Curriculum Design and Development – TA4 E2

St James the Great, a school in Croydon

Beaumont Primary, in Suffolk Small scale hydro plant

‘All learners are entitled to experience a traditionally broad Scottish curriculum that develops skills for learning, skills for life and skills for work, with a sustained focus on literacy and numeracy, that encourages an active, healthy and environmentally sustainable lifestyle and builds an appreciation of Scotland and its place in the world.’

Building the Curriculum 3

Sustainability and renewable technologies in schools

Overview

Sustainability

Session 1STEM

ambassador in to contextualise

and inform pupils on project.

Session 2Splitting class into the five

‘main’ renewable

technologies and

sustainability groups– research

proposal + small tasks.

Session 3Continuing

research and presentation +

small tasks.

Session 4Groups present question time from peers + feedback from teacher and pupils (small

task).

Session 5Lesson setting up and using

renewable technology and

sustainable developments.

Session 6Pupils will use

‘mysusthouse’ for half the lesson, then they will be setting themselves SMART targets and using technical drawing

equipments to plan a layout page.

Session 7Begin new

proposal in the same groups

(big task, case study, new

school build).

Session 8Carry on with proposal (big

task, case study, new

school build).

Session 9case study, new

school build.

Interactive buttons, please click on which session you would like to visit

Assessment

Rationale and vital

information

Evaluation

Session 1

Closure Plenary

At the end of the lesson the pupils participate in summarising what they have learnt within the 3 groups which were made clear to the pupils at the start of the lesson.

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Overview

Click here to see lesson plan

Lesson PowerPoint

STEM ambassador

’s PowerPoint

Thank you letter sent from me to the Dean of Caledonian University

Letter from STEM

ambassador to University post

lesson

Teacher input

The teacher will introduce the project and a brief summary of what the next nine weeks holds for the pupils. There is a teacher’s slide show provided (interactive link below). Pupils will be placed in five groups; these are the groups they will work in throughout this project. The STEM ambassador will be introduced and then their slide show will be put on. It is important that the teacher manages behaviour and possibly asks the STEM ambassador some questions if the pupils need some more detail.

Task

STEM ambassador would work through their slide show as a basis of what to do, but if the pupils asks questions, this may open up avenues of interest that he would happily change the focus of the lesson to accommodate their knowledge and interests. The ambassador will speak about sustainability on a very general basis as to allow pupils to develop knowledge. At the end of the slide show there is a task set to the groups. This focuses on what their prior knowledge of sustainability is, what they have learnt today and group work. They will be choosing a case study, e.g. A building that they know of and will discuss what sustainable factors are included in that building and what else could be done to make the building more sustainable.

Sessions 2-3 – small task

Closure Plenary

The teacher will round up the lesson by reviewing the pupils’ work during the day and asking open questions at the end of the lesson.

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Overview

By pairing mixed ability children together “studies have shown that whilst the tutee will learn new information the tutor also learns new skills and information” (Schaffer, 2006:210).

Teacher input

At the start of the lesson the teacher may want to discuss behaviour and what is expected from the pupils when completing group work. A discussion should also take place for what five sustainable factors will be research further. This class chose wind, solar, insulation, transport and energy saving devices. The pupils will be split up into five groups (this process is up to the classroom teacher. By doing it in this manner it allows differentiation in a natural way without obvious intervention from the teacher and allows the pupils to work on team working and social skills so vital to professional life. The slide show (included on the next slide) will guide you through the first part of the class.

Task

In these groups they will then be told that they are to research their topic using ICT and produce a presentation by using traditional hand drawing skills and ICT skills, e.g. a poster which they will be presenting in lesson four as a group to the rest of the class, informing them of important facts and information on their respective technology (Literacy, Health and Well being, Technologies and Energy ). In the hope that peer to peer teaching and group working will be utilised to its full potential and the class will learn about the main renewable technologies and areas of sustainability. During these presentations they are to draw on case studies that have been successful to help them convey their ideas. This task will be over three lessons including the presentation. This is a small task that will develop the skills needed for the final big task. There are small tasks that will be included within this task, shown on the next pages, that all pupils will take part in. There will be an exemplar put on the board of the kind of product that the pupils will be looking to produce although it won’t be too descriptive as not to channel and limit the pupils’ creativity. Along with thinking prompts and roles for the pupils to uptake.

