PLACEMENT TASK

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 is lots of existing engagement with sustainable education throughout my school for example they have an eco-committee who meet with staff representative regularly where issues raised within the classrooms are addressed and new initiatives and projects are developed. The school I am placed at eco-group have been awarded their green flag status. Throughout the classrooms, staff rooms and outdoors there are recycling bins for paper and general waste.

• Consideration of actual play space for children and its suitability.

From the map above we can see there is a great consideration of actual play space for children, this can be seen as there are many green areas influencing the children to play there, and there are also concrete play areas for other games and activities to be played on. Throughout the green areas there are woodland seating areas surrounded by trees and plants, this raises awareness to children about why they have trees and plants and their importance.

• Discussion with children on these aspects of sustainable education

Through discussion with the children around theses aspects of sustainable education it is clear that they have an awareness around why they do what they are doing, for example they have a clear understanding why they recycle and can explain the use of recycling bins and can clearly state the correct way to use them. The classes also understand the importance of the eco group in the school and they are aware of who their class representative is if they ever have an issue or suggestion to raise in their school eco-group.

 

 

 

Theme – Energy

Key Learning –

Throughout this theme the key learning was to understand ways of renewable energy and how much energy we use every day. I feel I have learned many ways of energy use that I did not know as using energy. I also have learned many different ways of renewing and generating energy for example, windmills, solar panels etc. During the work shop it was made clear to me many ways energy can be made, for example static energy.

Impact on my views/ lifestyle/ practice –

This has impacted my views due to during the lecture being asked to discuss how many fossil fuels we had used that morning before coming to uni, this was made clear to me exactly how much energy I use through water, straightners, heating etc. It has also made me more aware to turn off plugs when not using them, turning off lights etc, not having running water on for longer than needed. Through teaching I also think that using examples like this would help children understand exactly how they use energy on a daily basis. Through workshops using circuits it will help them understand how lights work and what is needed, how much energy is used. This can be shown to a class by use of circuit boards, this could be started with drawings of circuits with a discussion then onto using the boards. It is important when doing this to understand that it may always work, this is important to speak to the children about and help them discuss where they think they might have gone wrong.

Areas of interest to explore further/develop –

I feel as a student teacher; energy is a topic which I do not know much about. I feel I should study more about generating energy and how this is done in many ways, I should then understand where these things may be placed and if in a certain area why is this.

 

Learning log – Disasters

 

Key Learning-

Firstly we learned about what natural disasters are and the impact they have on people and land when they occur. When these disasters happen in certain countries help is required, international organisations such as, the united nations, world health organisation, world food programme etc. are all major organisations that help countries in need. NGO’s such as save the children, Red Cross, Oxfam etc. are also important with this, they supply help to repair communities such as education, communication and are much more flexible than international organisations. They also work alongside the government however have an unbiased approach.

Impact on my views/lifestyle/practice-

Learning about these disasters has widened my knowledge, due to living in a country which is not impacted by these types of natural disasters I have never known the actual impact it can have on a community. Throughout my teaching career I feel more comfortable when teaching disasters as through the presentations it has helped me to understand all different ways of teaching due to everybody having their own ideas of certain types of lessons. Also from the presentations my knowledge around earthquakes has become much better due to knowing little before and after studying it to present I feel more confident.

Areas of interest to explore further/develop-

Areas I would like to further develop would be disasters such as typhoons and forest fires, this is because I feel they are less spoken about in this country. I also feel these areas I need more research in, I can do this by reading articles of previous disasters and fully understand the impact they had on people.

 

 

 

Learning log – Interdependence

Key Learning –

During this week we learned about how interdependence relates to sustainability and what they key concepts of interdependence are. We also had time on a dairy farm to understand our food chain and the importance of farms today, where our milk comes from and how. The soil presentation I found very interesting as I did not appreciate how important soil is in our everyday lives and how for example, 95% of our food comes from the soil. In groups we were to discuss sustainable seas and create a Piktochart.

