EPV 2025 SUMMER COURSE
Designing Inclusive Learning Environments with STEM Activities
Understanding how you can support children with additional needs through STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths)
COURSE APPROVED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND SKILLS
Course breakdown
10 hours on-demand video material and 10 hours offline learning
Online tutor moderation
Downloadable articles and resources
Access on mobile and desktop
Course Approved for the Department of Education and Skills EPV Summer Course Certificate 2025
Full access to the course from the beginning so you can progress at your own pace
Course Goals:
Gain a deep understanding of inclusive teaching in STEM subjects, recognising how differentiation, UDL principles and accessible lesson design can create an equitable learning environment for all students
Learn how to use formative and summative assessments to monitor student progress, adapt teaching to diverse learning needs and foster a supportive, collaborative classroom culture that encourages self-regulation
Explore how digital tools and STEM activities can be adapted to engage students with different abilities, ensuring hands-on, creative and inclusive learning experiences
Discover strategies for integrating STEM in a way that supports diverse learners, ensuring all students can participate meaningfully in problem-solving and critical thinking tasks
With over 8,000 online students, the Child Psychology Institute comes highly recommended as an EPV Summer Course Provider for Irish school teachers.
We also welcome secondary school teachers and SNAs to our summer courses.
Designing Inclusive Learning Environments with STEM Activities
Enhancing STEM Learning to Support All Children
Inclusive STEM education is key to ensuring all students, regardless of ability or learning style, can actively engage with science, technology, engineering and maths. This EPV-approved summer course equips primary school teachers with practical strategies to differentiate STEM instruction, integrate assistive technology and foster an inclusive learning environment. Through hands-on activities, real-world case studies and collaborative discussions, participants will gain the skills needed to support students with diverse needs, including those with learning disabilities, EAL learners and gifted students.
With a focus on Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles, this course explores how STEM subjects can be adapted to promote engagement, accessibility and success for every child. Teachers will develop inclusive lesson plans, discover innovative ways to integrate technology and collaborate with peers to refine their approach to STEM education. By participating, educators will not only meet their professional development requirements but also make a lasting impact on their students’ learning experiences.
"Inclusion is not bringing people into what already exists; it is making a new space, a better space for everyone."
George Dei
Incorporating a fully inclusive approach
This course was created based on my desire to make classrooms as inclusive and as welcoming as possible.
Children learn in such a wide variety of ways and, from my perspective, many children experience success and positive learning outcomes through STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths). Over the years, I have seen first-hand the positive effect these subject areas have had on children’s learning experiences. Designing an EPV Summer Course which encompasses both Inclusion and STEM is something I have always wanted to do.
I completed my Master’s in Special and Additional Learning Needs in 2024 and reading about teacher’s experiences in Irish classrooms regarding inclusion while working on my thesis made me realise that a practical course like this is really needed in the context of Irish schools.
I hope the linking of knowledge of inclusive practices, coupled with practical lesson ideas and resources for STEM across all age groups, will really benefit teachers with a variety of learning needs in their classrooms.
Through my real-life experiences, teachers will gain a deeper understanding of how STEM subjects can be powerful tools to support students with varying abilities, learning styles and needs. You will learn how STEM activities can be adapted to encourage critical thinking, problem-solving and collaboration, ensuring that every student, regardless of background or ability, has equal opportunities to participate and succeed.
Inclusion is an incredibly broad term, and without a global definition it is defined differently in different jurisdictions. Often, teachers can struggle knowing where to even begin with limited time and resources. The practicality of this course will equip teachers with simple lessons, resources and ideas to implement in their classrooms, which will in turn help to make them a more inclusive place for all.
Valerie King, Primary School Teacher and Owner of @muinteoir_valerie
This course is ten hours of audio content, visual content and assessment in total, and there are ten hours of recommended reading and resources for you to further develop your own learning.
Course Dates
GROUP 1
July 1st - 15th 2025
GROUP 2
July 21st - Aug 4th 2025
GROUP 3
August 6th - 20th 2025
Meet Your Instructor
Valerie is a primary school teacher with eleven years teaching experience, who has taught in a variety of settings and classes throughout her career. Valerie has a Master’s degree in Special and Additional Learning Needs and has a keen interest in making classrooms as inclusive as possible. Valerie has delivered continuous professional development (CPD) for educators through delivering webinars with a focus on inclusion in Irish classrooms since 2021.
Course Aims
- Understand the importance of inclusive education in the context of STEM
- Recognise the connection between STEM and inclusion and the role STEM activities play in fostering an equitable learning environment
- Understand how to use formative and summative assessments in inclusive STEM teaching
- Learn how to create a supportive learning environment that fosters collaboration and self-regulation
- Design inclusive, differentiated STEM lessons that integrate Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles
- Learn how to integrate technology to offer personalised learning experiences in STEM subjects and develop strategies for using digital tools to facilitate collaborative, accessible and engaging STEM activities
- Learn to design and facilitate engineering activities that cater to diverse learning needs and create ways of adapting engineering tasks for students with varying abilities, fostering collaboration and creativity
- Understand how maths can be integrated into STEM to promote inclusivity so that maths can be adapted to meet the needs of all students, including those with additional learning needs
FAQs
Each course is divided into three groups that are running on the following dates:
- Group 1: July 1st – 15th 2025
- Group 2: July 21st – Aug 4th 2025
- Group 3: Aug 6th – 20th 2025
The course starts and ends on each of the above dates. It is a completely self-paced online course – you decide when you complete tasks within your chosen course’s dates!
Yes, all work is monitored by our e-tutor team, which means that you will receive feedback and you will be notified if more detail is required.
All of our Summer Courses are just €99 per course. Pay just €175 for two courses or €250 for three!
Add the course and the date to your cart and the discount will automatically be applied. Remember, as per DES guidelines, you cannot complete two courses in the same time frame.
Our primary focus is on you learning and then supporting children with their emotional wellness. As a result, we place value on reflective learning. You’ll be asked to discuss your own understanding and experiences, as well as brief summaries of important topics. All assignments are less than 500 words.
We are obsessed with children’s wellness and our mission is to impart as much knowledge as we can on to the people who matter – the teachers and SNAs who are guiding, supporting and shaping our children every single day.
All of our courses have been developed with the most current research in the area of health and educational psychology. Students who have completed courses with us in the past keep coming back for more. Why? Because our customers complete courses that are jam-packed full of meaningful information and effective strategies that really do create change, not just across classrooms, but across careers!
We will be in touch before your course starts with login instructions. For now, enjoy the last term of school and we’ll see you in July/August for some summer learning!