Sessions 2-3 - Small tasksResearch Task

The research task is then introduced. They will be told that they are making a presentation page using a mixture of ICT and draughtsmanship skills . At this point they can be shown the exemplar page (interactive link below), which the teacher will go onto discuss with the pupils the positives and negatives aspects of the poster.

Each group will be given their sustainable topic cards (interactive link below). There are two sets of cards (differentiation). It is up to the teacher which cards they decide to give out to which groups.

Towards the end of the lesson there is time to analyse the groups’ performance (verbally and written work).

Then the pupils are asked open questions related to the success criteria (found in the assessment link on the overview)

Lesson two PowerPoint

Exemplar presentatio

n pageCue cards

Lesson two plan

Lesson three plan

Lesson three

PowerPoint

Group name cards

Sustainability cards

After the introduction pupils will be split up into their groups. They will then take part in short tasks that are interactive, engaging and educational.

Small task

Each group will be given a set of cards, with different types of sustainability on them (Appendix B in lesson two, interactive link below). The pupils will arrange these in order of importance (using the ‘triangle of importance’). They will be given time to go around the tables and have a look at the other groups’ thoughts. Throughout this task the pupils will realise that, in fact, for a sustainable future there are many elements that need to change rather than just introducing renewable technologies. So to help the process the teacher can ask the pupils, ‘In a perfect world, what shape would we have instead of a triangle?’ The answer is a circle with sustainability in the middle..

Pupils working on small taskPupils

working on big task

Session 4

Closure Plenary

The teacher will also give feedback to the class regarding general feedback about the presentations and the learning objectives, focusing on positive and constructive feedback. Also a brief summary of what the class will be doing next lesson (see next slide)

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Overview

Lesson PowerPoint

Lesson plan

Feedback forms

Feedback Summary

Homework pupils’ work

Group name cards

Homework with answers

Teacher input

Teacher will start the lesson using the PowerPoint provided (Interactive link above) to discuss the lesson objectives and success criteria with the pupils. The teacher will then given the pupils two minutes to think about the presentation skills they will need to use. The teacher will then work around the tables taking suggestions of these skills. These will then be written up on the white board through a discussion with the pupils. When the pupils are presenting the teacher may wish to be looking at the assessment criteria and the success criteria (included in assessment section). At the end of the presentations it is advised to share your thoughts and discuss with the pupils your views if they have completed or are on their way to completing certain objectives.

Task

The pupils will then present their posters. Their poster will be pinned up at the front but also the poster can be projected on to the SMART board by a visualise or alternatively by taking a photo of the posters before hand (see PowerPoint). The pupils are given five minutes each to speak; during this time the whole group should play a part in the presentation, if possible.

Pupils that are observing should be listening and writing down any questions that they wish to ask. At the end of the presentation the pupils are allowed to ask questions. It is important that the pupils are aware this is a key stage of what would happen in the ‘real world’. All groups will now provide peer feedback using the feedback slips (interactive link above). At the end of the lesson pupils will receive all the feedback on their presentation and use these to produce to write comments on the feedback summary (Interactive link above).

Session 5

Closure PlenaryThe teacher will ask the groups questions regarding the experiments to see if the correct answers have been obtained and to consolidate information. A short discussionshould also take place to allow the pupils to know what is happeningduring the next lesson (see next slide).

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Overview

12

3

A Curriculum for Excellence states that “there is a clear recognition of the importance of play and active learning experiences." (Scottish Government: 2008)

Lesson plan

Lesson PowerPoint

Group name cards

Cue cardsResponsibility cards

Teacher input

The teacher will start the lesson by being reflective on the presentations from the last lesson then a discussion of the lesson objectives and success criteria (Found on PowerPoint above). The teacher will introduce the four responsibilities which each group will get: facilitator, scribe, includer and a reader- pupils will choose a role for themselves. The teacher will then explain that the pupils will be doing three investigations (a group per investigation) and the other two groups will be completing the ‘mysusthouse’ game on the computers. The teacher will need to be available to help pupils if they are struggling (differentiation cards included (included in cue cards). The teacher may wish to use an online timer on the board to allow the pupils to see how much time they have left on each task. The teacher will need remind pupils that they only have ten minutes on each task.

