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Dunshaughlin Community School, Meath, Ireland

Context:
Dunshaughlin Community School has 930 students aged between 12 and 18. For the past several years, the technology use in Dunshaughlin has increased from ten multimedia classrooms to fully integrated technology into every classroom in the school. Teachers have ICT objectives they must meet every year in order to improve the quality of learning. There is a teacher/researcher model in the school that uses past experiences to inform new practice. Dunshaughlin is one of the 12 original Microsoft Innovative Schools.

 

Innovation summary:
At Dunshaughlin they believe the school of today must prepare students for today's world. In particular, the delivery of the curriculum must incorporate the possibilities provided by technology and involve the teacher and student in new ways of interacting with the world and with each other. The learning experience is more effective if student-centered approaches are taken. ICT is being looked at to enable:

  • Students to be part of a learning group or community and participate from home
  • Experts and tutors from different parts of the country or world to participate in the delivery of the curriculum
  • Their students to be drawn from around the world

Leading questions for reflection:

  1. What are the skills that the 21st Century require of school graduates?
  2. How might student centered learning approaches benefit academic achievement?
  3. What is the role of the teacher in a student-centered approach?
  4. How can ICT enable a school to recruit students from other places?
  5. Why might this wider geographical mix of students be a positive influence on the learners?
  6. What are the potential risks of this approach to student intake?

 

Resources

 

Area of Innovation


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Innovation Wheel