Diversity

“A range of different things” (Oxford University Press, 2018)

There are two aspects that we covered within the diversity topic, Biodiversity and Cultural Diversity.

Biodiversity…

…is the topic of species and their genetic makeup as well as the different ecosystems, habitats and natural communities that the different species live in. This is an important topic to cover as it teaches children the how animals and different species evolve and adapt and the many places they live around the world. This links in with the topic of the environment and the different species that live our own environment as well as the more exotic animals that live in different countries. Teaching and learning about the positive impacts of different species is important but its also important that we have knowledge about the negative impacts on biodiversity such as the threats caused by habitat loss and destruction, climate change, pollution, over-exploitation and the spread of diseases. This is an area of biodiversity that we can link in with climate change as it crosses over with many over the areas within that topic such as destruction of land and habitat and pollution. For this area of diversity is would be appropriate to look at tasks involving food chains and ecosystems.

I managed to make some of these links while carrying out community service in the university garden and it helped me become more imaginative in the ways we could teach children outdoors and how letting them experience what we are trying to teach them is more beneficial to them than being kept indoors. I also feel more motivated from doing this and eager to show children the differences they can make in their community and benefit the habitats around them.

Some resources that could be used can be found at Primary Resources.co.uk which includes tasks on living things in the environment, micro-organisms and mini beasts all topics that link with biodiversity and the environment. These resources are available at http://www.primaryresources.co.uk/science/science2e.htm

This video from the series The Dr. Binocs Show could also be used to show and teach children about ecosystems and nature:

Cultural diversity…

…[Culture] is that complex whole which includes knowledge, beliefs, arts, morals, laws, customs, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by [a human] as a member of society.” [Tyler, E. (1986) cited in UNESCO (2017)].

This aspect of diversity allowed us to discuss our ideas about humanity and the different values within society and the rights we have. Getting the chance to discuss as a group allowed us to see the views of other people and what their ideas about values and rights were. There are 30 articles within the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the purpose of these rights is to “bring peace to all nations of the world”. (Youth for Human Rights International, 2018). I found this topic very interesting as before starting it I only had a very basic knowledge about it from what I had been taught at school and the knowledge I had gained from life experiences about our rights and laws. It’s part of our job to make sure that the children we teach are aware they have rights even as children, the “Curriculum for Excellence challenges schools and communities to develop children and young people as responsible citizens who show respect for others; who understand different beliefs and cultures; and who are developing informed, ethical views of complex issues. Children and young people need to know why discrimination is unacceptable and how to challenge it. They need to understand the importance of celebrating diversity and promoting equality” (Scottish Government, 2012).

This is a lot to try and get across to children however we need to give them an environment where they can be themselves and be respected and express their views and personalities without the fear of being judged or bullied for these views and values. Even though we have to allow children the chance to fit in we also have to encourage them to stand out and be different because that’s what makes them who they are. Knowing who they are and knowing their identity is so important and giving them the chance to grow and reach the potential is part of job and showing them that diversity is what makes us different but also what brings us together.

This is discussed in a TedTalk by Rebeca Hwang: The power of diversity within yourself:

(TED Conferences, LLC, 2018)

Reference List:

ÒUNESCO, (2017) [online] Available: http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0012/001271/127160m.pdf#page=10 (Accessed 12th November 2017).

Oxford University Press (2018) Diversity, Available at: https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/diversity (Accessed: 2nd November 2018).

Scottish Government (2012) Promoting Diversity and Equality: Developing Responsible Citizens for the 21st Century. [Online] Available:http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/Images/Promoting_DE080313_tcm4-747988.pdf (Accessed: 2nd November 2018).

Community Project + Placement Task

Community Project

As part of the module we were required to participate in some form of community service that benefits society and the environment. A group of us decided we would take on the community garden at the university as it had become a bit overgrown and crowded with leaves and branches from the autumn and winter weather and winds.

What was surprising to me was the amount of time and energy it takes to make a difference to the community around us, this made me realise that it takes more than one person to make a difference in the world and if society really wants to make a change we need to be a lot more involved. During our time in the garden the challenge against us was the cold miserable weather conditions made it harder to work in. Although the conditions weren’t great the experience was actually very enjoyable because we felt like we were making a difference and worked together very well as a team and communicated what we were doing and split up the tasks to get the work done more effectively.

