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Veronica McCauley

University of Galway, Education, Faculty Member

University of Limerick, College of Arts & Sciences, Post-Doc

Harvard University, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Post-Doc

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Veronica McCauley, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Science Education in the School of Education, at the National University of Ireland, Galway. Within the sphere of science education, she has carried out research on interactive learning environments, assessment techniques, technology in teaching and learning, mobile technology in the classroom, science hooks, peer instruction, STEM outreach/communication, STEM innovation (social and behavioural change at individual, educational and policy level), mentoring, self-directed learning, and initial teacher education at the University of Limerick (Ireland), Harvard University (Cambridge, USA) and the National University of Ireland, Galway (Ireland), where she currently resides.
Address: School of Education
NUI Galway, Galway, Ireland.

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Papers by Veronica McCauley

Impact of Collaborative Problem Solving on Youth Social Entrepreneurial Intention

European Conference on Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Popularizacija Znanosti I Prirodoslovno Obrazovanje: Analiza Izazova U Procesu Promicanja Stvaranja Dodatnog Prostora

Popularisierung Von Wissenschaft Und Naturwissenschaftliche Bildung: Analyse Der Herausforderungen Im Prozess Der Förderung Und Schaffung Von Drittem Handlungsfeld

The Interactive Learning Toolkit: supporting interactive classrooms

Research-based interactive learning techniques have dramatically improved student understanding. ... more Research-based interactive learning techniques have dramatically improved student understanding. We have created the 'Interactive Learning Toolkit' (ILT), a web-based learning management system, to help implement two such pedagogies: Just in Time Teaching and Peer Instruction. Our main goal in developing this toolkit is to save the instructor time and effort and to use technology to facilitate the interaction between the

Hooked on science

Design Rising: Exemplifying the provenance and emergence of design-based research as intelligent experimentation in Irish education

by Bonnie Thompson Long and Veronica McCauley

Design Rising: Exemplifying the provenance and emergence of design-based research as intelligent ... more

Designing physics board games: a practical guide for educators

Physics Education, 2022

Board games can be a highly engaging and motivating resource to support physics teaching at all e... more Board games can be a highly engaging and motivating resource to support physics teaching at all educational levels. However, the development of board games to facilitate the communication of complex science subjects may not be an easy task for those with no prior experience in designing games. For instance, the various classification of educational game features, proliferation of game mechanics and lack of scholarly guidance for designing and on their efficacy in formal learning may hinder the game development process. To address this issue, this study presents a hands-on game development framework for science educators and researchers on how to design educational science games. The framework is divided into five steps with simple exercises that build upon each other to create a student-centred educational resource as well as providing a means of evaluation.

Zoom for Education: Breakout Rooms

Science Hooks: A Teacher Education Approach to Advancing Science Engagement

This paper documents the process of collaboratively developing innovative lesson hook e-resources... more This paper documents the process of collaboratively developing innovative lesson hook e-resources for science teachers. The authors aim to illustrate how the development and application of strategic hooks can play a role in transitioning situational interest towards personal interest so that the lessons that follow may become more meaningful and enduring. Qualitative data from both teacher educators and pre-service teachers involved in the design process, data from participant research journals, and data from six focus group sessions, illustrate the systematic reflection involved in producing effective and transformative hooks to support teachers and promote deeper student engagement and learning. Key findings reveal a pedagogical model of hook design, the complex elemental make-up of a science hook, the value that this teaching tool adds to the science classroom, and finally, the beneficial outcomes of collaborative resource design ventures between student and staff in pre-service teacher education programmes. These hook resources aim to move beyond simply capturing student attention toward voluntary self-engagement, and have significant potential to serve as an innovative pedagogical tool for teacher educators, pre-service, newly qualified, in service, out-of-field, and experienced science teachers, to increase student academic performance, third-level science enrolments, and science careers during times of transition and change.

