Teaching non exam senior cycle religion can be tough at times, although we are equipped with a framework it can often seem like a challenge to create a scheme of work that really interests students and also develops them morally and spiritually. I think the main objective at senior cycle revolves around capturing students interests and encouraging them to engage with the subject and the topics involved in the framework. Any RE teacher knows the battle against disinterest in the classroom and irrelevance within school culture so it is paramount that we make sure to establish our subject within the school environment.
Ensuring that we educate our pupils morally and spiritually is up there with curriculum aims of literacy and numeracy so it is incredibly important that we make sure our subject is taken as seriously as any other subject within post primary education. A student may never use trigonometry after school ( apologies maths teachers) but to exist within the world a person has to be religiously literate, they should have a grasp on morality and they cannot enter the so called real world without knowing how to treat people.
The contents of the senior cycle framework are as follows:
Section A – The Search for meaning
Section B – Christianity
Section C – Religious faiths in Ireland today
Section D – Morality in action
Section E – God-talk
Section F – A living faith – doing justice
Section G – Celebrating faith
Section H – Story
The content in my opinion offers wide choice regarding what topics you look at over the two year cycle and it provides ample opportunity to look at topics that may never have been covered before with pupils.An approach that could be useful is to look at each topic through a lens that connects with the students.
For example when looking at section A the search for meaning, you could look at contemporary film as a lens to discuss the topic. Films such as Silver Linings Playbook and The Blind Side are ideas that could work with a senior cycle group when thinking about the search for meaning. Showing clips from either film really helps students get their head around the big questions raised in this section.
Although the exam version of senior cycle religion is quite expansive the topics that on offer would certainly provide interest in the classroom. I think the problem at times with teaching senior cycle non exam re is that we tend to run out of ideas when teaching the subject. When looking a designing a scheme of work it is an idea to consider mixing and matching topics. You can easily fit the non exam framework with a number of topics taken from the exam curriculum and you could also include a range of contemporary topics as well. The would mean that you can tailor a program to suit your specific circumstances and the group that you have in front of you.
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- Religion and Gender
- Issues of Justice and Peace
- Religion and Science
- Religion: the Irish Experience
All of the topics above would provide the students with modules in very interesting and relevant subjects. For example how can someone think they are atheist but yet not have any idea of the debate between religion and science? What about all the issues that exist within our world? Where is the best place to discuss and educate students on these issues? Senior Cycle Religion certainly provides the opportunity to reflect on the issues of the day through the topics listed above.
The PDST provides some fantastic resources on teaching senior cycle religion, especially the topics mentioned above.
What Would You Do is an american television show which uses hidden cameras, host John Quiñones observes and comments on how ordinary people behave when they are confronted with dilemmas that require them either to take action or to walk by and mind their own business. Various clips from the show are available on YouTube and I have found that the show works incredibly well as a resource to a teach a number of topics in both senior and junior cycle RE.
The show tackles controversial issues within our society from how homeless people are treated to how people receive interracial people or those with disabilities. The show is well worth taking a look at because the episodes mimic real life situations and the dilemmas that can occur could possibly be mindsets that already exist in our society. I have used the episodes to discuss morality in senior cycle Religion, I have also looked at the show through the lens of CSPE and SPHE.
I think that creativity is paramount when teaching non exam senior religion, ensuring that your lessons are relevant to the students will definitely improve student engagement. I hope this has been of some help to you.
Happy teaching,
By Stephanie Woods
Find me at https://5j16mswoods.wordpress.com/ Or on Twitter @5j16mswoods
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