Task

Pupils will choose a responsibilities when completing these investigations. These responsibly will allow the pupils to carry out the investigations in a controlled manner and include all pupils in the group by allowing them to utilise their strengths (differentiation). The pupils will be given cue cards which have tasks on them and instructions for setting the investigations up. The pupils are to work through and ask for support when required (problem solving skills). The pupils in their groups will be undertaking three investigations each and playing an online sustainability ‘game’ which focuses on environmental impact and financial impact of their building. This lesson is a great interdisciplinary element of the project which could be carried out in Science. The 3 different investigations are focusing on: wind power (1), insulation (2) and solar power (3).

Pupils working on investigatio

ns

Session 6

Closure Plenary

The teacher will review the lesson, asking pupilsopen questions. The teacher should try makeas many links between the pupils’ work and real life scenarios when they will be using the skills developed during the lesson. N

ext s

essio

n

Overview

Lesson plan Lesson PowerPoint

Group name tags

SMART target forms

S – SPECIFICM- MEASURABLEA- ACHIEVABLE R- REALISTICT- TIME

Teacher input

The lesson will start with a recap of last week’s investigation (see PowerPoint above). Open questions are used to consolidate knowledge and gets the pupils to think creatively, evaluate and analyse scenarios (Bloom’s taxonomy revised). The first task for the lesson is to explain the importance of evaluation in the wider world on a professional and personal level. The pupils are then explained what the acronym SMART stands for. The second task of the lesson is when the pupils get introduced to the big task (case study) at which point they get shown the architect’s drawing and simple concepts explained to them. They will then see a simplified CAD of the building at which point they learn about CAD and different drawing views. The building is split into five areas and each group is given an area they will be in charge of making sustainable. During the final task of the lesson the teacher is to show the pupils how to use the drawing equipment to draw a page layout (see lesson plan, shown above).

Task

The pupils will then make their own SMART targets on interpersonal skills that they want to work on and will be assessed against at the end of the project. The class have a quick discussion about what amenities are and the groups write a short list of amenities they need for their building and a possible way of achieving these sustainably. The pupils will also be producing SMART targets for themselves to work on for the final presentation. The final task of the lesson is for the pupils individually to use technical drawing tools to design a layout of the final page. They use short hand graphic communication icons to represent different features which they would use in 4th years in their final submissions.

Session 7

Closure Plenary

The teacher will give feedback on the progress of the pupils. It is also important that the teacher makes (general) reference to how the pupils are doing on their formative feedback and that during the next lesson they will be spoken to individually, to discuss their learning and progress.

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Overview

Lesson 7 plan

Lesson 7 PowerPoint

Group name tags

Cue cards

Within the principles and practices for technologies it says “The technologies provide frequent opportunities for active learning .... to continually develop, use and extend skills that are essential components for life, work and learning.” (Scottish Government: 2009: 2)

Teacher input

Lesson seven will start off with a discussion of the lesson objectives and success criteria; the teacher will then recap the previous lesson (refer to PowerPoint). The teacher will then introduce the big task which is the new school building. The PowerPoint guides you through areas to talk about including the different areas of the school the pupils will be in charge of; different computer aided drawing views of the new school building (simplified), the limitations e.g. Time on the project, what type of information they may wish to show on the posters, using a specification (may wish to use the magazine provided as an exemplar), exemplars. The pupils will be given cue cards for this task also. This allows for differentiation between the groups and promotes the autonomous learner. Meanwhile the teacher can support certain pupils whilst overseeing the project.

Task

The pupils will start making their final presentation posters. In this they will all have to work together as a team and may need to complete problem solving tasks to get their posters looking good. They will be in charge of what ideas they want to use on their section of the building (shown in PowerPoint attached). This allows the pupils to be as creative as they like. Each group will be given a cue card to help them work through the task without the teacher limiting their creativity. The pupils will need to apply prior knowledge as well as research new material for their posters. This is effectively a case study scenario where they can apply other case studies to help them produce the most sustainable building as possible. It is important that the pupils know they will be presenting their final ideas to a panel of professionals during session nine. The pupils will also see the medium they will be presenting their data on which is foam board cut up into five shapes that all come together to make one completed presentation poster.