Micro and Macro Pedagogy for Science Education. Chemistry in Action. Magazine Article

Policy makers nationally and internationally have recognised the influential role of science and ... more Policy makers nationally and internationally have recognised the influential role of science and its capacity to promote economic growth (DETI, 2009; European Commission, 2007; Osborne and Dillon, 2008). As such, the decline in numbers of students opting for science, in particular the physical sciences, in Ireland has become a concern. Although curricular change and teacher education have been the traditional methods of targeting improved scientific capacity amongst students (Bell et al., 2009); as key stakeholders, universities have responded with a surge of science outreach strategies and interventions (Davison et al., 2008; DETI, 2009; Regan, 2009) to support Irish teachers. We argue that teachers and teacher educators could play an active role in science outreach by considering micro and macro pedagogical innovations. The proposed micro pedagogy involves the application of effective lesson hooks, and macro pedagogy involves embedding outreach strategies into science lessons as a part of recognizing that the daily work of science teachers is conscious science promotion. This article will highlight the significant potential of teachers and teacher educators in promoting science and science careers.

Marine Science: Bringing the Ocean into the Classroom

As more classrooms integrate digital tools, the desire to leverage mobile technology to enhance l... more As more classrooms integrate digital tools, the desire to leverage mobile technology to enhance learning has increased dramatically. This presentation will give you a brief insight into the use of iBooks as an innovative teaching tool that can be used to strategically teach non-curricular topics using ‘micro pedagogical injections’ at second level.

Science Outreach: A Dilemmatic Approach

Decision making in research is critical. Narrowing down the research problem, eliciting specific ... more Decision making in research is critical. Narrowing down the research problem, eliciting specific research questions and identifying a research methodology to draw adequate insight is an ongoing challenge where we continue to question each alternative. This seminar invites you to consider decision making as a provoked and exploratory research methodology. Our overarching research aim was to examine and compare primary teachers’ and outreach practitioners’ understanding and perception of a constructivist science pedagogy, in an effort to understand the potential of a teacher-outreach partnership. From a qualitative perspective, we took a dialectic pragmatic stance. Conceptual and pedagogical dichotomies were created from educational theories and their practical application. These dilemmas were then illustrated through video animation in order to entice the participants to consider each virtual concept within the daily practice of their classroom. A brief overview will be given of our research context, question, and the methodological design of three conceptual and three pedagogical dichotomies and insight into the dilemmatic method that was enacted with 31 teachers and 30 outreach practitioners. During the seminar, we will also invite you to try out some data analysis with us, to get a sense of the type of data that we analysed and the fun we had in trying to make sense of it all.

Collective Intelligence – An Innovative Research Approach to Promoting Ocean Literacies in Ireland

Sea Change is a European project aiming to establish a fundamental “Sea Change” in the way Europe... more Sea Change is a European project aiming to establish a fundamental “Sea Change” in the way European citizens view their relationship with the sea, by empowering them, as Ocean Literate citizens, to take direct and sustainable action towards a healthy ocean, healthy communities and ultimately a healthy planet. One aspect of the project involves hosting education conversations across eight European countries to identify the barriers to teaching 12-19 year olds about the ocean. Collective Intelligence (CI), a systems-thinking methodology, is playing a pivotal role in collecting and visualising the barriers impeding ocean literate societies whilst assisting in the design of solutions and options for the successful integration of oceans into education and outreach curricula. In this seminar, we will introduce Sea Change and detail the process of Collective Intelligence in the project. In addition, micro- and macro- pedagogical tools that were deigned to aid the infusion of marine ecology topics into the mainstream Irish Science curriculum will also be discussed. Sea Change has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 652644.This output reflects the views only of the author(s) and the European Union cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

Design Rising: Exemplifying the provenance and emergence of design-based research as intelligent experimentation in Irish education

Design Rising: Exemplifying the provenance and emergence of design-based research as intelligent ... more

Set Your Hook: A collaborative video hook approach to advancing scientific engagement

This presentation outlines the process involved in the collaborative creation of a suite of physi... more This presentation outlines the process involved in the collaborative creation of a suite of physics video hooks from two perspectives: IP developer/project co-ordinator and teacher designer. The physics hook videos were designed around the Junior Science Curriculum. A hook, is an instructional technique which stimulates student attention (Hunter 1994, Lemov 2010), interest (Jewett Jr 2013) and engagement (McCrory 2011, Riendeau 2013). The creation and design of effective hooks is vital in leading students from passive to interactive positions, an indispensable part of deep learning. Furthermore, student teachers encounter difficulties from practical and pedagogical standpoints when designing curricular relevant hooks to augment student interest in science. Design aspects embedded into the videos include, relevance, challenge and anomalies. Highly effective video hook design resulted from collaborative engagement between teacher designers. In addition, video hooks were found to add to the pedagogical value of a lesson in multiple ways. Some of which include, numeracy, consolidation of learning, whole class participation and improvement of teacher self-efficacy across scientific disciplines.

