Independent Project Based Learning on the Isle of Islay
Here are some of our top tips for carrying out Endeavour:
Here are the outlines for some of the projects carried out in 2014:
ALICIA
CHICKEN FARMING
I will research the care of chickens, chicken housing and breeds of chicken. I will build a model chicken coop, then use this as a model to build my own house. Having persuaded Mrs Macdonald to have chickens in school I will then incubate and hatch the chickens.
ROBBIE
CLIMATE CHANGE AND NATURAL DISASTERS
I am interested in learning about natural disasters, what causes them and how climate change may have an effect. This will involve a lot of research, and I also hope to make experiments that look at the effects of climate.
CAMERON
CROFTING
I am interested in setting up my own garden at home with raised beds, and planting and managing the school croft. I will write to the Beechgrove garden for advice, will need to research vegetables and growing conditions, build and maintain my garden. We could use vegetables grown in the school croft for a café.
ELEANOR
OFFICE SKILLS
I would like to work in an office when I grow up and so I have decided to learn about the skills needed to work in an office. I will create spread sheets, learn about keeping books and get experience working in an office for my dad and in school. At the end I will be able to make a working model of an office.
CIARA
FITNESS
In school we have learned about health and I wanted to try and become more healthy by learning about keeping fit. I will walk and do fitness at home, research fitness techniques and run a fitness afternoon at school.
ASHER
SURVIVAL SKILLS
I will research tribes around the world and the different survival skills they have learned. Looking at survival skills, I will try different activities such as foraging, lighting fires and building shelters and then use these to organise a trip into the wilderness where I will need to apply my skills.
JODIE
HORSE RIDING INSTRUCTOR
I would like to be a horse riding instructor so I plan to learn all aspects of horse riding, including making a labelled model and writing a blog. I hope to teach someone from my class to ride a horse and make a video of how to tack a horse.
EMILY
WRITE MY OWN BOOK
I enjoy reading and writing so I have decided to write my own book for my Endeavour project. I will research top tips, plan my plot and then write and edit the story, getting people to read and suggest improvements as I go.
ANWEN
SEWING CLOTHES
For my Endeavour I want to learn how to sew and make my own clothes and other items. I plan to make a skirt and top, as well as a bag which means I need to learn how to use a pattern, sew by hand, use a sewing machine and design clothes.
A popular area for Endeavour projects has been cooking. We are very lucky at Port Ellen to have our own teaching kitchen area and take advantage of it for children wishing to cook or bake for their Endeavour.
Maisie used the kitchen extensively to create beauty products like smoothies and face masks for her 2014 Endeavour, and even persuaded some of the boys to try it! She also researched the impact of the beauty industry on the environment and animal welfare, and enjoyed creating her own eco-friendly beauty products.
Abbie was a joint winner of the first Endeavour award for her cookery book on international cooking. She would bring in 
ingredients every week for recipes around the world and would then feed the class, who would give her feedback on the project. I really enjoyed her Indian onion chutney.
We have had two trainee bakers, Annie and Natalie. Both baked the guess the weight of the Christmas cake for the school fair and sold their cakes as businesses, developing skills for the world of work at the same time. Both made birthday and Christmas cakes, and their baking was amazing as you can see from the photo. You can read Natalie’s cake blog in the link on the right.
Emma also enjoyed developing her skills in the kitchen. She was learning to cook and develop independence in the kitchen, shopping for food, finding all the equipment, following a recipe and cleaning up afterwards. Despite her communication difficulties she enjoyed working with other children and learned skills for life.
Over time we have developed a lot of different resources to help provide structure to Endeavour through a process continuous improvement and tweaking. The planners and assessment rubriks used are not essential to the project, but do help guide the process.
Initial planning for Endeavour is key and children fill out this planner at the start of the project to guide them to the finish line. This long term planner is then broken down over time into medium and short term plans, the short term planner being based on a simple plan, do, review format (see below). We also carry out a SWOT analysis so children can assess the likely success of their project.
Children also regularly carry out peer and self assessment tasks over the course of the project to check they are making progress. There are task management, collating information and presenting rubriks.
Endeavour task management rubrik
At the end of the project children complete an assessment sheet with teacher and parents input, and there is also a review presentation.
All these documents are useful tools in the management of Endeavour, and are applied rationally over time to ensure high quality self evaluation of progress and of their own project, and should always be accompanied by lots of class, peer and teacher discussion.
In the first year of Endeavour all the schools involved worked closely and held several discussions to assess the impact of the project, as well as surveying the views of parents and children. Some of the key issues we had included finding space in the curriculum, resources and ensuring all children could achieve at the correct level.
Space in the curriculum is limited and we were allocating an afternoon a week for at least two terms in the year, so we had to justify this use of time. The depth of learning achieved and the skills of planning, time management, researching and presentation developed meant we were confident children were achieving skills that would be invaluable in their future learning and careers. The results the children produced at the end confirmed this, but the projects required careful management and direction at the outset if they were to work.
