Teaching and Learning – Rebecca Smith UWS ITE ePDP

Sustainable Development – Diversity

Diversity within learning for sustainability refers to both biodiversity and cultural diversity. Considering cultural diversity in a primary school setting is essential for meeting the following outcomes:

I can gather and use information about forms of discrimination against people in societies and consider the impact this has on people’s lives.
SOC 2-16b
I can discuss issues of the diversity of cultures, values and customs in our society.
SOC 2-16c
By comparing the lifestyle and culture of citizens in another country with those of Scotland, I can discuss the similarities and differences.
SOC 2-19a
I make decisions and take responsibility in my everyday experiences and play, showing consideration for others.
SOC 0-17a
By exploring the ways in which we use and need rules, I can consider the meaning of rights and responsibilities and discuss those relevant to me.
SOC 1-17a
I can describe the main features of a democracy and discuss the rights and responsibilities of citizens in Scotland.
SOC 2-17a
I can investigate the features of an election and the work of representatives at a local, national or European level to begin to develop my understanding of how democracy works.
SOC 2-18a
I can expect my learning environment to support me to:
develop my self-awareness, self-worth and respect for others
acknowledge diversity and understand that it is everyone’s responsibility to challenge discrimination.
I know that friendship, caring, sharing, fairness, equality and love are important in building positive relationships. As I develop and value relationships, I care and show respect for myself and others.
HWB 0-05a / HWB 1-05a / HWB 2-05a / HWB 3-05a / HWB 4-05a
As I explore the rights to which I and others are entitled, I am able to exercise these rights appropriately and accept the responsibilities that go with them. I show respect for the rights of others.
HWB 0-09a / HWB 1-09a / HWB 2-09a / HWB 3-09a / HWB 4-09a

It is also essential for ensuring that children develop caring attitudes and non-discriminatory perceptions of people who are different to them. This is an increasingly important issue due to the rising population of our country and the world and due to the increase in immigration. Britain is a culturally diverse country which means that we see and meet people who are different to us (in terms of looks, beliefs, sexualities, and abilities) every day. Over time that has impacted British culture and it is important that children become aware of differences and understand that we are all equal. I am a strong believer that no child is born with discriminatory attitudes and that sadly, these are installed in people by society. This must end and as children spend so much time in primary school, learning from their teachers and their peers, it is the perfect context within which to develop values and to take responsibility for preventing discrimination in the present time and the future.

In all primary classes I would focus on the children’s charter and on the rules within the classroom. Making children aware of their rights in simplified terms and exposing them to concepts similar to political processes such as voting for class representatives and class rules, will hopefully help them to develop a feeling of some power over their lives. This can also lead to conversations about why we need rights and what they mean for us. Children could also learn about different cultures through language, food, music, dance and by exploring the traditional clothes that people of different cultures wear. By learning about these throughout the year children will hopefully be less likely to develop an ‘us’ and ‘them’ attitude as they will have learned about different cultures and explored why they might eat different foods/dress differently to people of other cultures. Not directly comparing one culture to typical western culture can also help to prevent an ‘us’ and ‘them’ attitude; instead we should say “Why might people of this culture eat this food?” rather than “Why do they eat different foods to us?”. Bilingual books and wall displays, and the celebration of different cultural events may also be a good way to develop an attitude of different cultures as the norm and will develop a class and school respect for different cultures. In terms of disability awareness, we could arrange to play a disability friendly sport such as wheelchair basketball as part of a basketball P.E. block. We could also take part in challenges such as watching a video with no sound to see if we can read the lips of those talking – demonstrating the challenges faced by people with a hearing impairment. This could then lead to discussions about how they over come these barriers and could lead to a topic learning sign language. It is also important to discuss discrimination directly and to talk about the impacts it has on people, why it is wrong, and what we can do to combat it.

Biodiversity is also a very important topic which children must learn about. An appreciation with biodiversity will help them to understand the importance of different species on Earth and why we need to conserve them and treat them well. It also develops a general respect for the environment and for all living things.

To explore this in a primary school I have considered the way in which my lessons could plan out:

Biodiversity lessons

Overall, learning about diversity is essential for children to develop a respect for the world in terms of the environment and society and for them to develop compassion for others, as well as an understanding of the importance of difference.

