Case Study 14
Water Proofing - a school and community approachEnvironment and sustainability were the key focus areas to engage students and teachers in Science studies, both within the classroom and the local community. Frankston cluster schools in this project identified a local ecosystem to use as an outdoor classroom, in particular to focus on issues relating to water in that ecosystem. Teachers and students were engaged at the local sites through inspirational visits provided by local community and government experts. Full Story...
The Full StoryInquiry-style learning was facilitated at each of the schools, and students were given the opportunity to explore, research and develop a product that would demonstrate their learning in relation to water and sustainability. ‘Water buddies’ selected from teacher education trainees at a local university were paired with each of the cluster schools and assisted students in creating the product. This relationship was ongoing through participation of these Teacher Associates in student experiences and learning situations in classrooms over a period of weeks. An action research project was conducted to track the progress of the project and assess its impact on Science engagement, curriculum inclusion of Science, and teacher confidence in undertaking Science and community-based units of work.
Key elements of the project- A common vision for making a difference within the school’s local environment.
- Collaborative cluster activity facilitated by the project leaders.
- Targeted professional learning for teachers to explore the local ecosystems with the guidance of an expert.
- Professional learning for teachers in inquiry-learning practices.
- Pairing of classes with ‘water buddies’, or tertiary students, to assist and support teachers and students in their endeavours.
- Flexibility and options for teachers to explore the water topic with their classes.
- Mentoring of primary students by secondary students through classroom water quality experiments conducted at the high school.
- Ongoing support and guidance for the teachers provided by the project coordinators
- Evaluation via an action research project focused on student learning and teacher pedagogy being conducted by a local university.
- Internal evaluation of the key elements of the project by the project leaders.
Engagement and excitement in learning ScienceThe topic of water management issues was relevant to the students, and enabled them to engage in learning directly linked to their local community. The learning in outdoor classrooms also provided an opportunity for authentic data-gathering, analysis and discussion. In the cluster schools, it was the linkage programs with local community members that contributed significantly to the engagement of students with their scientific learning. For primary and secondary teachers, the project offered opportunities and support to develop new units of work based on the inquiry-learning approach. The common goal of the cluster schools to source and engage with community experts further added to a shift in the existing pedagogy. Every child was engaged during this unit. The students loved visiting the secondary school and working with the Year 9 students. Working with the older students fired our children up and encouraged them to feel like ‘real’ scientists.
Teacher, Janette Borrie, Derinya Primary School This inquiry unit provided an excellent opportunity for our students' learning. Creating a product to communicate their ideas provided the students with a structure they enjoyed working to. They were eager to complete their work knowing that it related to the ‘real world’, particularly their local community, and that they were going to present and exhibit their work to the community. The project provided excellent opportunities for student self-assessment and reflection.
Grade 5/6 teacher, Jane Lacey, Overport Primary School
Bridging the boundaries
Across primary and secondary schoolsPrimary students were mentored by the secondary students in water science activities held in the laboratories at the secondary college. This provided a focal point for discussions between primary and secondary teachers relating to science curriculum and teaching. In addition, it was an important transitional activity for the primary students, and a key way for secondary students to address the Physical, Personal and Social Learning strand and the Interdisciplinary Learning strand in VELS. Across the school/community interfaceThe identification of a local ecosystem involving a waterway provided a focus for the school/community interaction. The expert knowledge and inspiration during the visits was provided by creek association personnel, water testing authorities, local council environment experts, rangers from local parks, and marine environment experts. Students communicating their learnings to the communityEither individually or in groups, students developed products to communicate what they had learnt. Each student had to develop a plan, and draft and create a final presentation of their product for assessment. Schools used a variety of structures for this to occur: for example, some schools targeted the areas of expertise of their teachers (such as ICT, model-making or literacy) and invited students to work with the teacher whose expertise matched their product format. Other schools offered a range of product developments with the one teacher. Some classes delivered oral presentations about their product to members of the school community, while other classes held a mini ‘science fair’ and invited other classes to attend. The penultimate cluster event was a Celebration Day held at the Peninsula campus of Monash University. All cluster schools attended the day, which was an opportunity to showcase their ‘water products’ through a display expo, as well as participate in a range of workshops that further explored the concept of sustainability. The cluster schools were addressed by a keynote speaker who explored aspects relating to the environment and the role that they could play in addressing these issues. Sustainability of the Project- A website was developed for cluster schools to continue to build on and develop the rewarding relationship. The website celebrates the successes of the project to date and also plays a pivotal role in the sustainability of the project by providing unit templates, community contacts and other resources for the cluster teachers. http://www.wateredfrankston.com.au/
- The relationships built through the local ecosystems activities will enable future school-education/community learning programs and a connectedness with those specific environments.
- The skills that teachers have gained in delivering inquiry-style learning will enable them to explore this mode of teaching in future learning programs.
- A dialogue between the science faculty of the secondary school and the feeder primary schools has been established and provides a platform for future student mentoring in the Science learning area.
- A relationship with the teacher education faculty at Monash University was developed. Teacher associate participation via a ‘Water Buddies’ program will be a valuable model for future engagement of these young role-models in primary classrooms.
Project Coordinator, Pippa Dowling emphasised the importance of cluster activity, teacher associate involvement and the incredible benefits gained, for both students and staff, through relationship-building with community members: “We have been very proud of the terrific work the Frankston Federation of Schools achieved during the project. Possibly a highlight of the project to date has been visiting the schools during the units of work; to see the students so engaged and enthusiastic about a topic of real importance to their future was extremely rewarding”. Further informationPippa Dowling and Trish Ritchie
Project Coordinators
Derinya Primary School
Telephone: (03) 9787 3633
Email: dowling.pippa.l@edumail.vic.gov.au
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