Is It Possible to Tackle Youth Needs with Agricultural and Rural Development Policies?

Sustainability, 2021

Rural youth are influenced by a wide range of uncertainties regarding their personal and professi... more Rural youth are influenced by a wide range of uncertainties regarding their personal and professional development. Rural youth and in particular rural NEETs (Not in Employment, Education or Training) are especially vulnerable and face higher risks of labour market, social and economic exclusion. This paper aims to analyse the determinants of the dynamics of rural NEETs in three post-transitional countries (Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia and Serbia) compared to the EU-28 average and to Ireland as an example of an established EU member state with over 50% of its population living in rural areas that can act as a benchmark for effective policy implementation to address challenges of marginalized youth, during the 2009–2019 period. The dynamics of rural NEET status and the efficiency/adaptability of regional development policies are revealed through analysis of macro and socioeconomic factors as well as specific employment-related indicators disaggregated by gender and degree o...

An Observational Narrative of Student Reaction to Video Hooks

Education Sciences, 2021

Digital video has become a dominant form of student learning in and beyond the classroom, and thu... more Digital video has become a dominant form of student learning in and beyond the classroom, and thus its pervasive nature in contemporary learning environments commands scholarly inquiry. In this paper we explore a participatory design-based research approach to the integration of video hook technology in the post-primary science classroom (students aged 12–15). Video hooks were designed with the intention of engaging students and augmenting their interest in science. Teachers across ten schools voluntarily agreed to implement the video hooks, and with their students (N = 128) engage in a qualitative, observational methodology to ascertain their effect. Triangulated data was collected through teacher interviews (N = 10), structured lesson observation and researcher journal documentation. Results reveal that student reaction was instant and impactful with evidence of both triggered and maintained student interest.

Innovative Education Strategies to Advance Ocean Literacy

Key Challenges in Geography, 2021

The Lucent Science Teacher Initiative (LSTI): A mentoring project for trainee teachers of second level science

Creativity in science: A dilemma for informal and formal education

Science Education, 2021

Inquiry learning pedagogies have not only been proposed as a successful teaching methodology to d... more Inquiry learning pedagogies have not only been proposed as a successful teaching methodology to draw students into sci- ence, they are also rich with possibilities for creativity. The particular focus on investigations and problem‐solving pro- vides opportunity for educators to embrace this. The primary curriculum explicitly values creativity in this regard, linking with inquiry, and problem‐solving. In recent years, science outreach carried out by universities in the Republic of Ireland has played a significant role in the formal classroom as a support to primary science (KS1). This article explores the perceptions of these two educators in the primary classroom, teachers (N = 31), and science outreach practitioners (N = 30), with respect to their theoretical stance on the construct of creativity and secondly their application of creativity in prac- tice. The interview method used engaged research participants in a dialectical analysis of conceptual and pedagogical di- lemmas. This unique, primarily qualitative methodology, pro- vides evidence to differentiate perspectives of these two groups. Results indicate that participants generate new un- derstandings by engaging in dialectical reflection and critical analysis of the two binaries. They also reveal that although outreach practitioners and teachers align in their perception of the theoretical model, that outreach practitioners are more favourable towards promoting a more creative environment for science in practice.

Impact of Collaborative Problem Solving on Youth Social Entrepreneurial Intention

European Conference on Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Popularizacija Znanosti I Prirodoslovno Obrazovanje: Analiza Izazova U Procesu Promicanja Stvaranja Dodatnog Prostora

Popularisierung Von Wissenschaft Und Naturwissenschaftliche Bildung: Analyse Der Herausforderungen Im Prozess Der Förderung Und Schaffung Von Drittem Handlungsfeld

The Interactive Learning Toolkit: supporting interactive classrooms

Research-based interactive learning techniques have dramatically improved student understanding. ... more Research-based interactive learning techniques have dramatically improved student understanding. We have created the 'Interactive Learning Toolkit' (ILT), a web-based learning management system, to help implement two such pedagogies: Just in Time Teaching and Peer Instruction. Our main goal in developing this toolkit is to save the instructor time and effort and to use technology to facilitate the interaction between the