Impact on my views/lifestyle/practice –

From this input I feel it has made an important impact on my views of farms/soil etc. for example before having this input I had no idea how important it was to have these in our lives. I feel when teaching this subject to pupils it would benefit to them also to have the experience to visiting the farm and seeing how the cows are milked, the conditions they are kept in etc. to also understand just quite how important this is in our daily lives. Through the soil presentation I also think it has made an important on my views due to understanding the importance of soil and how it impacts our food chain. Through the ‘pub quiz’ questions I learned that soil takes 1000 years to grow one centimetre, this made it clear to me that with the loss of soil it doesn’t grow back as fast. This has also impacted on my lifestyle as it has made me more aware about the soil around me and how food waste leading to compost bins can improve our soil. During my practice I think this would be an interesting topic that can engage learners, however I may be influenced by the burger activity to show a clear link of how our soil can eventually lead to a burger.

Areas of interest to explore/ further develop –

The areas I am most interested in to explore and develop would possibly be the soil, due to there being so much importance around it. I may find more information that I would be looking for on the Soil Association Scotland website. This would gain my confidence when talking about this and hopefully I would be able to pass on an effective amount of knowledge.

 

CLICK HERE TO SEE MY GROUPS PIKTOCHART –  https://www.dropbox.com/s/hcrpvdzx2bnfeg4/PICKTOCHART.jpg?dl=0

 

 

 

Learning Log – Climate Change

Key Learning –

I feel during the Climate Change week I learned many things, such as how climate change is so important in our lives right now and how we can change the way we act to change the climate for a good way. During reading the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009, I learned many different points and laws that I did not know were necessary to change the climate but now understand this. From the WWF carbon footprint test I also realised that my carbon foot print is much larger than it should be being 136%.

Impact on my views/lifestyle/practice.

Throughout the workshops we studied many activities that we can reflect this while teaching such as art, science etc. activities. I feel as if I would struggle when teaching this topic however after the activities we took part in I would feel much more confident. I feel it would be good for the children to take part in their own carbon footprint test, possibly not as much detail, but one such as walking to school etc. helping the benefits it will not only have on their health but also on their climate.

Areas of interest to explore further/develop.

I feel this full topic I would be interested in further researching due to the lack of knowledge I previously had prior to this week. I feel my main area of research should be studying the main key points which impact our climate.

 

 

 

Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 – Impacts on my lifestyle and choices.

Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009, has made an important impact on my lifestyle and choices, however I did not realise this until I read the article.

Firstly I looked at Chapter 3 Energy Efficiency, where I focused on the Promotion of energy efficiency and renewable heat section. I feel this chapter is important as in my household, energy and heat play a massive role. For example during the winter the heating is on the majority of the time, from this act it has made me realise that this is not always necessary by using insulation and double glazing for example – not having the heating on with the windows open – as this is a waste of energy. It has also helped me realise when modern buildings are being built currently they may be insulated better than older buildings due to better knowledge of how to be efficient with energy use.

I then studied Chapter 5 Waste Reduction and recycling. I focused mainly on the deposit of recyclable waste and carrier bag charges. As I use food waste bins, recyclable bins etc. throughout work and at home I already had an understanding of this. Even though I used these bins I never fully understood why, throughout research and looking at the act it has come to my attention why we do this, for example it is a massive impact on saving landfills. Through recyclable bins many tins, cartons, paper, plastics etc. can be used and reprocessed to be turned into other usable products. Food waste is collected so that it can be used for composting, for example it can be used to help put nutrients into the soil to keep it healthy.

Carrier bag charges has been one of the most important laws that I feel has made an impact on my life. For example before the law had been put in place I can remember being at the shops and collecting many bags for ease of carrying, however these bags may have been chucked out or recycled for bin bags etc. However from this law being put in place and costing 5p for a carrier bag I have seen a pattern in myself, friends and family of us all taking our own carrier bags to the shops to save us spending extra money. I do this by keeping them in the car for ease. I understand how this makes an impact on our climate today as the bags are no longer being used in excess and being left at dumps and landfills.

Overall I feel after reading the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 I now understand why we do certain things such as recycling, insulating, and using our own bags can impact on the area we live in and can reduce climate change.

 

 

 

Learning Log – The Environment

 Key Learning-

The main learning of this day was to understand what the natural environment was and how it affects us. We were asked questions such as how we felt about it and what we already knew about it. We then got the chance to go into the science lab and look at different plants and experiment with different solutions to see the impact they have on the plants life. We also got the chance to take paper outside and tree rub with different kinds of chalk to see different patterns with bark and leaves. The other workshop we had was identifying different birds, leaves, insects etc. outdoors. We had boards to help us identify and we got to explore the outside and notice what was around us. During the independent study task I got to learn much more about our urban environment. We were given a task to explain where we live and our urban environment around us and identify buildings, roads, air quality etc.