Resources were another key issue. Some projects required the purchase of equipment and it should not be expected that parents will provide all the resources. In the first year the authority provided some funding, but since then we have managed any extra costs through the school budget. These have included the purchase of a sewing machine, soldering equipment and electronics, and model airplane kits. Human resources are also key; as the teacher the project can be difficult to manage if the expectation of the child being responsible for their own learning is not clear at the start. This can be challenging for some and they may require more structure and support to succeed. The use of classroom assistants and local community members can be invaluable here; this year I have a classroom assistant supervising baking, a former headteacher supporting learners and a member of the community teaching sewing skills. However in my first year I managed with no extra adult support.
Ensuring all children achieve and that they are focused on their work can be tricky. Most are motivated to work hard because they chose the topic, but ensuring planning at the start is detailed really helps keep them on track. Endeavour works well for all children as what they do and how they show their learning is chosen by the child; children who are reluctant writers can achieve a lot through practical work or film or presentations. A child with autism and communication difficulties was able to complete successfully two years of Endeavour on cooking and trips around the island.
We gave out questionnaires in the first year to parents and children and the response was very positive. Everyone felt they enjoyed the project and that it was worthwhile. Some parents felt children needed more help and some children would have liked more time in class to complete their project. More regular peer and self assessments were introduced to ensure children were on track and challenging themselves to the same level as their peers.
Since the implementation of Endeavour children are always excited to know when their project will start, and we have now rolled it out throughout the school at early and first level in the form of mini endeavours, where children apply similar skills at an appropriate level and with more support over just a term. Children have a better set of key skills for life, learning and work and are able to apply them across the curriculum; children are more independent in their learning and able to make decisions about how and what to learn. They are also more prepared for High School and future careers. You can access the questionnaire we used below.
One of the key features that helps build a successful Endeavour is having the children get advice from experts. At the start of the project I have the children write a persuasive letter to an expert in the field, usually someone who uses key skills relevant to the Endeavour in their job. In the letter they ask key questions that will help them in their project. I am always surprised by how often they receive helpful replies and how motivated they become as a result. Contacting people locally and further afield to ask for advice and help with the project shows the children that their projects are real and valid, and it is also very exciting when a letter arrives in the post! Letter writing and communicating successfully with others is also a useful skill for work.
In the first year of the project a local architect sent a series of letters to Scott explaining how the house design process works. Sometimes help is more direct; Jason was contacted and video-conferenced with a nuclear engineer on electronics, while Helen and Elinor had the local wildlife photographer visit to tell them how to take great photos for their wildlife related projects.
In 2014 Beth’s project on puppet making was helped when she used Twitter to converse with Steve Hewlett, the ventriloquist from Britain’s got Talent, about her project. Elizabeth received a letter from Manran encouraging her in her Gaelic singing project, while Cameron was in regular email contact with the Beechgrove Garden team about his croft. Often we receive gifts as well; Asher was sent survival books and Torin was very excited to receive video games through the post for his game design project. Local help came in the form of weekly visits from the local quilters association to help Danni with her Islay quilt, while local bakers posted baking equipment to Annie for her cake business.
2015 and Beth visited the RSPB for her bird anatomy project, while Emily and Jodie visited local wool makers. Eleanor worked with the local dietitian on delivering healthy eating advice to the school and Oliver received a letter from a physicist at St Andrews university advising him on his project on quantum mechanics. This year Eva received advice from the director of the Royal Shakepeare company on her project on Shakespearean monologues, and Kaitlyn received freshwater pearls from a jewellery designer in the post for her jewellery making topic.
People are invariably kind and generous with their time and help and we have been very lucky to be supported in this way by so many.
Here is a list of other projects tackled in 2013 to give an idea of the range of areas tackled.
SCOTT
HOW TO BUILD A HOUSE
My uncle is building a house and I decided to find out more about the process involved in building a house. I researched architectural design, writing to a local architect, as well as plumbing, joinery and electrical fittings, and elarned how to draw plans. I designed my own house using Google Sketch up and even built a model.
ELINOR
WHALE AND DOLPHIN MAGAZINE
I researched potential threats to the habitats of whales and dolphins on the west coast of Scotland, with help from SNH, HWDT and by visiting the Islay Wildlife Centre. I created and edited a magazine and learned how to work to a deadline, and sent copies of my final magazine to the HWBT.
ALICIA
FOOTBALL COACHING
I found out how to become an excellent footballer, researching how top footballers learn how to play. I found out how to improve my own skills, then planned a series of coaching sessions to improve the skills of others. I had advice from a coach from the SFA and our active schools co-ordinator to help, and I set up a football skills club in school.
ROBBIE
VIDEO GAME DESIGN
I designed and created my own video game using programming skills and the software Kodu. I managed my time, planned my game using storyboards and learned how to deal with problems. At the end I had a full game people got to play and I entered the Kodu cup.
ELLEN
RELAXATION TECHNIQUES
I was interested in finding out about different ways that can be used to help people relax when they are stressed. I needed to research how the body works when stressed, and how effective different methods of relaxation are. At the end of my project I created a CD of relaxing sounds recorded on Islay along with a presentation and leaflet.
