Secondary School Student Feedback

April 2014 – St. Annes’ Secondary School Tipperary Town – Teacher suggests – As promised here are the feedback reports that the girls wrote – I asked them to keep them relatively short as you were looking to put some up on the website.

Regarding assessing learning outcomes, perhaps maybe a short quiz or question sheet at the end – with/without reward as you choose but let them know at the beginning that they will be assessed at the end of the day, so that it doesn’t come as a shock at lunchtime and also so that they can be more focussed and remain so during the morning.

Lisa:
I thought identifying the water insects was interesting and using the key to see what each insect was. This made me aware of the different insects and their names.
Susan and Eadaoin:
Overall, we really enjoyed our trip to Cloncannon Biofarm. We covered all the information we needed on our study of the ecosystem. We really enjoyed the experience and had great fun taking part in the experiments.
Eimear:
I found our trip to Toomevara was very enjoyable. I found the study of the pond habitat was very interesting as well as the line transect. It was very interesting to see the different plant and animal species. I really enjoyed my trip and feel it will benefit me in the Leaving Cert.
Deirbhile:
This farm visit was a very positive experience and I learned a lot of new things and gained many new experiences. While on Cloncannon Biofarm, we compiled all the experiments we needed to have done for our Leaving Cert ecology module. This was done in an informative and enjoyable way which held my interest the whole way through. It is an excellent facility and I really enjoyed the trip.
Megan:
We covered everything we needed. It made the ecology chapter easier because I learned whilst doing the experiments. I enjoyed doing the experiments and had a great experience.
Amy:
I really enjoyed my experience at Cloncannon Biofarm. We completed all the tasks required for our Leaving Cert ecology course. The hosts were very informed and gave us lots of additional information. We experienced lots of different habitats within the one field – grassland, water etc.
Sophie:
Cloncannon Biofarm was a great experience. It helped me to revise the chapter on ecology. I enjoyed carrying out the experiments such as mapping the habitat, using the different quadrats. I now feel that I understand the experiments in ecology.
Aoife:
We got everything we needed to be covered done and learned a lot by doing the experiments instead of just learning about them from a book. The introduction was a bit long but I enjoyed the rest of the trip.
Katie:
The trip to Toomevara was very interesting. It was fun using the quadrats but I feel there could have been easier access down to the pond. This trip overall gave me a good insight into ecology and I feel it will help me in the Leaving Cert.
Orlagh:
I found our trip was very worthwhile and rewarding. The experiments were carried out in a very enthusiastic manner which kept my interest. My understanding of the experiments has improved.
Ceola:
We arrived after a long bus journey and immediately got a friendly welcome which was very enthusiastic and energetic. They were very helpful and helped us enjoy our biology trip.
Eleanor:
I found the trip exciting as I saw so many different animals and insects in the 2 habitats that we studied there. Going here, I got what I needed to write up for my project. It was very dependant on us as we did most of the searching and examining of animals and insects. The day was good as I learned a lot.
Sarah:
I found the visit very educational and it helped me learn more about ecology experiments. These experiences will help me with my Biology Leaving Cert.
Aine:
I thought it was a good trip – it was educational and I got what I wanted to get out of it. The staff were also very helpful and friendly.
Clodagh:
We all found them very informative, all learned something from it.  It was a very enjoyable day.
Cathy:
The experiments were  well explained, planned and executed. Overall it was a good day.
 
 
Regards,
Lorraine
 
We very much appreciate the time and effort given by these busy students in giving this feedback and it will be used, as we strive to continually improve the quality of service provided. This teacher has promised to book another farm visit for September. In the meantime, we at Cloncannon Biofarm sincerely wish all Leaving Cert Ag. Science and Biology students the very best of luck. Sean