Sustainable Development – Disasters

Middleton (2013, p.467) says “natural hazards should be defined and studied both in terms of the physical processes involved and the human factors affecting the vulnerability of certain groups of people to disasters.” Therefore, natural disasters can be defined as uncontrollable events which have devastating impacts on the lives and environment of the area in which they occur.

There are many different types of natural disasters such as hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods, and disease epidemics. Most of these can be related and if one happens it is possible that another will follow. The likeliness that a country will suffer from a natural disaster depends on past experiences of natural disasters, scientific forecasts using data, and the extent of population growth within the country. The likeliness of natural disasters occurring is increasing, due to a combination of environmental factors such as global warming impacting the climate, and social factors such as more countries reporting natural disasters.

Before learning about natural disasters on this scale, I had not considered how strongly politics impact on their power and effect. Mitigation is not always possible but extensive efforts are being made by scientists across the world to mitigate the effects of natural disasters. The political will and economic status of a country heavily dictates the ability to prepare for, respond to, and recover from a natural disaster. In order for countries to prepare for disasters, they have to have enough money and resources to do so. They also must have a non-corrupt government which has natural disaster preparation as a priority. Having a government which has many inter-national allies is also important as this means that the country is more likely to receive help if and when they need it. Preparation takes place at a local, national, and inter-national level. This can be by means of government policies, training in schools, local building supports, and guarantee of funding from other countries. It is the government’s job to prepare the country adequately, respond as quickly as possible by sending out emergency services and putting emergency plans into place, and to rebuild the country after the disaster has hit. International and non-governmental organisations also take part in the response by providing the people of the country with aid and helping them to rebuild schools and other community hubs. These aim to work unbiasedly but can sometimes be pressured by governments to prioritise certain things.

By comparing two case studies about Japan and Haiti I found that developing countries have less money and so less resources, meaning that their preparation for natural disasters is poorer. Poor preparation then leads to slower and less effective responses and this then means slower and often less effective recovery. Developing countries also often have fewer countries who are willing to help them, but it is these countries who rely most heavily on international aid. This may be related to the fact that the media and people of power indirectly portray messages about who is most worthy of help (Nix-Stevenson, 2013).

It is not just the poorest countries that tend to suffer most from natural disasters, but the poorest people in a country. Middleton (2013) discusses that it is often the poor, the young, the old, disabled people, and people of minorities who suffer most heavily from natural disasters. There are many reasons for this, including the fact that many of these people have less choice about how they are going to deal with hazards. Some of them may also find it more difficult to evacuate and a lack of social support can mean that they are more reluctant to evacuate. In addition, Stout and Buono (2008) says that there is evidence of government and organisational corruption in many countries which have previously suffered from natural disasters as the rich were favoured and given priorities for many things including reconstruction. Developing countries and poor people rely heavily on charities and other non-governmental organisations for aid and support during these times of crisis.

This is not to say however that the richest countries and the richest people do not fall victim to natural disasters. Middleton (2013, p.468) states that “very rich societies suffer the highest property damage”. This may be due to the fact that they have more expensive structures and generally more property on their land for the natural disaster to destroy. This may mean that their more expensive buildings are going to cost more for them to replace.

All of this knowledge is relevant to teaching as children must learn about the different natural disasters which occur. Nix-Stevenson (2013) discusses the importance of educating people about natural disasters as she says education leads to knowledge which leads to power. This power then leads to the ability to take action. It is through explaining these things to children and helping them to relate to natural disasters by doing cross curricular activities that they will develop an interest in events such as these. This interest will then help them to foster critical skills when they next hear about a natural disaster and to question whether or not they think that the media has portrayed it accurately. Guest speakers such as charity workers and video chats with children from countries which are prone to natural disasters would be a good way to show that these things happen to people just like them. We could also do drama activities such as a talk show within which different children acted as interviewers, emergency services workers, survivors, government officials from different countries and charity workers, discussing their preparation, response and recovery from a recent imaginary natural disaster. There are also many literacy lessons which could take place including a newspaper report and a diary extract. Maths could also be covered as learners could interpret graphs and plot points on a grid in relation to detection of hurricanes for example. All of these activities would help learners to develop their knowledge of the subject and to develop critical thinking skills.

