectfulness(Irish National Teacher’s Organis

Marisa Hewett st20104114 How could expressive arts sessions relate to the four purposes of the curriculum? (Donalson 2015) The Expressive Arts has been proposed as one of the six areas of learning and experience within Donaldson’s review of the Welsh Curriculum which was published in Febuary 2015 which is called ‘Successful Futures’ which aims to create a change and emphasis of the importance of art within the curriculum to be introduced throughout Wales by 2022. Through Expressive Arts Area of Learning and Experience, teachers and schools encourage their students to develop their creative skills such as appreciation, talent and their artistic performance skills. The Expressive Arts will include art, drama, music, dance, film and digital media which helps to develop many key skills and promotes the four purposes of the curriculum. Expressive arts allows for many opportunities to merge disciplines and promote links with other areas of learning experiences. This concept promotes all

Marisa Hewett St20104114 Science is not just a school subject in one way or another it is constantly changing the way we live our lives. (Welsh Gov 2012) Science involves acquiring knowledge through observation and experimentation. Prior to Donaldson’s curriculum for success science was taught as three separate subjects, physics, biology and chemistry whereas now it is being taught as a cross curricula area of learning and experience called science and technology. According to Donaldson this Area of Learning and Experience develops on children and young people’s curiosity about the world around us through understanding and explaining. Students learn to create and test ideas through gathering evidence and observations, carrying out practical investigations with others. Students also utilize computer science, and the possibilities of the future go beyond our imagination. (Donaldson, 2015, p. 50). The aim of Donaldson’s new curriculum for success is to make science, engaging, authenti

Marisa Hewett st20104114 What is the value of the Welsh Language in primary education? This blog will be looking at the value of being taught the Welsh Language in primary education. The Welsh language has one of the oldest literature in Europe, apart from Latin and Greek as it dates back to 880AD when King Hywel Dda of Wales, set his laws. There are many common myths about the outcomes of a new language being introduced in primary education as many people believe that it could affect the child’s development in their first language resulting them in not being fluent in any language. Having said this Baker (1996) argues that children pick up languages easily through play and concrete situations. Also research has not found that our brain can reach a capacity therefore there is no reason why a person cannot be fluent in two or more languages. Since the Education Reform Act in 1988, Welsh has become compulsory for students from Key stage 1-4, Bwrdd yr iaith Gymareg had a desire to

Welsh language in primary education Rachael Dunn, 16 th April 2018. Many believe that welsh language is an unnecessary minority language that provides distraction from learning more important essential languages such as English, however over the last few decades the welsh language has regained its popularity in primary schools, with investments of 6 million to improve teaching of welsh and promoting children to speak it at break times and lesson times (Young-Powell, 2011). In my personal experience from placement with in a local primary school in south wales, welsh language is very present throughout, welsh was taught to children not only in a normal structured lesson plan but also throughout other subjects. Welsh language was made relatable for the children, in the morning children would be asked what the weather was like in welsh, also answering the register in welsh and sating whether a child was having dinner or sandwiches. Although welsh does seem to be present in scho

How can science and technology activities be made engaging and relevant in primary education? Rachael Dunn, 17 th April 2018 Science and technology are commonly use together through education, education in science can involve different technologies and various technological equipment to explore many areas of science through experiments and observations that are fun and engaging, this approach to science provides an alternative approach to just copying from a board or learning from a text book. As there is an issue with the economy in the 21 st century the importance of the teaching of STEM(Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) has increased, incorporating these subjects together rather than looking at them separately provides area for innovation and the ability to solve complex problems(Kennedy & Odell, 2014).By integrating STEM (science, technology engineering and mathematics) across the curriculum could help improve the shortage of STEM qualified studen

            In the Donaldson Report (2015), the previous concept of art as a subject area in education is developed into a much wider area of learning; the expressive arts. Expressive arts describes any creative way of expression, such as writing and music as well as the traditional ideas of ‘art’ such as painting. In this blog, I am going to discuss how a lesson that I recently took linked with expressive arts and the four purposes of the new curriculum in Wales. (Donaldson, 2015)             The lesson was developed to link in with the idea of the Spring Equinox. The session began with the children being taught about the equinox and what it involved. Following this, I took small groups of the children and spoke to them about how it only occurs once a year, and asked them to consider what they would like to achieve in a year’s time. The children then wrote about their aspirations and drew pictures to support their ideas, before putting their work into bottles, following a ‘message i

Science, technology, mathematics and engineering are the bedrock for innovation in business and industry and the Welsh Government will continue to push forward links between these and education – helping young people get a real grasp of the real world of work. (Carwyn Jones, First Minister, March, 2012). Science is a systematic way of acquiring knowledge about a particular field of study. Science helps us to gain knowledge, through an organized system of observation and experimentation. This system is used to describe different natural phenomena. The description is that of pure science, and biology, chemistry, physics and Earth science are the basic fields of pure science. Science is used in everyday life in the forms of things we use every day such as transportation, modified foods, and medications for example. Technology can be defined as the products, tools and processes used to accomplish tasks in daily life. Technology is the application of science to solve a problem