Impact on my views/lifestyle/practice-

At first I thought the environment was just the outdoors and trees, rivers, fields etc. however in the lecture through discussion I now know that the environment is many things including this, such as the room we are in and how the people around us can affect our environment. Working in the science lab it was clear understanding that not everything works first time and it is important to remember this when working with children as it will not always work. Working outside with the crayons tree rubbing was interesting and fun because it changed every time with different materials such as chalk or crayon, this was another example of everything will not work the same. Working outside identifying different trees, birds etc made me much more aware of the natural environment around me as normally we would not notice this, this was interesting. This has also made me aware that when working with a class for topics such as this it is much more beneficial to work outdoors for the children to get involved rather than just reading from a book, to get them outside gets them motivated and excited to learn. The study task helped me understand the environment around me every day in my town. Such as the buildings and streets I would never have thought into but now I understand that these all create a working town and it’s important to notice this.

 Areas of interest to explore further/develop-

I feel I should spend more time concentrating on tasks outdoors and in the science lab, as this is not an area I feel very comfortable in. To do this I am going to further read and look at ideas for lessons that I could possibly use in my placement to gain confidence in this subject and feel comfortable one day teaching it.

 

 

 

My Urban Environment.

Since the age of six my urban environment has been Prestwick. Prestwick is a small town situated in the west coast of Scotland in South Ayrshire and is around thirty miles from Glasgow. The population of Prestwick is roughly 14,901 people according to the 2011 census.

Prestwick has many different types of buildings old and new. One of the oldest buildings which is assumed to have been built in the twelfth century, is the Old Parish Church. This building is now a ruin which lies close to the modern train station.

The Old Mercat Cross, which is now used as a war memorial, is also an old feature of Prestwick. It sits in the heart of Prestwick Main Street across the road from the post office, local shops and pubs. It is believed that this monument has been in Prestwick since the thirteenth century.

Prestwick airport is one of the newer buildings in Prestwick being built in 1934 first being used as an airfield. The airport has one of the biggest runways in Scotland.

Throughout Prestwick it is common to see sandstone buildings. For example, the community centre, the Salt Pans which sit on the beach and the old Prestwick academy building was also sandstone before it was rebuilt in 2009.

The main street in Prestwick runs from just after the airport straight through Prestwick following onto Ayr. This is the main link of all streets in Prestwick and you can see many roads cutting off the main street which leads on to different roads, drives, avenues etc.

There are many green spaces in Prestwick, two of the main ones are St. Nicholas Golf Club and St. Cuthbert Golf Club. Many parks are situated in Prestwick such as Boyfeild Gardens and there are two on the beach front. There is also a lot of green space on the beach where on sunny days you can see many people gathered.

Transport in Prestwick is regular with busses running around the town around every fifteen minutes towards Ayr and also to Glasgow. Prestwick Train Station is also used for trains to Ayr Town or to Glasgow central every fifteen minutes on a Monday-Saturday which is helpful during the week if you do not have access to a car. Sunday services can be an issue in Prestwick due to the timetables running every hour meaning you may have to leave earlier or risk the chance of missing your transport.

There are four main primary schools in Prestwick, Glenburn, St. Ninians, Heathfeild and Kingcase. Prestwick academy is the main high school for Prestwick schools, however as St. Ninians is a catholic school Queen Margaret Academy which is based in Ayr is also a main high school in the area. There is a main community centre which is just off the main street close to the cross, there is also a public library which is also based close to the main street. Heathfeild Retail Park is one of the main retail parks in Prestwick, where you can find shops and super markets, cafes etc. The airport is also a main industrial building.

One of the main areas for sport activities can be seen at the Oval. Here is where the tennis centre sits which has tennis courts, badminton courts and a gym. Next to that there is the cricket club which is situated next to the swimming pool. Outside from this there are running tracks and football cages to influence sport activity. There are also football fields here which hold competitions regularly.

The air quality in Prestwick and south Ayrshire as a whole is very good, according to the Scottish air quality website Prestwick sits at a number 1. I think this is because of where Prestwick lies on the map being close to the shore with not a lot of pollution around us. Comparing this with cities such as Edinburgh and Glasgow being a little higher at a number 3 we can see that we have better conditions.