There are also a variety of skills which I developed and which learners would develop through completion of science experiments related to natural disasters. By completing an activity using bicarbonate of soda, vinegar, fairy liquid and food colouring to represent a volcanic eruption I developed my ability to use and apply models. Learners could also develop this skill by making their own tectonic plates out of play dough and connecting them to those shown on a map of the tectonic plates. By pouring the acid and water on to rocks before hammering them I was developing my skills of pattern seeking, exploring and fair testing as I was investigating which rocks would be broken by the hammer and then considering the common properties of the rocks which could and couldn’t be broken. I also had to ensure it was a fair test by only dropping the same number of drops of acid and water on to each rock and hammering them the same number of times. This type of things would not be suitable for primary school children. However, the skills can be developed through other activities such as making model buildings of different materials and using fans to replicate the strong winds of a tornado, or shaking the table to replicate an earthquake, and then testing which of them collapsed and which remained standing. The learners would be required to make sure that the models were placed in front of the fan for the same amount of time and at the same distance from the fan for the results to be accurate.

Through development of my knowledge and by practising my skills in these areas I am now more confident that I will be able to transfer them to children through different IDL activities.

References

Middleton, N. (2013) The Global Casino (5th edition). London: Hodder Arnold. pp.467-496.

Nix-Stevenson, D. (2013) Human Response to Natural Disasters. SAGE Open. [Online] Vol.3(3), pp.1-12. Available: http://journals.sagpub.com/doi/10.1177/2158244013489684

Stout, A. and Buono, R. (2008) “Natural” Disasters are Social Problems: Learning from Katrina. [Online] Available: http://www.sssp1.org/file/AgendaforSocialJustice/Agenda_For_Social_Justice_2008_Chapter_4.pdf

Sustainable Development – Climate Change

Climate change refers to a significant change in the climate over a long period of time. Scientists believe that the climate change which we are currently baring witness to is due to global warming which is being caused by excess greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere and creating a ‘greenhouse’ around the planet, trapping some of the sun’s rays and heating Earth. There is also a growing hole in the Ozone Layer which means that the sun’s ultra violet rays are getting through this hole and reaching and warming Earth, as well as making people more susceptible to being effected by the harmful rays through means such as skin cancer. Scientists have collected vast amounts of evidence to prove that this is happening using weather reports, ice cores, rocks and fossils, and by analysing pollen and trees.

The impacts of climate change are already proving to be threatening to life on our planet. We hear a lot about the rising sea levels due to ice melting in Antarctica, but we often struggle to consider how this will directly effect us in Scotland. The use of videos, such as Antarctica on the Edge, and a task which called for us to consider the life of a school girl in Bangladesh for example, helped me to gain a better understanding of how climate change can and will ruin the lives of many if we do not do something about it. It is important that we use methods like this in the classroom, as well as help learners to develop a strong sense of place and to understand the part they play in the ecosystem. This relationship and connection with the world is essential if we are to educate children on the urgency of Climate Change (Wals, 2012).

Climate change is also impacting our weather. In the West of Scotland, we see a lot of rain. Patterns of rainy seasons are becoming more random and heavy rain has been increasing since 1960 (Harrabin, 2013) and British agriculture is suffering. Living on a farm myself this is something which I am noticing first hand. Increasing rain means wet land and poorer quality crops. This impacts on the crops which farmers can sell and those which they need to use to feed their cattle through the winter months. In some areas of the world, especially those which are low lying, crops and fields may even be wiped out due to flooding. An example of this in the UK was Storm Desmond which destroyed agricultural land, killed humans and livestock, and left many people homeless in Cumbria, Carlisle and certain areas in Southern Scotland.

Another recent example of extreme weather being Hurricane Irma; tearing through the Caribbean destroying homes and lives, and leading to the evacuation of Florida. Normally, when we see cases of extreme weather on the news, we tend to consider the impact that it is having on humans. However, when I was looking further into this topic I began to consider the impact that extreme weather also has on plants and animals. If hurricanes are wiping out man-made buildings then they are most certainly destroying the habitats of many populations of wildlife and disrupting the biodiversity of that country. By connecting children to people from other countries who have been victims to cases of extreme weather, through use of letters, video chats or other means, we can help them to relate to the rest of the world and to see that their actions are currently impacting people just like them.

