Sustainable Development – Page 9

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Placement Tasks- Sustainable Development

sustainable development placement tasks

Sustainable Development Serial Day Tasks

During your eight serial days, you should gather this information, by observing, speaking to class teachers and other colleagues, interacting with learners, reading school policies, and any other appropriate activities. You should consider and identify the most appropriate ways(s) to record this information. MAPPING OF SCHOOL GROUNDS/AREA EVIDENCE OF EXISTING ENGAGEMENT WITH SUSTAINABLE EDUCATION WITHIN … Continue reading Sustainable Development Serial Day Tasks

Sustainable Development Serial Day’s

The school has a community garden, with a planter box for every class. During spring all pupils will have the opportunity to plant and grow their own plant, flowers and vegetables. The school also allow pupils to eat their … Continue reading →

Sustainable Development Serial Day Tasks

For the Sustainable Development serial day tasks, we were given the following instructions: Mapping of school grounds/area. Evidence of existing engagement with sustainable education within the school Consideration of actual play space for children and its suitability. Discussion with children on these aspects of sustainable education. To achieve these objectives, I discussed with the class …

Continue reading “Sustainable Development Serial Day Tasks”

Sustainable Development Placement Tasks

Sustainable Development Serial Day Tasks

Mapping of school grounds/area.

Evidence of existing engagement with sustainable education within the school such as garden area, recycling bins, litter picking ‘wardens’, bird boxes, and so on.

There are recycling bins in the playground as well as in each classroom. In my class, there is an eco-warden whose responsibility is to empty the classroom recycling bin and turn the lights off whenever the class leave the classroom. There are “Learning for Sustainability” posters in each class as well as in the dining hall and corridors. A litter policy is also displayed in every class with each class having an eco-responsibility. Outside, they have a bug hotel – similar to the one at university campus- as well as bird feeders and a garden area with plants and scarecrows. In addition to this, the school is a Rights Respecting School. Each class makes a class charter disclosing their rights and responsibilities.

Consideration of actual play space for children and its suitability.

From my initial observation, I thought the school grounds mostly consisted of a large concrete area with some grass. However, after discussing with pupils and exploring the outside area for myself it became clear there was more than just hard ground. In the Infant playground, there was a grassy area with an ‘Enchanted Forrest’ this is a wooden play area in which the classes have access to on certain days of the week. In the Senior playground, there is a climbing wall in the far corner in addition to an AstroTurf (the senior classes have access to this on certain days of the week).

Discussion with children on these aspects of sustainable education. When asked, pupils feel there is a good balance between concrete and grassy space in t eh playground. They seem passionate about the Sustainable Development strategies used throughout the school. The strategies have been well implemented, this is evident from children taking their role of eco warden very seriously and tasks such as switching lights off are more of a habit than a chore.

Sustainable Development Learning Log Energy

Over past two weeks of the Sustainable Development module we have been focusing on energy and electricity. Throughout this theme I have been able to consider my own personal knowledge and reflect upon how I would be able to teach this theme in a primary context.
The inputs enabled me to consolidate my understanding of the underpinning definitions of energy and electricity. Additional to think beyond using energy as a source of using electrical appliances or source of light, for instance switching on a light or boiling a kettle or driving a car, but to consider the manufacturing and transportation processes of the objects and appliances. Before we are able to utilise our electrical items, many energy forms have taken place. During the lecture we were asked to consider how many types of energy that we had used that morning before arriving at university, initially I believed that did not use much energy, but once scribbled down I was rather shocked by the amount of energy I did use: (Shower, boiling the kettle, hairdryer, straighteners, radio, driving). We then discussed fossil fuels, it is inevitable that these forms of energy will run out, we were then shown statics which confounded myself, these statics undoubtfully convey how finite fossil fuels realistically are.
• Years left of oil- 50 years
• Years left of gas- 54 years
• Years left of coal- 110 years
The above statics engendered myself to reflect upon how sustainable our world is and what actions we must take in order to pause the effects fossil fuels on our climate and to consider the importance of looking for alternative energies. The alternatives that the world is currently implementing is solar, wind, nuclear, hydro and tide. It is important examine the appropriateness of the alternative such as will it be in a suitable location, will the weather have impact on the efficiency of the energy being produced, will the local community and wildlife be affected.
Moreover, as part of the energy theme we participated in a debate that focused on wind energy. firstly, in groups we read a variety of difference references and make a judgement on whether the author was for or against wind energy. Then we formed two groups of for and against. I deemed this activity would be rather engaging for the upper school as it would enable the children to do their own research, work in groups, form arguments and agreements, in-depth consideration for a subject and to consider and respect the views of others.
During the science input we explored a range of activities that can be used when teaching energy and how closely energy relates to maths. Illustrating experiments to children is an excellent way getting children involved and engaged with science.
I believe it is necessary energy to be a part of the science curriculum. It is important to in form children in regards to fossil fuels and the connection to the word finite, and what this word means for the world. It is likewise vital to tread carefully and consider the ability of the class, similarly ensuring that lessons are pitched appropriately and activities are correct for stage of the class. I deem sustainable learning important and all children should be granted with appropriate learning experiences, as they are the next generation and will have to develop methods and strategies to maintain a sustainable world.

Sustainable Development- Energy

These last week lectures focused on energy. When i reflect on my time in primary school, I remember learning a little bit about energy but i definitely learned a lot more about it in high school. From studying and learning more about energy in this module it has opened my eyes to the variety of activities and lessons that i could create to teach this topic in the classroom in a fun and enjoyable way. I feel like from the inputs in lectures and workshops on this topic i have developed numerous skills such as communication, team working, research and creativity and now feel more confident about teaching this topic.

For the first input on energy, we got to take part in a debate. The debate was to focus on ‘Alternative Energy’. We worked in small groups to read academic texts focused on wind turbines to find out information to debate about. We then went into larger groups to share our ideas and research with one another in order to work together to come up with 5 key points to debate about. We had two large groups, one for wind turbines and one against, we then had to decide which members of the group would go up to debate. Through this input i learned a lot about the skills i already possess and new ones that i have developed. Through this my team working, communication and research skills came to light. However, i also realized that i do lack confidence skills and this is something i would like to develop throughout my years in university.

The second input on energy focused on an activities we could use in the classroom such as creating a model of a wind turbine. This was an activity that we could to try ourselves and then create a lesson plan based on this activity. When it came to creating the model, we had to ensure that we had the appropriate resources and that we read our instructions correctly in order for our model to work. I was really happy with my end result and it is definitely an activity that I would try in the classroom.

When it came to creating the lesson plan we worked in partners and it was very interesting and fun. I really enjoyed being able to understand how doing an activity like this would be created and written up in a lesson plan. It was a good experience to work cooperatively with someone else and see how they would write up a lesson plan opposed to how I would do it. We managed to finish our lesson plan and we were really happy with the finished result.

From both these inputs my knowledge and skills in energy have definitely increased and improved. It was a topic that I didn’t think I would be interested in but now experiencing it in a different way I would love to teach this in the classroom. There are lots of resrouces and activities out there to help with teaching a topic like this that would be fun and enjoyable for the children. There are activities such as creating energy circuits, making a wind turbine, creating animals that use energy and many more. Energy is such a relevant topic and is important to teach as it is something that surrounds us in everyday life.