What I realised when doing the community service was that it was clear that to make a more significant impact it woulds take a big group of people but if we all take responsibility, do a little bit each and play a part in society the difference can be made even if it’s only a slight difference at least its a start.

This opportunity allowed us to put some of the knowledge we had learned about the environment and making a difference into practice and gave us experience and insight into what we had been taught in class. This is a valuable skill as as student teachers we can use this knowledge and pass it onto the children we teach and show them how easy it can be to make a difference to their community, society and the environment around them.

From the pictures below you can see that we cleaned out the dying plant boxes that were full of old root and weeds, as well tidy up the leaves that had almost completely covered the garden and put them into bin bag which would them be placed into the correct recycling bins. This instantly gave the garden a fresher appearance and made it look more inviting and tidy.

Placement Task

Student teachers must:

• Embrace locally and globally the educational and social values of sustainability, equality and justice and recognise the rights and responsibilities of future as well as current generations.
• Value as well as respect social, cultural and ecological diversity and promote the principles and practices of local and global citizenship fro all learners.
• Demonstrate a commitment to engaging learners in real world issues to enhance learning experiences and outcomes, and to encourage learning our way to be a better future.

(Standard for Provisional Registration with GTCS, benchmark 1.1)

Mapping of school grounds/area…

The school interior is open plan throughout and outside the school is just as open. The perimeter around the school is made up of fencing and gates to ensure the children know the boundaries they are not allowed to go pass during break time and lunch time. The nursery students have their own play area separate  from the primary students.

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

When taking a walk around the school grounds it was clear that the children have ample amount of room to play, exercise and explore their environment. The play ground included a huge playing field which could be used for sports or games, tables for the children to eat their snack at but also had games printed on them as well as fun facts about different topics. There was also a community garden within the playground which included tables and benches, a bug hotel, a weather station and different types of plants and trees. After speaking with the class teacher she confirmed that they use this space to teach the children about the environment and also to help them build resources for different activities.

Consideration of actual play space for children and its suitability…

From the pictures you can see that the children very clearly have a lot of space to play and interact with each other. As well as the playing field there is also a tarmac basketball court which gives the children another area to play, with also a gazebo which gives the children somewhere to play if its raining.

Discussion with children on these aspects of sustainable education…

When I discussed with the children their thoughts about their playground and the environment around them. They overall seemed to like it and all had their own places in the playground that they enjoyed playing in, “I like the games benches”, “I like looking for bugs in the bug city”. One of the children suggested they should put more flowers in the gardens for all the insects and another suggested that they should get more litter pickers and wardens to make sure people put things in the bins properly. After speaking with the children it was clear that they were quite aware of their surroundings and the environment around them and how they could make it better.

Natural Disasters

Before starting this topic I only had very little prior knowledge and understanding of natural disasters based on what I had learned at school. During the lectures I gained a more in depth knowledge and basic understanding of natural disasters; how they are caused, what damage they can cause and how we can prepare, respond and recover after a natural disaster.

A natural disaster is “a natural event such as a flood, earthquake, or hurricane that causes great damage or loss of life.” (Oxford University Press). There are many more types of events such wildfires, tsunamis and avalanches that are all classes as a natural disaster. For an event to be classed as a disaster it must have impacted human society through social disruption, material damage or/and loss of life.

While discussing this topic with my peers we created a list of human impacts on natural disasters and this allowed us to work together and communicate our thoughts about the things we do that can effect our world. Some of the factors we came up with were first of all the impact of global warming on our planet, urbanisation and construction and deforestation,

Natural disasters occur with usually very little warning however scientists are using past data and weather predictions to try and anticipate when these natural disasters could occur. In terms of a risk assessment the level of risk increases with population growth, if a natural disaster occurs in a heavy populated area the loss of life and impact on society is huge. The impact on society = what area of the world the natural disaster occurs in + how prepared the area is for the event.

The role of the government is to help ensure communities and urban areas are prepared for any events that may happen by making sure they have access to food, water, healthcare, emergency services and response teams. On a local level it’s important to build community support and monitor weather forecasting systems. On a national level governments put policies in place such as the National Response Framework and the National Disaster Recovery Framework, which both work and focus “on restoring, redeveloping, and revitalising communities impacted by a disaster.” (U.S. Department of the Interior, 2018).

While covering this topic we were put into groups to create a presentation based on a natural disaster, our group was given the topic of hurricanes and we chose to present it in a way that we would present it to a class of children. Doing the presentation as a group meant we could all work on our teamwork skills and communication as we discussed our ideas and planned as a team.