The use of extreme weather to teach children about climate change is a good way to relate the impacts of it to their everyday lives and to current things which they are hearing on the news. This will help them to see that climate change is and will directly impact them and the people around them. Having an understanding of the science behind climate change is very important as children may find themselves faced with people who tell them that climate change is not happening and they also may struggle to appreciate the impact of humans (Wals, 2012). In order to develop an understanding of the science behind climate change many activities can be used such as experiments to explain weather fronts and how climate change is effecting them. By working together on experiments such as this with my colleagues, I developed my collaboration skills and synthesis of knowledge, as before this I was not aware that cold air is more dense than warm air and that this is why while warm air rises cold air pushes down with more pressure and it is when the two push against each other that storms occur. Collaboration is a key skill within and outwith learning for sustainability as for us to overcome and reverse the impacts of climate change we have to reengage with our communities and create a sense of togetherness with our homes and with the world (Wals, 2012). Experiments such as this also require hypothesising as before the experiment we considered what we thought might happen and why we thought so.

As well as understanding the science behind climate change, we also must have an understanding of the political impact on climate change. I have always found politics to be a daunting subject as I have never really understood it. However, I found the activities that I completed made me feel more relaxed about teaching politics to learners. 195 countries signed the Paris Agreement in 2015 which displays many of the world’s political parties coming together to create and follow rules and aims which, if successful, will reduce climate change. The Act aims to lower the temperature of the world and to emit no excess greenhouse gases by the second half of this century. It also aims to support countries who are vulnerable to the inevitable effects of climate change, to help vulnerable countries become more resilient to the impacts of climate change, to invest less money into things which cause damage to the environment and more money into those which promote zero net emissions, and to help build up developing countries. The act states that the countries should take a certain time to reflect and look at evidence to see whether that which is being done is working (Dagnet et al., 2016) and if it is enough to meet the final aims of global emissions peaking by 2020 and decreasing thereafter until they become negative (Dugan et al., 2014). The Climate Change (Scotland) Act, 2009 states an aim that we will have reduced our greenhouse gas emissions by 42% in 2020 and by 80% by 2050.

All of these government aims and the idea of the world’s governments working together do not come without challenges however. There are issues to do with who is most to blame and how the export of damaging technology to less developed countries is arguably not reducing emissions, but causing them to come from somewhere else. Issues such as this could be discussed as a series of drama activities. Children could act as MP’s discussing and debating the aims of the Acts and considering how they are going to be achieved. They could also act as different MP’s from countries who have and have not signed the Paris Agreement, debating on whether they should sign it or not and why. This would develop debating skills as well as justification skills as it would require children to truly understand the reasons why action against climate change is necessary and what they can do to combat it.

Through completion of the Carbon Footprint calculator on the WWF website, I was extremely surprised by my result. My carbon footprint is currently at 119% of my share. This is made up mostly by my travel habits, which accounted for 46% of my score. Before taking this test, I would have said that I am conscious of my environment and of my actions to combat climate change. However, my total annual carbon emissions was shown to be 12.1 tonnes. This is more than double that of the world average and just under that of the UK average – clearly I have some work to do! The website was very useful and one which I would definitely use in the classroom as despite all of the research and learning which had taken place for me about climate change, it was the discovery that if I carry on living the way I am, I personally will be contributing to the failure of the aims of emitting net zero greenhouse gases. Wals (2012) discusses the importance of the use of carbon footprint calculators as they show the impact that individuals are making. Also, by comparing my own footprint to the UK and world average, I was prompted to consider the inequity of climate change – while the most developed countries are emitting more gases, the least developed countries are suffering the most from its wrath and are often beginning to use non-environmentally friendly things which are now against the law in more developed places, due to them being cheaper to buy and operate. The suggestions provided by WWF to reduce my carbon footprint were to use the car less and use more public transport or car share. Use of public transport is not always the most efficient way for me to travel, however car sharing is something which I will definitely aim to do more of.

