Woodwork for Sustainability
Project Title: Woodwork for Sustainability
Team Member(s): Sandra O'Neill
Faculty/Audience/: LLECE IOE
Aims/Objectives: The aim of this project was to build the capacity of DCU/IOE staff across early childhood and primary education to use woodwork as a sustainable STEAM practice. Woodworking with young children has an illustrious past but has fallen out of favour in recent times. Its adoption can counteract the current culture of “consume and dispose” by developing an understanding of the value of making and repairing. The project enabled DCU staff, students and wider community to understand the benefits of woodworking, the safety considerations and equipment requirements and how to source suitable free materials that would otherwise be discarded. In addition, the project aimed to support DCU staff and students to gain a practical understanding of woodworking; provide students the opportunity to apply their woodwork skills in placement, further disseminating ideas pertaining to woodwork for sustainability; and adopt woodworking practices across modules in undergraduate programmes in the IOE
A series of professional development opportunities were provided by Pete Moorhouse, an internationally recognised expert on the use of woodwork in EC and primary education. Pete provided an online lecture for IOE cooperating educators, tutors and part time staff (65 participants), a workshop for DCU IOE staff and professionals from other HEIs through an existing STEM Community of Practice (19 participants) and a workshop for Bachelor of Early Childhood Education students (21 participants).
These sessions were designed to introduce fundamentals of woodwork education with young children including tradition and underpinning theory, benefits of woodworking, connection to STEM and sustainability education, safety considerations and equipment choices, policy and inspection requirements, and communication with parents and colleagues. This project normalised woodworking approaches, enhanced knowledge, confidence and positively affected attitudes. In the practical sessions, Pete supported the development of practical and pedagogical skills.
In addition, the establishment, management and progression of woodwork opportunities with young children was explored to enable participants to apply their learning to their own practice with young children or with students within DCU’s IOE. Materials to support application of this learning were developed including; support materials for faculty and students to risk assess and set up woodwork station in education settings; two portable woodwork kits for students on placement containing all materials and resources required to introduce woodwork to a small group of children; and resources for all IOE faculty including early childhood woodwork texts, workbench, tools and safety equipment for 30 students.
Woodwork has been incorporated into three modules across the Bachelor of Early Childhood Education (2) and Bachelor of Education (1)