In term 2 we have a new Project Based Learning unit for our students to embark on some new understandings while further developing their skills. We as teachers have also reflected on how we design PBL tasks and have made some adjustments.
Our question this term is, 'What is our schools Waste Management System and how would you improve it?' Our school's current waste management system is rather out dated, meaning there is a genuine need for it to be improved. The audience the students will present to is the College Principal and their parents.
An observation of our first unit was that it wasn't as authentic as it could be. There were no real world outcomes, apart from showing their parents. We believe that this task will allow the students the opportunity to improve their own environment by analysing the current practice and suggesting new ones. The plan is for a combination of the students suggestions will be implemented. The school has a goal this year to become more sustainable, this fits in nicely.
We also identified that some students needed some more guidance in their journey. So whilst not wanting to lock students in to specific outcomes we still wanted to have a skeleton plan of tasks they needed to complete.
Students were guided through the first step. We collected, weighed and recorded all the waste from the Primary School bins over a week and calculated the average amount of waste that was going to landfill each day.
We curated information about other waste management systems on our class Weebly for the students, to provide some initial understanding. An old friend of Nathan's is the Waste Management and Sustainability Manager at Wake Forest University in the United States. She was happy enough to send through some information on the University's waste management system and the steps required to set it up. The great thing about the information is that we could print the slideshow out and the students could read it and make their own notes, as opposed to just using search engines to find information. We will also be Skyping very shortly for an interview. She shared the cool video below that one of her students made, which will help students with their advertising/education campaign.
At various stages we have used Google Drive to quiz students on their knowledge and wonderings. The beauty of Google Drive is that the submissions are collated quickly and housed in a simple spread sheet that allows for efficient feedback. It also allowed for a great class discussion when displayed on the board. Example
Have we got this perfected yet? No way. Is education ever perfect? Again, no way, never. As we power on through this journey, we discover that the more we experiment and the more we ask of our students, the more the students minds are opened to the possibilities.
These students, will one day be agents of change. We owe it to ourselves to give them the skills to change the world.
We look forward to sharing our students ideas, and in the future present the data that proves they have made a difference in our schools waste habits.
Nathan
Our question this term is, 'What is our schools Waste Management System and how would you improve it?' Our school's current waste management system is rather out dated, meaning there is a genuine need for it to be improved. The audience the students will present to is the College Principal and their parents.
An observation of our first unit was that it wasn't as authentic as it could be. There were no real world outcomes, apart from showing their parents. We believe that this task will allow the students the opportunity to improve their own environment by analysing the current practice and suggesting new ones. The plan is for a combination of the students suggestions will be implemented. The school has a goal this year to become more sustainable, this fits in nicely.
We also identified that some students needed some more guidance in their journey. So whilst not wanting to lock students in to specific outcomes we still wanted to have a skeleton plan of tasks they needed to complete.
- Research and collect data on the school’s Waste Management System
- Research other successful Waste Management Systems
- Create a plan for a Waste Management System at St Francis College.
- Evaluate your plan; use experts to give you feedback on your plan.
- Modify your plan as needed.
Students were guided through the first step. We collected, weighed and recorded all the waste from the Primary School bins over a week and calculated the average amount of waste that was going to landfill each day.
We curated information about other waste management systems on our class Weebly for the students, to provide some initial understanding. An old friend of Nathan's is the Waste Management and Sustainability Manager at Wake Forest University in the United States. She was happy enough to send through some information on the University's waste management system and the steps required to set it up. The great thing about the information is that we could print the slideshow out and the students could read it and make their own notes, as opposed to just using search engines to find information. We will also be Skyping very shortly for an interview. She shared the cool video below that one of her students made, which will help students with their advertising/education campaign.
At various stages we have used Google Drive to quiz students on their knowledge and wonderings. The beauty of Google Drive is that the submissions are collated quickly and housed in a simple spread sheet that allows for efficient feedback. It also allowed for a great class discussion when displayed on the board. Example
Have we got this perfected yet? No way. Is education ever perfect? Again, no way, never. As we power on through this journey, we discover that the more we experiment and the more we ask of our students, the more the students minds are opened to the possibilities.
These students, will one day be agents of change. We owe it to ourselves to give them the skills to change the world.
We look forward to sharing our students ideas, and in the future present the data that proves they have made a difference in our schools waste habits.
Nathan