Sustainable Development – Rebecca Smith UWS ITE ePDP

Sustainable Development Serial Days Tasks

This is the school which I am on placement at. I have labelled the playground, which has painted lines for sports, the outdoor learning classroom, which has a blackboard and wooden benches and tables, and the bicycle rails, which are the first evidence of learning for sustainability for a fist-time visitor of the school.

From observation of the school grounds and the school environment, I have seen further engagement with sustainable education. This includes an eco-committee which have fairly regular meetings and a board near the main office which is updated with plans and actions of the eco-committee. There are also recycling bins for paper in the classroom. However there are no recycling bins, such as food bins, in the staff room. There is a garden with flower beds which was created a few years ago. However, vandalism of the garden means that it is now littered and unsafe for the children to use. My class are currently studying ‘This Morning I Met a Whale’ by Michael Morpurgo. This book focusses on the damage that humans are having on the natural environment and contains very powerful messages about the need for children to do something to prevent further harm to our planet. If this book is used to successfully capture this theme and to teach the children more about sustainability then it could be a fantastic way to engage them in the subject and make it relatable.

There is a large concrete playground for all of the children to play in during break and lunch time. This is a traditional playground with no green space and with fences all around it. It is safe but it is not stimulating. In discussion with the teachers of the school about this we agreed that they are very limited as the location if the school (in the middle of a town) does not allow for much green space. They also said that there is a forest and a play park relatively close to the school and some of the teachers take their classes to these spaces for structured play or as rewards for good work and behaviour. Although, some teachers said that they find this too stressful and too difficult to organise due to a lack of confidence, the risk assessment forms and careful planning that they feel they would need to do. Outside of the school there is an outdoor classroom. When I saw this I thought it was a fantastic idea as it makes the idea of taking the class outside a bit more structured and possibly not as intimidating. However, upon reflection I feel that the classroom may limit teachers due to limited space and traditional desks and a blackboard. So, maybe it would be a good place to begin and end an outdoor lesson and to congregate throughout, but I think that most of the learning could be done outwith this area. From talking to the teachers about this space, the majority of them reported that they have never used the space because they don’t know what they would use it for. Some of them also said that if they were to use it would be for lessons that they could do just the same indoors, and with the Scottish weather it seems that to do the same lesson outdoors would simply lead to everyone being cold! This highlighted for me that we need to consider the difference between learning outdoors and outdoor learning. For example, taking a lesson in which times of silence and deep concentration are required outdoors is probably not something which I would see any benefit in. But, taking an interactive lesson where collaboration and team work as well as physical movement are required outdoors would, to me, seem like a worthwhile task. There is also a play space inside for the primary one and two classes to use for directed play. This space has various different materials including easels, water trays, sand trays and tools to play with the sand, a tent, building blocks, Lego and paint. The number of materials in this space and the way that they are set out make it a very suitable space for structured play. There is a lot of empty space for exploration and the materials are spread out across the room and organised into areas. There are also aprons for the children to wear and low sinks around the room to allow the children to get messy and explore the materials. My first thoughts when I saw this space was how good it would be for teaching early numbers and graphic knowledge. The tent also makes it a good space for pupils to interact and to take time out if they feel they need to.

My discussion with the pupils about these aspects of sustainable education somewhat surprised me. I spoke to the two members of the eco-council in my class and asked them about their role in the school. They both said that they enjoy being part of the council and I know that they go to meetings once a week (when I am in the class). However, at first neither of them could confidently tell me about their role and about what they do for the school. They said that they are in charge of the recycling bags for paper in each class. I asked if they were in charge of anything else and they said no. I have so far attended 3 assemblies and there has never been any mention or update of the plans and actions of the eco-committee so it seems to be more of an exclusive thing rather than a whole-school approach. However, there are a lot of children who cycle to school. There is no reward system for this, simply many of them enjoy riding their bikes to school and live close enough by that they can do so. I then asked the children about the outdoor classroom to which they said they had never used and some did not know it was there. It seems to be that there are so many opportunities within this school that are not being grasped and from my experience so far, I would put this down to a lack of time and different priorities. I also think that many of the teachers seem to have a lack of confidence to explore these new opportunities and to take learning outwith the comfort and safety of the classroom. There is evidence of sustainable education, but I would say that there is room for much more. I am eager to see how my class progress in their learning using their novel study, and I hope to see that they learn a lot about sustainable development from it.