In terms of curricular links we put in the main one for our presentation which was for the children to be able to “describe the physical processes of a natural disaster and discuss its impact on people and the landscape. SOC 2-07b” (Education Scotland, 2017). However, other experiences and outcomes that work for this topic are:

• Having explored the landscape of my local area, I can describe the various ways in which land has been used. SOC 1-13a
• By exploring a natural environment different from my own, I can discover how the physical features influence the variety of living things. SOC 1-13b
• I can explain how the physical environment influences the ways in which people use land by comparing my local area with a contrasting area. SOC 2-13a      (Education Scotland, 2017)

Some resources that could be used in the classroom are:

• Videos on natural disasters such as The Dr. Binocs Show, learn videos for kids, available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAmqsMQG3RM
• Natural Disaster caught on tape, available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtO62R_UKkc
• What are natural disasters? available at http://www.primaryresources.co.uk/geography/geography3.htm

Reference List:

Oxford University Press (2018) Natural Disaster, Available at: https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/natural_disaster (Accessed: 7th November 2018).

U.S. Department of the Interior (2018) Natural Disaster Response and Recovery, Available at: https://www.doi.gov/recovery (Accessed: 7th November 2018).

Education Scotland (2017) Benchmarks Social Studies, Available at: https://education.gov.scot/improvement/documents/social%20studiesbenchmarkspdf.pdf(Accessed: 7th November 2018).

Interdependence

“The way in which two or more living things depend on each other to grow and remain healthy”. (Sustainable Development, Module resource, 2018).

In the past people understood that we relied on the environment and the resources it gave us and therefore they respected what was around them. However, as times have moved on and progressed so has the level of interdependence advanced into the areas economic, social and environmental interdependence. For example, simple buying and selling at the local market has escalated into a global market and trading products and resources around the world. The different cultures and countries can share their values and what they know through television and movies but also on a larger scale countries and places in need can reach out and gain help to build their cultures.

Relying and depending on each other to survive works to a certain extent but the main problem that is facing humanity is the rate at which our population is increasing. At the moment we only make enough food to replace what we use but how do we solve the problem of not having enough food. The increase in food prices is leading to poverty, add on the shortage of water and energy and this could lead to increased poverty, civic unrest and international conflict. As the demand for supply increases we need to find solutions before the problem becomes worse such as local solutions to local challenges in terms of farming, waste less food and distribute it better so everyone has supplies. There are also the possible solutions having a pro active government to help support local food systems which are a critical line of defence against hunger. (Fraser, E. 2012)

While looking into the topic of interdependence we focused on the area of the environmental impact of interdependence and local food systems. It’s clear that all species have a job and purpose in the ecosystem of life and we got the chance to see this first hand by visiting two types of dairy farms. The first farm was an organic farmer and local seller, producing milk on a smaller scale but enough to make a living and be an asset to the interconnected system. The methods they used were more relaxed and allowed the cows to roam free in the fields and live naturally.

The second farm we visited was producing milk on a much bigger scale and therefore selling and distributing to bigger corporations. The methods they were using were those more suited for a bigger amount of produce such as using a clock like structure to separate the cows who were in different stages of life and moved them around the stages as they made their way through life. For example, the cows were split up into those who were pregnant, those who had just given birth, those who were actively producing milk and those who had just been born. The staff used different machines to clean the pends, put out food for the cows and the cows were milked when they choose. There were stations set up in certain pends of the cows producing milk and they were given the freedom to decided when they got milked.

During this topic I was able to build upon some basic knowledge I already had on the key concepts of interdependence such as food supply and security, plant and animal breeding, social behaviour and biodiversity. Even though I had previous knowledge of this topic I also gained new skills and developed my knowledge and understanding. After discussing this topic with the staff at the farms and my peers and lecturers in class I now feel more socially responsible in terms of being a part of the ecosystem. We play a huge role in the day to day running of the world, what we produce, sell, trade and buy all influence our interdependence. Another skill I’ve developed further is my motivation, this is a skill that will not only help me on a personal level but also on a professional level. Being more aware of what’s going on around me has made me realise that we control a lot of what goes on and we can change many things for the better. Our ancestors got us here and it’s our job to make sure the future is seen.

There are many activities we can do and resources we can use with the children to help them understand how we reply on other things to keep us alive, showing them how food chains work and the processes that we go through to get the food we need but also about other parts of our environment like the soil and other non-living things around us.

