National CPD Webinar – March
The ISTA is pleased to inform you that our National CPD programme of events for ISTA members will continue on Weds 5th March at 7 p.m. Our National CPD events are open to all ISTA members.
The ISTA National CPD programme is sponsored by Lennox Laboratory Supplies. We wish to express our sincere thanks to Lennox for their loyal support of ISTA down through the years.
The details of the next online National CPD event are as follows:
Title: Teaching our students to gather and evaluate primary data as required in the new Leaving Certificate Biology, Chemistry and Physics curriculum specifications to be introduced in September 2025.
Date: Weds 5th March 2025
Time: 7 p.m.
Presenters: Sean Finn, Ryan Gallagher, Eoghan Long, Stephen Murphy, Robert Nolan and David O’Brien.
As you are aware, in September 2025 we will be teaching the new curriculum specifications in Leaving Certificate Biology, Chemistry and Physics. One of the topics that is common across all three syllabi is that of dealing with the collection of primary data through laboratory practical work. In each of the three curricula, students have to gather and evaluate primary data. Primary data is defined in the curricula as data collected by the students themselves.
In addition, in the Guidelines to support the Biology, Chemistry and Physics In Practice research investigations it is stated that students must show “evidence of their ability to conduct scientific research on a particular issue and to use appropriate primary data to investigate aspects of that issue”.
Therefore, this webinar is designed to help ISTA members to become familiar with methods used to easily collect primary data electronically by means of modern wireless sensor technology. In addition, we will introduce you to a treasure trove of teaching resources available in the PASCO portal. You will get lots of good teaching ideas from these resources as well as lots of suggestions for research investigations suitable for secondary school students of Biology, Chemistry and Physics. As a result of the generosity of Lennox and PASCO, ISTA members who attend the webinar will be given details of how to access these resources for a free trial until May 2025.
During the webinar, each of the presenters will show how they use modern wireless sensor technology in their teaching to gather data relevant to a topic on the new Leaving Certificate Biology, Chemistry and Physics curriculum specifications. In addition, they will show you what resources are available on the PASCO portal that you can use in your teaching of these topics and many other topics on the new specifications. Also, during the webinar we will be linking up with representatives of PASCO in the USA who will be able to answer any questions that you may have. We would like to express our sincere thanks to John Wayne, Heidi Brennan and Chris Wilhelm of PASCO and to John Phelan of Lennox for all their invaluable assistance to ISTA members.
We also wish to express our sincere thanks to our presenters for sharing their expertise with us on this topic and for the time and effort they are putting into their presentations.
This webinar will be hosted by Aodhagán Ó Suilleabháin. To facilitate ISTA members who may be unable to attend, the CPD will be recorded and placed on the members-only section of the ISTA website. However, we encourage everybody to attend the live event if possible as this will give you the opportunity to ask questions and make recommendations for future ISTA CPD events.
The link to register in advance for this webinar is given below:
After registering and your ISTA membership is confirmed, you will receive a confirmation email on the day of the webinar containing information with the link to enable you to join the webinar. Please use the link on only one device and please do not share the link as it is unique to you. Duplicate uses of the same link are automatically removed from the meeting.
If you have any questions about registering for the event, please contact Aodhagán (aodhagano@hotmail.com) as he is the expert in this area. Aodhagán has asked me to bring the following points to your attention:
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Please make sure that your ISTA membership is up to date, as membership will be checked before registrations are approved.
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Please note that registration for this event will close at 5 p.m. on the day of the webinar to allow time for the list of participants to be finalised.
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Please make sure that you enter your email address correctly when registering (otherwise you will not receive the link) and please remember which email address you registered with when looking for the link on Wednesday.
Once your membership is confirmed, you will receive an email on the day of the webinar containing information about joining the webinar.
Within a few days after the webinar, an email will be automatically sent to all those who attended the webinar. This email may be used as a Certificate of Attendance for those who require it.