Hooked on science

Design Rising: Exemplifying the provenance and emergence of design-based research as intelligent experimentation in Irish education

by Bonnie Thompson Long and Veronica McCauley

Design Rising: Exemplifying the provenance and emergence of design-based research as intelligent ... more

Designing physics board games: a practical guide for educators

Physics Education, 2022

Board games can be a highly engaging and motivating resource to support physics teaching at all e... more Board games can be a highly engaging and motivating resource to support physics teaching at all educational levels. However, the development of board games to facilitate the communication of complex science subjects may not be an easy task for those with no prior experience in designing games. For instance, the various classification of educational game features, proliferation of game mechanics and lack of scholarly guidance for designing and on their efficacy in formal learning may hinder the game development process. To address this issue, this study presents a hands-on game development framework for science educators and researchers on how to design educational science games. The framework is divided into five steps with simple exercises that build upon each other to create a student-centred educational resource as well as providing a means of evaluation.

Zoom for Education: Breakout Rooms

Science Hooks: A Teacher Education Approach to Advancing Science Engagement

This paper documents the process of collaboratively developing innovative lesson hook e-resources... more This paper documents the process of collaboratively developing innovative lesson hook e-resources for science teachers. The authors aim to illustrate how the development and application of strategic hooks can play a role in transitioning situational interest towards personal interest so that the lessons that follow may become more meaningful and enduring. Qualitative data from both teacher educators and pre-service teachers involved in the design process, data from participant research journals, and data from six focus group sessions, illustrate the systematic reflection involved in producing effective and transformative hooks to support teachers and promote deeper student engagement and learning. Key findings reveal a pedagogical model of hook design, the complex elemental make-up of a science hook, the value that this teaching tool adds to the science classroom, and finally, the beneficial outcomes of collaborative resource design ventures between student and staff in pre-service teacher education programmes. These hook resources aim to move beyond simply capturing student attention toward voluntary self-engagement, and have significant potential to serve as an innovative pedagogical tool for teacher educators, pre-service, newly qualified, in service, out-of-field, and experienced science teachers, to increase student academic performance, third-level science enrolments, and science careers during times of transition and change.

Micro and Macro Pedagogy for Science Education. Chemistry in Action. Magazine Article

Policy makers nationally and internationally have recognised the influential role of science and ... more Policy makers nationally and internationally have recognised the influential role of science and its capacity to promote economic growth (DETI, 2009; European Commission, 2007; Osborne and Dillon, 2008). As such, the decline in numbers of students opting for science, in particular the physical sciences, in Ireland has become a concern. Although curricular change and teacher education have been the traditional methods of targeting improved scientific capacity amongst students (Bell et al., 2009); as key stakeholders, universities have responded with a surge of science outreach strategies and interventions (Davison et al., 2008; DETI, 2009; Regan, 2009) to support Irish teachers. We argue that teachers and teacher educators could play an active role in science outreach by considering micro and macro pedagogical innovations. The proposed micro pedagogy involves the application of effective lesson hooks, and macro pedagogy involves embedding outreach strategies into science lessons as a part of recognizing that the daily work of science teachers is conscious science promotion. This article will highlight the significant potential of teachers and teacher educators in promoting science and science careers.

Marine Science: Bringing the Ocean into the Classroom

As more classrooms integrate digital tools, the desire to leverage mobile technology to enhance l... more As more classrooms integrate digital tools, the desire to leverage mobile technology to enhance learning has increased dramatically. This presentation will give you a brief insight into the use of iBooks as an innovative teaching tool that can be used to strategically teach non-curricular topics using ‘micro pedagogical injections’ at second level.

Science Outreach: A Dilemmatic Approach

Decision making in research is critical. Narrowing down the research problem, eliciting specific ... more Decision making in research is critical. Narrowing down the research problem, eliciting specific research questions and identifying a research methodology to draw adequate insight is an ongoing challenge where we continue to question each alternative. This seminar invites you to consider decision making as a provoked and exploratory research methodology. Our overarching research aim was to examine and compare primary teachers’ and outreach practitioners’ understanding and perception of a constructivist science pedagogy, in an effort to understand the potential of a teacher-outreach partnership. From a qualitative perspective, we took a dialectic pragmatic stance. Conceptual and pedagogical dichotomies were created from educational theories and their practical application. These dilemmas were then illustrated through video animation in order to entice the participants to consider each virtual concept within the daily practice of their classroom. A brief overview will be given of our research context, question, and the methodological design of three conceptual and three pedagogical dichotomies and insight into the dilemmatic method that was enacted with 31 teachers and 30 outreach practitioners. During the seminar, we will also invite you to try out some data analysis with us, to get a sense of the type of data that we analysed and the fun we had in trying to make sense of it all.