Overall, climate change impacts us all and by learning about it I have gained knowledge of its causes and its environmental and social impacts. I have developed skills in collaboration and justification and am now confident that I would be able to pass these skills and knowledge on to learners. I have gained a deeper understanding of the impact that we are all having on climate change and how we can combat it and I can clearly see the importance of helping children to understand this importance as we need to see change and we need to see it now. And as stated by Wals (2012, p.377):

“educators are people who believe that change is possible.”

References

Dagnet, Y., Waskow, D., Elliott, C., Northrop, E., Thwaites, J., Mogelgaard, K., Krnjaic, M., Levin, K. and Mcgray, H. (2016). Staying on track from Paris: Advancing the key elements of the Paris Agreement. [online] Washington DC: WRI. Available at: http://moodle.uws.ac.uk/pluginfile.php/284437/mod_resource/content/1/Staying_on_Track_from_Paris_-_Advancing_the_Key_Elements_of_the_Paris_Agreement_0.pdf [Accessed 6 Oct. 2017].

Dugan, B., Friederich, J., Clark, D., Houston, R., Levin, K., Morgan, J. and Damassa, T. (2014). Interactive: Carbon Emissions Past, Present and Future | World Resources Institute. [online] Wri.org. Available at: http://www.wri.org/resources/data-visualizations/carbon-emissions-past-present-and-future-interactive [Accessed 6 Oct. 2017].

Harrabin, R. (2013). Extreme rainfall in UK ‘increasing’. [online] BBC News. Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20896049 [Accessed 6 Oct. 2017].

Wals, A. and Corcoran, P (eds) (2012) Learning for Sustainability in Times of Accelerating Change. [online] Netherlands: Wagenigen, pp.365-377.

Sustainable Development – The Environment

Over the past 2 sessions in our Sustainable Development lectures and workshops, we have been learning about the environment. In the first week we looked at the natural environment and in the second we looked at urban environments. I have found this theme very interesting as it has allowed me to consider my surroundings in a careful and thoughtful way. Before the first session I had quite a narrow definition of Sustainable Development. I thought of it only as referring to energy consumption and Global Warming, however, I can now see that these elements play only a part of sustainable development, along with consideration of the physical, social, and economical environment, as discussed by Mckeown and Hopkins (2010). Allowing learners in school to understand the vast area which learning for sustainability covers is clearly very important as it will help them to live their lives in a way which is comfortable for them but which will also provide comfort and equity for future generations. The young people of today are the policy makers of tomorrow, so essentially, we are not only teaching them to live their personal lives in a sustainable way, but we are teaching them values which will positively impact future policies, hopefully leading to a fairer and healthier world with a respect for the environment.

Within the first workshop of Sustainable Development we went outdoors to do some outdoor learning. This was a concept which I thought that I had a good understanding of, however it was this workshop which provided me with the skill of being able to use the outdoor environment to teach in ways which went beyond simply learning outdoors. My favourite of these outdoor activities was the idea of creating an insect hotel with learners and having them design and construct the hotel with different sections for different insects. This could follow a research task which could be done in groups about different insects and their habitats, food, and place within the food web. The insect hotel then provides various opportunities for learning in many different areas of the curriculum, such as maths tasks in the form of data handling (eg. revisiting the hotel once a day or at different times in the day to see how many of which insects are there and when), money (eg. working out the imaginary costs of a room in the hotel per night), and multiplication and division, or addition and subtraction, or simple counting. It also allows for many different literacy tasks such as a holiday brochure being made to advertise and describe the facilities of the hotel and why it is suitable for different insects, and a mock Trip Advisor review of the hotel written from the perspective of insects who returned to the hotel and insects who left. We also went on a sensory walk in which we carefully considered our surroundings in terms of our different senses, and we found and identified different insects and leaves as well as different types of Lychen to photographs on a sheet. These activities also provide various different learning opportunities as well as making learners more aware of their natural environment.

The activity of looking for the different types of Lychen can be used to teach learners about the different types of air pollution and the impact these have on the natural environment. For example, the learners would be asked to consider why trees or fences facing certain ways have more Lychen than others. This allows learners to see the presence of air pollution first hand so would be a good way to contextualise learning about the impacts of human activity for the Experience and Outcome SOC 2-08a: I can discuss the environmental impact of human activity and suggest ways in which we can live in a more environmentally-responsible way.