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 – Interdependence

Interdependence refers to the reliance of different organisms and species on each other for their survival. It impacts the world environmentally, socially, and economically. The food web is an example of interdependence as humans, for example, eat fish which eat smaller fish which eat insects and plants in the ocean. A concerning impact of this is the fact that humans have been and are continuing to pollute the ocean. By doing so we are injecting chemicals into the waters which are taken in by plants in the sea and then eaten by fish. These chemicals then move up the food chain and into our own bodies, causing damage to our health and the health of the ocean’s many species. This made me consider the impact of every day human activities such as using certain shampoos and soaps which contain micro-plastics and allowing them to flush from the shower into the ocean and contaminate it. After learning about this I have become more considerate of the consequences every day activities such as this may have on interdependence in the wider world. Over fishing and hunting are also causing problems within interdependence by disrupting biodiversity. We researched interdependence within the oceans more carefully and created an infographic under this Padlet: https://padlet.com/louise_mckie/pybl2vzwsv0b

From researching the Living Blue Planet Report 2015, I developed my research skills and my critical literacy skills as I read through the text and had to pick out the important pieces of information and make sense of the bits that I didn’t understand using the pictures and surrounding information. From making this infographic I developed my ICT skills as I had never used this website or created an infographic before.

In a primary school class I would focus on relating interdependence to the children at first in order to make it relevant to them. By working on simple activities such as making models of different animals and plants out of clay and then using these models to create our own class 3D food web example, the learners would hopefully develop a good understanding of how all living things rely on each other for survival and to grow and develop. (I can explore examples of food chains and show an appreciation of how animals and plants depend on each other for food. SCN 1-02a) Making connections in this way would be a good way to develop critical thinking skills as the children are being forced to consider where the animals and plants will appear on the food web and why. This would be a good topic to cover if the children had previously studied mini-beasts as they would have knowledge of them and their predators to help them develop their understanding. I also like the idea of using the models and/or photographs of objects and sorting them into categories of living and non-living things prior to this activity as it would help learners to develop their understanding of what it means to be ‘living’. (I can distinguish between living and non living things. I can sort living things into groups and explain my decisions. SCN 1-01a)

As well as considering the human impact on interdependence, we considered endangered species and how different species meet the demands of their environment through social arrangements. I developed my knowledge of this, considering hierarchies, cooperative hunting, and defence. To develop an understanding of these social behaviours in the classroom I could relate it to a history lesson of how humans organised their environment to ensure the food and resources were equally spread out in the past. They could also do a research task which will require them to research different endangered species by using the charity websites which support them. This would develop critical literacy skills as they have to determine whether their sources are biased or not and also have to pick out the important information from texts.

Visiting two different types of farms – one small farm which sells its milk privately and one large commercial farm – taught me that farmers rely heavily on the economic factors of interdependence to maintain their careers. Recently, due to the world’s poor economic state, a false prediction was made that countries such as China would be demanding more milk from the UK. However, this was not the case and it lead to the UK producing too much milk to sell. This lead to the price of milk being driven down drastically and many farmers were forced out of business. The price is slowly rising although it is still not at a high enough level for many farmers to continue with their work. The smaller farm which we visited uses more traditional methods and, living on a farm myself, I related more to these methods. The large commercial farm uses high tech robots to milk the herd of around 200 cows and produces vast volumes of milk daily. Although the cows are kept indoors all year round and are all artificially inseminated by female sex sperm cells. Comparing the two farms developed the skill of comparison and listening to two arguments and coming to my own conclusion. This would be a useful activity for children in schools as it raises the important issues of animal welfare, GM crops, and so called ‘factory farming’. There were convincing arguments on both sides and I felt that although it is nice to see cows running around outdoors, the increase of rain in Scotland means that keeping the cows outdoors in the mucky cold is not always the most efficient or kindest way to treat them. This helped me to develop a more well rounded knowledge and understanding of the different methods within the farming industry and I think that it would do the same for children. It would also help them to develop skills of observing and justifying their answers. A follow up activity for a trip such as this may be getting learners to write a persuasive piece of writing about the method of farming they agree with and why.

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]