Collective Intelligence – An Innovative Research Approach to Promoting Ocean Literacies in Ireland

Sea Change is a European project aiming to establish a fundamental “Sea Change” in the way Europe... more Sea Change is a European project aiming to establish a fundamental “Sea Change” in the way European citizens view their relationship with the sea, by empowering them, as Ocean Literate citizens, to take direct and sustainable action towards a healthy ocean, healthy communities and ultimately a healthy planet. One aspect of the project involves hosting education conversations across eight European countries to identify the barriers to teaching 12-19 year olds about the ocean. Collective Intelligence (CI), a systems-thinking methodology, is playing a pivotal role in collecting and visualising the barriers impeding ocean literate societies whilst assisting in the design of solutions and options for the successful integration of oceans into education and outreach curricula. In this seminar, we will introduce Sea Change and detail the process of Collective Intelligence in the project. In addition, micro- and macro- pedagogical tools that were deigned to aid the infusion of marine ecology topics into the mainstream Irish Science curriculum will also be discussed. Sea Change has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 652644.This output reflects the views only of the author(s) and the European Union cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

Design Rising: Exemplifying the provenance and emergence of design-based research as intelligent experimentation in Irish education

Design Rising: Exemplifying the provenance and emergence of design-based research as intelligent ... more

Set Your Hook: A collaborative video hook approach to advancing scientific engagement

This presentation outlines the process involved in the collaborative creation of a suite of physi... more This presentation outlines the process involved in the collaborative creation of a suite of physics video hooks from two perspectives: IP developer/project co-ordinator and teacher designer. The physics hook videos were designed around the Junior Science Curriculum. A hook, is an instructional technique which stimulates student attention (Hunter 1994, Lemov 2010), interest (Jewett Jr 2013) and engagement (McCrory 2011, Riendeau 2013). The creation and design of effective hooks is vital in leading students from passive to interactive positions, an indispensable part of deep learning. Furthermore, student teachers encounter difficulties from practical and pedagogical standpoints when designing curricular relevant hooks to augment student interest in science. Design aspects embedded into the videos include, relevance, challenge and anomalies. Highly effective video hook design resulted from collaborative engagement between teacher designers. In addition, video hooks were found to add to the pedagogical value of a lesson in multiple ways. Some of which include, numeracy, consolidation of learning, whole class participation and improvement of teacher self-efficacy across scientific disciplines.

Is It Possible to Tackle Youth Needs with Agricultural and Rural Development Policies?

Sustainability, 2021

Rural youth are influenced by a wide range of uncertainties regarding their personal and professi... more Rural youth are influenced by a wide range of uncertainties regarding their personal and professional development. Rural youth and in particular rural NEETs (Not in Employment, Education or Training) are especially vulnerable and face higher risks of labour market, social and economic exclusion. This paper aims to analyse the determinants of the dynamics of rural NEETs in three post-transitional countries (Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia and Serbia) compared to the EU-28 average and to Ireland as an example of an established EU member state with over 50% of its population living in rural areas that can act as a benchmark for effective policy implementation to address challenges of marginalized youth, during the 2009–2019 period. The dynamics of rural NEET status and the efficiency/adaptability of regional development policies are revealed through analysis of macro and socioeconomic factors as well as specific employment-related indicators disaggregated by gender and degree o...

An Observational Narrative of Student Reaction to Video Hooks

Education Sciences, 2021

Digital video has become a dominant form of student learning in and beyond the classroom, and thu... more Digital video has become a dominant form of student learning in and beyond the classroom, and thus its pervasive nature in contemporary learning environments commands scholarly inquiry. In this paper we explore a participatory design-based research approach to the integration of video hook technology in the post-primary science classroom (students aged 12–15). Video hooks were designed with the intention of engaging students and augmenting their interest in science. Teachers across ten schools voluntarily agreed to implement the video hooks, and with their students (N = 128) engage in a qualitative, observational methodology to ascertain their effect. Triangulated data was collected through teacher interviews (N = 10), structured lesson observation and researcher journal documentation. Results reveal that student reaction was instant and impactful with evidence of both triggered and maintained student interest.