• The world beneath our feet connecting soils and curriculum, available at http://moodle1819.uws.ac.uk/pluginfile.php/278431/mod_resource/content/1/Soil%20world.beneath_June_16.web.pdf
• What Is A Food Chain? The Dr. Binocs Show, Educational Videos For Kids, available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuO4WB4SwCg
• Food Chain game, available at http://www.primaryresources.co.uk/science/pdfs/food_chain_game.pdf

Reference List:

Sustainable Development (2018) Interdependence. [Module Resource] Available at: Interdependence module on moodle. (Accessed 24^th October 2018.)

Fraser, E. (2012) Feeding Nine Billion Video 1: Introducing Solutions to the Global Food Crisis by Dr. Evan Fraser, Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raSHAqV8K9c (Accessed: 24th October 2018).

Climate Change

Our climate is continually changing.

This is a fact our society and the rest of the world cannot deny. However, the argument that comes with the discussion of climate change is; is it natural or is it due to our presence and the actions we take? During this topic this question was asked and discussed in create detail between myself and my peers. This is a great way to get people to share their views and opinions about what is happening to our planet. Through research we have measured our weather and how it changes, how the plates move, analysed what has come before use and are constantly discovering new creatures and locations.

Having legislation and policies in place to help our environment (Scottish Government, 2009) and creating opportunities to discuss our changing climate within the government helps benefit our current problems by finding solutions to them and making sure the rest of us follow along means we are benefiting our planet for us and future generations. We need these policies in place as our actions have consequences and they take on a domino effect, climate change affects; air quality, forestry, biodiversity, water, temperature and desertification.

Before starting this topic, I had only a basic level of knowledge about our weather and climate and how they change. However, by doing this topic my knowledge about the basics has improved and I feel more confident talking about the changes and effects, problems and possible solutions of climate change now that I have more of a background in it. Getting the opportunity to speak to my peers and discuss different aspects of climate change such as the consequences of it and how they effect each other; allowed us to share what we know, develop what we already knew and learn new information that we didn’t know.

During the workshops we got the chance to carry out different activities that allowed us to experience what it would be like for the child in the classroom. This was useful because we got to see this topic through the children’s eyes and how they would feel during the activities. By using the Curriculum for Excellence: People, Place and Environment we can be share that we are giving the children every opportunity to learn about what is going on around them and be creative during lessons (Education Scotland, 2017). By doing these activities it also gave us the chance to think of how we as teachers could use these in a classroom and keep the children engaged and included by using the different resources. Some of these resources include videos, worksheets and fact files aimed at children so they can learn about climate change:

• Climate Change Areas Poster, available at http://moodle1819.uws.ac.uk/pluginfile.php/45228/mod_resource/content/1/Climate%20And%20Climate%20Change%20Poster.pdf
• Climate and Climate Change Booklet, available at http://moodle1819.uws.ac.uk/pluginfile.php/45227/mod_resource/content/1/Climate%20And%20Climate%20Change%20Activity%20Booklet.pdf

By giving us the opportunity to participate in a combination of lectures, workshops and independent materials, it allowed me to expand my knowledge by accessing resources and materials I might not have found myself. The combination of these three informative outlets allowed me to develop my critical thinking as the debate between natural causes or un-natural causes makes us as a society think about our actions and the consequences they could be having on our planet and our climate. It’s also helped me become more culturally aware as this is not just a problem for our society or country, the effects of climate change and global warming are affecting places and people all around the world. On a more professional level this topic has developed my collaborative working skills as during activates we had to work together and communicate as a team which is very important for working in a environment with children and other professionals.

The main points I learned from this topic are that there seems to be two very obvious sides as to whether climate change is natural or if we are the cause. However, there is a side that believes in both, due to changes in the climate that have happened previously they believe that the process is natural but also that the things we are doing on a daily basis could be speeding up or even increasing the effects of climate change. “We can’t predict the future, but we can know the present” (Sustainable Development, Module resource, 2018), it’s up to our generation to work together and find ways of protecting the world we are destroying do that the generations to come have a future.

Reference List:

Sustainable Development (2018) Climate Change. [Module Resource] Available at: Climate change module on moodle. (Accessed 10^th October 2018.)

Education Scotland (2017) Social Studies, Available at: https://education.gov.scot/improvement/documents/social%20studiesbenchmarkspdf.pdf (Accessed: 10th October 2018).