I also found the indoor workshop very beneficial as it allowed me to see how we can learn about the natural environment indoors as well. From dissecting flower petals and looking at them under a microscope, to studying the shells, bodies, eating habits, and habitats of snails by experimenting with them and looking at them close up, I was provided with memorable learning experiences which gave me a deeper understanding of these parts of my natural environment. This type of experimentation builds up the skill of hypothesis in the primary school classroom as pupils would be asked to discuss what they think is going to happen if they place a snail on a certain surface, for example, then they would be asked to investigate by placing the snail on different surfaces to see which one it prefers, before being asked to work together and record their results, then report them to others. These are key scientific skills which will help learners to experiment and discover new things.

When learning about the urban environment, I gained an appreciation of the importance of having a good sense of place which I did not previously have. Before looking into this I did not see any real benefit of having a good knowledge of my surroundings. However, I can now see that it is this knowledge which makes us truly care about our environment and which will help us to lead the way towards a more sustainable way of life (Scottish Government, 2012). Our sense of place comes from our understanding of our culture, society and our physical environment. By looking more closely at my urban environment I have developed a stronger sense of place and can see how this would benefit children as it would allow them to gain a better understanding of environmental geography and to develop a better general awareness of the impact of their choices and actions on our environment. Allowing learners to explore their urban environment is also very important as it helps them to see themselves as part of the community and may encourage them to take a more active role within it. This is something which, as teachers, we should encourage (Scottish Government, 2012) as it promotes a care for the happiness and health of others. This care is essential if we are to help young people develop into adults who are going to fight for equity and justice in the future. The school buildings and grounds should promote the ideal sustainable way of life and should be used whenever possible to bring the community together (Scottish Government, 2012) as in ever expanding urban areas, social areas are becoming harder and harder to come by due to the need to build more buildings in previous public spaces (Orofino, 2014).

A lesson idea which I had for a Primary 5 class to follow the Experience and Outcome SOC 2-10a: ‘Having explored my local area, I can present information on different places to live, work and relax and interesting places to visit.’ was to take the class on a walk in their local urban area to explore the different places to work, live, and relax and have them take photographs of these places, asking them to consider who may use these places and what impact they may have on the community. They would then be put into groups and would video an advert for their local urban environment, describing its features and explaining why someone may want to live there. This advert would be made using Windows Movie Maker, or iMovie or another app of the sort to allow the learners to include the photos which they took. The adverts would then be presented to the class, or possibly to the school at assembly to promote a whole-school approach to learning for sustainability.

Finally, coming from a peri-urban area, when I was reflecting on my urban environment I felt it would be beneficial to explore and reflect on a more traditional urban space also. I chose to consider Glasgow and while exploring this city I found it to have some similarities but many differences to my home village. I feel that this is very important as it allows learners to see that there is more to the world than their home town or city and what is normal to them may not be normal to others. Taking this further, it is important to allow learners to have connections with and to see aspects of distant places as it creates an appreciation for the world and a global view. I feel that one of the main things which I learned from these lessons on the environment was the fact that although we all come from different types of places, our actions and decisions all impact each other, making it vital that we develop a consideration, understanding, and awareness within ourselves and our young people towards living more sustainably within our environments.

References

Mckeown, R., and Hopkins, C., (2010) Global Citizenship and Sustainable Development: Transformation in the Initial Teacher Education of Teachers. In Wisley, T., Barr, I., Britton, A. and King, B. Education in a Global Space. IDEAS

Orofino, A. (2014) It’s our city. Let’s fix it. Available at: https://www.ted.com/talks/alessandra_orofino_it_s_our_city_let_s_fix_it [Accessed 21 Sep 2017]

Scottish Government (2012) Learning for Sustainability: The Report of the One Planet Schools Working Group. Edinburgh: Scottish Government [Online] Available at: http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Education/Schools/curriculum/ACE/OnePlanetSchools/LearningforSustainabilitreport [Accessed 14 Sep 2017]