Innovative Education Strategies to Advance Ocean Literacy

Key Challenges in Geography, 2021

The Lucent Science Teacher Initiative (LSTI): A mentoring project for trainee teachers of second level science

Creativity in science: A dilemma for informal and formal education

Science Education, 2021

Inquiry learning pedagogies have not only been proposed as a successful teaching methodology to d... more Inquiry learning pedagogies have not only been proposed as a successful teaching methodology to draw students into sci- ence, they are also rich with possibilities for creativity. The particular focus on investigations and problem‐solving pro- vides opportunity for educators to embrace this. The primary curriculum explicitly values creativity in this regard, linking with inquiry, and problem‐solving. In recent years, science outreach carried out by universities in the Republic of Ireland has played a significant role in the formal classroom as a support to primary science (KS1). This article explores the perceptions of these two educators in the primary classroom, teachers (N = 31), and science outreach practitioners (N = 30), with respect to their theoretical stance on the construct of creativity and secondly their application of creativity in prac- tice. The interview method used engaged research participants in a dialectical analysis of conceptual and pedagogical di- lemmas. This unique, primarily qualitative methodology, pro- vides evidence to differentiate perspectives of these two groups. Results indicate that participants generate new un- derstandings by engaging in dialectical reflection and critical analysis of the two binaries. They also reveal that although outreach practitioners and teachers align in their perception of the theoretical model, that outreach practitioners are more favourable towards promoting a more creative environment for science in practice.

Science Hooks: A Teacher Education Approach to Advancing Science Engagement

by Veronica McCauley and Kevin Davison

McCauley, V and Davison. K. (2015). Advancing science teacher education and professional practice: A collaborative lesson hooks approach. ESAI Conference: Educational Research and Practice in Times of Transition: Looking to the Future. Maynooth University. 9th-11th April. , 2015

This paper documents the process of collaboratively developing innovative lesson hook e-resources... more This paper documents the process of collaboratively developing innovative lesson hook e-resources for science teachers. The authors aim to illustrate how the development and application of strategic hooks can play a role in transitioning situational interest towards personal interest so that the lessons that follow may become more meaningful and enduring. Qualitative data from both teacher educators and pre-service teachers involved in the design process, data from participant research journals, and data from six focus group sessions, illustrate the systematic reflection involved in producing effective and transformative hooks to support teachers and promote deeper student engagement and learning. Key findings reveal a pedagogical model of hook design, the complex elemental make-up of a science hook, the value that this teaching tool adds to the science classroom, and finally, the beneficial outcomes of collaborative resource design ventures between student and staff in pre-service teacher education programmes. These hook resources aim to move beyond simply capturing student attention toward voluntary self-engagement, and have significant potential to serve as an innovative pedagogical tool for teacher educators, pre-service, newly qualified, in service, out-of-field, and experienced science teachers, to increase student academic performance, third-level science enrolments, and science careers during times of transition and change.

Set Your Hook: A collaborative video hook approach to advancing scientific engagement

McCauley, V and McHugh, M (2015). Set your hook: A Collaborative video hook approach. Frontiers of Physics Teacher Conference. NUI Galway. 19th September 2015. , 2015

This presentation outlines the process involved in the collaborative creation of a suite of physi... more This presentation outlines the process involved in the collaborative creation of a suite of physics video hooks from two perspectives: IP developer/project co-ordinator and teacher designer. The physics hook videos were designed around the Junior Science Curriculum. A hook, is an instructional technique which stimulates student attention (Hunter 1994, Lemov 2010), interest (Jewett Jr 2013) and engagement (McCrory 2011, Riendeau 2013). The creation and design of effective hooks is vital in leading students from passive to interactive positions, an indispensable part of deep learning. Furthermore, student teachers encounter difficulties from practical and pedagogical standpoints when designing curricular relevant hooks to augment student interest in science. Design aspects embedded into the videos include, relevance, challenge and anomalies. Highly effective video hook design resulted from collaborative engagement between teacher designers. In addition, video hooks were found to add to the pedagogical value of a lesson in multiple ways. Some of which include, numeracy, consolidation of learning, whole class participation and improvement of teacher self-efficacy across scientific disciplines.