Scottish Governent (2009) Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009, Available at: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2009/12/contents (Accessed: 10th October 2018).

The Environment

“Believe in the power of small actions” (Incredible Edible Network, 2008)

Before starting this topic, I didn’t have much knowledge about the different ways in which we can incorporate the environment into not only our children’s learning but our own. Giving children the chance to experience outdoor learning can majorly improve their learning and ours, as we can see and explore nature and our environment first hand. I was also unaware of just how much the environment can change us, usually in our society we focus on when negative things we’re doing and how this is destroying our world. However, while taking on the tasks for this topic I got the opportunity to see the good that people can do, what we can do, to change our world for the better. I’ve changed my opinion of how I see the world and our environment and can see that even the smallest of actions can have the power to make big changes.

By discussing the different ideas around this topic with peers it gave me the opportunity to hear other people’s views and see the world through someone else’s eyes. I was also able to see what it would be like for the children and what they could experience during outdoor learning, by doing tasks and activities in class that we would give to the children in our own class. This helped not only my understanding of what it’s like for other people and children but also improved my knowledge of how these experiences can affect and change us.

By putting policies in place such as the Curriculum for Excellence through outdoor learning (Learning and Teaching Scotland 2010) it means that action is being taking to give children the chance to experience learning out with the classroom. They get the chance to explore and grow in ways they can’t inside the class or at home. By allowing them to be in the outdoors it benefits them in many ways such as improving; their physical and social development, their numeracy and literacy skills and their knowledge and understanding of their environment and where they live. It also gives them the opportunity to get involved in risky play (Risky Play Scotland, 2008), which adds more benefits to their learning and development such as becoming more independent and confident in their actions and decisions.

During this topic not only have I development my knowledge of the environment but I have also further developed skills that will help and benefit me in not only the professional level but on a personal level. Academically I feel I have grown in the sense of how I think about things on a deeper level such as when we discussed the impact our actions have on our environment and our world. Getting the opportunity to access different sources that have valuable information on our topic changed my thinking about the way I see the environment. On a personal level I feel more motived to do something about the negative situations we are putting our environment and ourselves in. Professionally I feel I have developed my abilities of collaboration and teamwork skills, this will benefit me in practice as well as in other aspects of life because in life we have to work together to make a difference and believe in each other and ourselves that we can make that difference happen.

By developing these skills, I can use them in practice to help not only myself but the children we teach and the teachers we engage with. The reason it’s so important to develop on the different levels is so that we can then transfer these skills abilities to other areas of work and life.

Throughout this topic we were given the opportunity to use resources that would be useful for children in lessons to help their knowledge and understanding of the topic. Being able to “know how to make use of the environment and resources outside the school to support

teaching and pupils learning” is just one of the many elements in the General Teaching Council for Scotland’s Professional Standards that due to this topic I feel more comfortable in carrying out (GTC Scotland, 2006). Using different resources in and out of the classroom help the children learn and interact in different ways and gives them a chance to be in charge of the activities. Some helpful resources that could be used for this topic about the environment include:

• Woodland Trust Nature Detectives, available at https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/naturedetectives/activities/
• Outdoor Learning Directory, available at http://outdoorlearningdirectory.com/index.php/home/
• RSPB Giving Nature a Home, available at https://www.rspb.org.uk/fun-and-learning/for-teachers/lesson-plans-and-supporting-resources/

These resources offer teachers and student teachers a wide range of activities to do with nature and the environment which the children can do inside and outside the classroom. These resources are not only beneficial for teachers as they gain information and activities but it also benefits the children as they can experience first-hand how the small actions they take can make a big difference.

Reference List:

GTC Scotland (2006) Standard for Initial Teacher Education, Available at: http://www.gtcs.org.uk/web/FILES/the-standards/the-standard-for-initial-teacher-education.pdf (Accessed: 26th September 2018).

Incredible Edible Network (2008) Incredible Edible, Available at: https://www.incredibleedible.org.uk/ (Accessed: 26th September 2018).

Learning and Teaching Scotland (2010) Curriculum for Excellence Through Outdoor Learning, Available at: https://education.gov.scot/Documents/cfe-through-outdoor-learning.pdf (Accessed: 26th September 2018).

Play Scotland (2008) Risky Play , Available at: http://www.playscotland.org/wp-content/uploads/Risky-Play-Leaflet_web.pdf (Accessed: 26th September 2018).