Session 8

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Overview

Group name tags

Cue cardsLesson plan Lesson 8 PowerPoint

Closure Plenary

The teacher will give feedback on the progress of the pupils. The teacher will also remind pupils that if their posters are not completed they are to come in n during their own time (lunch/after school) to complete them, as they will be presenting to a professional panel next week

Teacher input

During the previous lesson the pupils started the final task of making presentation posters for parts of the new school. Lesson eight will start off with a discussion of the lesson objectives and success criteria; the teacher will then recap the previous lesson (refer to PowerPoint). The PowerPoint guides you through areas that the pupils might need a quick recap (keep short as the pupils are limited for time) on including the different areas of the school the pupils will be in charge of; different computer aided drawing views of the new school building (simplified), the limitations e.g. time on the project, what type of information they may wish to show on the posters, using a specification (may wish to use the magazine provided as an exemplar), exemplars. The pupils will be given cue cards for this task also. This allows for differentiation between the groups and promotes the autonomous learner. Meanwhile the teacher can support certain pupils whilst overseeing the project. The teacher will also circulate around the class speaking to pupils individually to see what learning objective they are yet to achieve so they can try to complete them in the remaining lessons.

Task

The pupils will continue with their final presentation posters. In this they will all have to work together as a team and may need to complete problem solving tasks to get their posters looking good. They will be in charge of what ideas they want to use on their section of the building (shown in PowerPoint attached). This allows the pupils to be as creative as they like. Each group will be given a cue card to help them work through the task without the teacher impinging any ideas on them, limiting their creativity. The pupils will need to apply prior knowledge as well as research new material for their posters. This is effectively a case study scenario where they can apply other case studies to help them produce the most sustainable building as possible. It is important that the pupils know they will be presenting their final ideas to a panel of professionals during session nine. The pupils will also see the medium they will be presenting their data on which is foam board cut up intofive5 shapes that all come together to make one completed presentation poster.

Session 9

Closure Plenary

At the end of the lesson the teacher is to address the lesson objectives and provide feedback on the presentations. The teacher will then return to the success criteria. By using open questioning the teacher can gauge how much learning has taken place. On the final slide there are some pictures of the pupils completing tasks throughout the course.

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Overview

Lesson 9 plan

Lesson 9 PowerPoint Group name

tags

Feedback forms

Group feedback write ups

SMART target forms

Teacher input

The teacher will introduce the panel of professionals. At the start of the lesson the lesson objectives and success criteria are discussed along with key skills that we are looking for from the pupils e.g. presentation skills. This is a good opportunity to highlight all the tasks the pupils have completed during this project (see PowerPoint, interactive button below). The order of the presentation is announced and a quick discussion about respecting other groups as well as encouraging them. The panel will also provide feedback using the feedback slips (interactive link below) and make a small presentation at the end, focusing on elements of the presentations which impressed them.

Task

The pupils will be presenting their research projects to the class and a panel of professionals involved in the new school building. The pupils will be drawing on prior knowledge and skill whilst also developing new presentation skills during the presentation. At the end of each presentation the pupils are reminded of the feedback slips they completed after presentation four (focus on positive and constructive feedback). All the other groups will take part in providing feedback in between presentations and the group which just presented will review their SMART targets set in session six to see if they have achieved them. At the end groups will be provided with the feedback from their presentations and they are to complete the feedback write ups and from this see if as a group they have addressed there SMART targets. If there is time left at the end of the lesson the pupils are to set themselves new SMART targets, which are achievable in all lessons

pupils’ workpupils’ working

SupportDecisions by the pupils

Teacher may suggest ideas but it is important there is a compromise that the pupils are happy with.

1. which renewable technology they want to research further2. which media sources to take research data from3. how to present the proposals4. what role each group member takes5. how they decide what technology is best suited, e.g. majority wins6. class rules, e.g. acceptable behaviour

Responsibilities of the teacher

Teacher will set boundaries for this project which will allow it to run smoothly, efficiently and successfully. The teacher must keep control of aspects such as:

7. ensuring that behaviour is acceptable8. managing resources9. organising STEM ambassador10. ensuring groups work effectively and team-work is used11. continually drawing links to industry12. keeping the pupils on topic

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Overview

Useful websitesSTEM - www.stemscotland.com

www.energysavingtrust.org.uk

www.solarcentury.co.uk

www.solar4schools.co.uk

www.nigelsecostore.com

www.naturalinsulations.co.uk

www.sustainable.co.uk

www.technologystudent.com/energy2/wind8.htm

https://secure.glowscotland.org.uk