Collective Intelligence – An Innovative Research Approach to Promoting Ocean Literacies in Ireland

by Veronica McCauley and Kevin Davison

Conference: Whitaker Institute Conference 2016, 2016

Sea Change is a European project aiming to establish a fundamental “Sea Change” in the way Europe... more Sea Change is a European project aiming to establish a fundamental “Sea Change” in the way European citizens view their relationship with the sea, by empowering them, as Ocean Literate citizens, to take direct and sustainable action towards a healthy ocean, healthy communities and ultimately a healthy planet. One aspect of the project involves hosting education conversations across eight European countries to identify the barriers to teaching 12-19 year olds about the ocean. Collective Intelligence (CI), a systems-thinking methodology, is playing a pivotal role in collecting and visualising the barriers impeding ocean literate societies whilst assisting in the design of solutions and options for the successful integration of oceans into education and outreach curricula. In this seminar, we will introduce Sea Change and detail the process of Collective Intelligence in the project. In addition, micro- and macro- pedagogical tools that were deigned to aid the infusion of marine ecology topics into the mainstream Irish Science curriculum will also be discussed. Sea Change has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 652644.This output reflects the views only of the author(s) and the European Union cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

Investigating the effect of scientist demonstrators on primary children’s science self-efficacy.

by Veronica McCauley and Sarah Carroll

Conference proceedings. New Perspectives in Science Education 7th edition. Florence, Italy. , 2018

Emergent in the literature is the need to increase levels of student engagement in science, with ... more Emergent in the literature is the need to increase levels of student engagement in science, with informal science education (ISE) playing a fundamental role. Whilst children find science to be interesting and important to society, children can view science as difficult and not 'for them', which can be interpreted as having low Science Self-Efficacy (SSE). SSE is the self-belief an individual has in their own abilities to perform scientific tasks successfully in a given context. There is currently limited extant SSE research focusing on primary school children. Furthermore, children's SSE has not yet been explored in the Irish context, nor has the influence of scientists on SSE been investigated. Due to the recent rise in ISE initiatives aiming to increase children's science aspirations, it is necessary to inform providers of informal science education of best practices regarding their influence on children's SSE. This work describes the design and validation of a novel questionnaire developed to measure 10 to 13 years old children's SSE beliefs and their sources in the Irish primary school context, including a measurement of perceived scientist demonstrator credibility and competence.

Science Outreach: A Dilemmatic Approach.

Conference: Methods of Research for Science Education conference.At: St. Laurence, Dublin Institute of Technology, Ireland.Affiliation: National University of Ireland, Galway, 2018

Decision making in research is critical. Narrowing down the research problem, eliciting specific ... more Decision making in research is critical. Narrowing down the research problem, eliciting specific research questions and identifying a research methodology to draw adequate insight is an ongoing challenge where we continue to question each alternative. This seminar invites you to consider decision making as a provoked and exploratory research methodology. Our overarching research aim was to examine and compare primary teachers’ and outreach practitioners’ understanding and perception of a constructivist science pedagogy, in an effort to understand the potential of a teacher-outreach partnership. From a qualitative perspective, we took a dialectic pragmatic stance. Conceptual and pedagogical dichotomies were created from educational theories and their practical application. These dilemmas were then illustrated through video animation in order to entice the participants to consider each virtual concept within the daily practice of their classroom. A brief overview will be given of our research context, question, and the methodological design of three conceptual and three pedagogical dichotomies and insight into the dilemmatic method that was enacted with 31 teachers and 30 outreach practitioners. During the seminar, we will also invite you to try out some data analysis with us, to get a sense of the type of data that we analysed and the fun we had in trying to make sense of it all.

Co-creating a Sea Change campaign for Ocean Literacy in Europe; A digital interactive tool for environmental behaviour change

by Veronica McCauley and Kevin Davison

Social Marketing in Action: Cases from Around the World, Debra Basil and Gonzalo Diaz Meneses (eds.), 2019

Please cite as: Domegan, C. McHugh, P., McCauley, V. and Davison, K. (2019), “Co-creating a Sea ... more