SCHOOL MODULES
THE SEA SCHOOL METHOD
The SEA School method of learning uses action, place, and process as key entry points into field exploration. Through hands-on experiences, learners connect classroom theories and information to real-world situations.
Learners come to understand interconnectivity and the hidden layers of knowledge in our environments. Students and teachers become explorers, collectively building knowledge with and from their communities and landscapes.
LOCATION
We're mobile! We curate programs at coastal sites in and around the South-East (see map).
OR
At a site of your choice, converting your backyard into a lab & studio!
DURATION
2 to 6 hours, based on your selected Learning Objectives & Outcomes.
We also lead multi-day courses that enable progression & assessment.
PRICE
Costs begin at €25/ student for a 2-hour program.
Minimum 10 students.
Maximum 30 students.
FIELD TRIPS
Field trips are a critical part of school activities at both primary and secondary level. Beyond an exciting day out, these trips can be curated as an integral part of a subject, specific strands and key-skill requirements. Teachers themselves gain a lot from the experience, with opportunities to contextualise their subjects. They also gain insight into individual students' strengths and interests. Some of our activities include: - Shorewalk treasure-hunts - Tide-pool crossections - Sea-weed mural making
TRANSITION YEAR
The TY is all about creative and diverse approaches to teaching and learning; expanding vision, interests and possibilities for our youth. Workshops for the TY program focus on the interdisciplinary approach that is best demonstrated when we use natural systems as the canvas - extending the learning environment beyond the classroom, each experience creates opportunities for self-directed learning with a focus on the practice. Students are encouraged to draw on personal lines of enquiry while they are guided through methods of science thinking, inquiry and skill building. Activities Include: - Nature photography - Biodiversity surveying - Cartography - Scientific illustration
LEAVING CERT
The Leaving Cert field workshops are a fun way for students to gain the experience and skill-sets that fieldwork involves: The art of scientific questioning, natural history, study design, conventional and creative sampling methods, data management, systems thinking and experimentation! Workshops are developed to facilitate the geographic investigation element of the Geography syllabus. The content, approach, discussions and projects also have significant curricular overlap with the new Climate Action and Sustainable Development subjects. Activities include: - Ecosystem crossections - Transect and quadrat sampling - Creative mappiping - Microscopy - Soil chromatography - Marine inverbetrate classification
IB / CAS
At their core, SEA School programs are rooted in the pedagogical practice of place-based learning. Every learning adventure and expedition is an immersion into local “landscape” - viewing nature and culture as a tapestry of knowledge. The CAS (Creativity, Activity and Service) of the International Baccalaureate program sees very clear alignment with this practice-centric approach to learning. Our aim is to push students beyond their comfort zones, making learning meaningful and fun at the same time. This engagement promotes inquiry, new field skills, collaboration, project development, challenges and contextualizing. Activities include: - Resource mapping - Oral history documentation - Coastal clean ups - Boat repair and rigging
HIGHER EDUCATION
Suitable for undergraduate courses, when field work becomes crucial in developing an application focused approach of your subjects. These extended field courses are a response to the increasing need for awareness of environmental and wildlife issues. We examine interactions between animals, plants and microbes and their environment. We study how individual organisms interact in communities and how communities interact with the surrounding ecosystem. Understanding distribution, abundance and biodiversity, how energy and nutrients move across various habitats from marine and freshwater to terrestrial habitats. We explore principles and concepts to predict and manage the environmental change caused by the human impact. Activities include: - Biodiversity mapping - Taxonomer's treasure-hunt - Reading water: before navigation - Intertidal crossections