JASON
ELECTRONICS
I was interested in finding out how different electronic gadgets are made and work, and wanted to make my own remote controlled vehicle using my own electronic circuits. I researched and investigated the workings of electronic items, and learned how to solder my own simple circuits that do things like make noises and light lights. I had a video conference with a nuclear engineer about my project and in the end built my own remote control tank.
JAMES
WHISKY DISTILLING AT LAPHROAIG DISTILLERY
I visited the distillery and interviewed the workers and the manager to find out about whiskey distilling at Laphroaig. I needed to manage my time, plan and organise, find out about whisky distilling and I then created a leaflet from my research.
CALUM
HOW A ENGINE WORKS
I learned how an internal combustion engine works and created several diagrams to explain the process. I built a working model combustion engine and visited the local garage to find out how a real engine works.
Music was a popular theme in the first year of Endeavour. Three girls worked on different projects that built on existing skills they had in learning musical instruments, but increased the level of challenge. They were all keen on careers in the music industry. These projects exemplify the different levels of success that can occur with Endeavour, and highlights some of the challenge children face.
A P7 girl who played the tin whistle and piano wanted to write and record her own song as a music video. She successfully researched different types of music and styles and along with the other two performers contacted the High School music teacher who kindly came in on several weeks during his free periods to support them in their Endeavours. However she struggled to compose the music she wanted because her level of understanding of music was not high enough. She instead focused more on improving her skills at the piano and composing a simple tune, and was happy at the end with what she achieved.
A P6 girl who was learning to play the piano decided she would compose, play and record her own piece of Scottish piano music. She learned the different types of tune and learned to play examples of each before composing a simple tune of her own. She was more successful as her Endeavour was less ambitious and in line with her skill set.
Another P7 girl who was learning the accordion and was an accomplished Highland Dancer wanted to compose a piece of Scottish music for her accordion which she would record and then invent her own dance to go with the music which she would then video. She was able to learn a suitable tune, but composing and creating a new dance were more challenging. In the end she used an existing tune which she then learned to play and created a dance with steps to fit the tune before recording it as a video, dancing and playing-although not simultaneously! She was applying new skills of combining her talents and videoing them, and you can see the finished video below.
A Scottish Performance By Emily Logan from Jo Clark on Vimeo.
Another one of the projects from 2013 was carried out by a Primary 6 boy who was interested in wilderness survival and wanted to take up Kayaking, as there is a local club on Islay. He planned to carry out a kayaking expedition to Jura, the neighbouring Island, with his dad.
There were a lot of challenging skills to be learned for this project which involved careful planning. After he organised a meeting with a local coastguard he encountered his first problem; the currents between Islay and Jura are too strong to safely Kayak. He then altered his plans to make the trip to one of the small uninhabited islands off the coast of Islay. Attending Kayak club weekly with his father he built up his skills, and in school he used maps to prepare his route, learning about tides and prevailing winds. Using examples from his father’s work he made his own risk assessments that included detailed plans of what to do in an emergency. He finally took the trip to Texa island, camping overnight and successfully concluded his Endeavour. Motivated by his interest in the project, this learner was successfully able to apply new skills in a meaningful context, and although the project was not directly related to a future career, the skills he developed would be useful in any career path he might choose. He even recorded his endeavours in a blog: http://1kidskayakingadventer.blogspot.co.uk/
In the first year of Endeavour there was some trepidation as to whether the project could work. To me the key to the success of Endeavour was children working independently and being challenged. This meant support of planning and monitoring of progress but not having adults do the project for the children; support from home was purely in providing opportunities and resources. I did not want children coming in to school with lovely posters or models that their parents had spent hours preparing for them. I also needed children to take on tasks that challenged them suitably through developing new skills and knowledge- they had to come across problems and find solutions and if that wasn’t happening then the project was not challenging enough.
SHEEP
In the first year of Endeavour one of the outstanding projects was a documentary on sheep farming which was made my a primary 7 girl who lived on a farm. In order to make the project challenging she had to do more than present what she already knew about farming in a powerpoint. She decided to create a documentary on a year in the life of a sheep farmer, and her key new skills were learning how to make a documentary film. After analyzing some David Attenborough documentaries she was able to plan how her film would look using a storyboard.
At each stage in the sheep farming cycle she would film the process on the farm and then bring the video into school to edit and add narration. She recorded every stage of the process; from her lambing a sheep to selling her own sheep at the local auction mart, for which she was given the morning out of school. She even organised a visit to the abattoir with the local Vet, and filmed the final stage of the process, with the vet showing her the anatomy of the sheep. This part of the filming process was not included in the final cut for viewing audiences however! She also identified key areas of knowledge she would need as a sheep farmer, such as diseases and official record keeping, and researched these often challenging areas very successfully. The final film was a big hit at the Endeavour presentation to parents and was a true reflection of the hard work and independent learning involved. Although supported by her parents in accessing resources, the work was all her own, and an excellent example of how Endeavour can work well.
You can see the video below:
SHEEPS YEAR from Jo Clark on Vimeo.
