Case Study 1
(Primary)
Background Information
School location (county): Dublin
Class/Age/ Educational setting: 6th Class/Primary school
Describe what happened
The teacher ran a computer club, in the primary school, consisting of twelve 6th class
students. This group carried out research on Uganda. Based on this research they built a
virtual world of Uganda incorporating the theme of fair trade. The teacher facilitated the
work but at no point told the children what to include in the virtual world.
The pupils had a Trócaire guest speaker at the beginning of the project, to gain an insight
into the life of a child in Uganda. They had questions prepared for the speaker as part of their
research. The pupils created information boards throughout the virtual world, to educate the
user. The school’s computers were used. The virtual world was built on the jokaydia website,
a project involving 3D virtual worlds focused on education, arts and social change.
When the project was completed, 5th class pupils from the school explored the virtual world,
learning about life in Uganda and fair trade.
Why do you consider this good practice?
DE is generally taught through the curriculum areas of Geography and Social, Personal
and Health Education in primary schools. This project shows that experiential learning,
discovery‑based learning and peer teaching and learning, across the entire curriculum, are
better suited to the ever-evolving nature and content of development education. As opposed
to teaching DE as a standalone subject, this class teacher utilised the resources available
to the class to integrate DE across various areas of the curriculum.
This class teacher provided the pupils with the opportunity to consider a range of issues
and topics, helping the pupils to gain knowledge, ideas and understanding of development
education. It is evident from the finished product that the pupils involved attained critical
research, thinking and communication skills. The pupils identified roles and responsibilities
and subsequently worked as a team towards shared goals.
Not only were the pupils the creators of the virtual world learning, but they also explored
the finished product. This virtual world resource is now there for future pupils to explore
and learn from.