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Case Studies > Making Sustainability a Reality

Making Sustainability a Reality

Emphasis

To show how students can drive a learning experience within school around the cross-curriculum dimension of sustainable development.

School profile

Total number of learners: 860

Age range: 11-16

Specialist status: Engineering

Level 5 and above in ks3 (2007): 54%

Five a*-c grades at G.C.S.E (2007): 42%

Special educational needs: 30%

Our school is a smaller than average secondary school situated in an urban area. The majority of pupils come from an area of higher than average socio-economic deprivation (coming from 2 of the poorest wards in the country) The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is well above average. Few pupils are from minority ethnic backgrounds or speak English as an additional language. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and / or disabilities is higher than average.

Question 1: What were you trying to achieve?

The starting point: identifying the priorities of development.

Student voice has been running for a number of years but we wanted to extend it, and involve students in curriculum developments. We also felt a need to consider a global dimension within our specialism.

• To engage students in curriculum development.
• To embed a global dimension in the curriculum
• To show students that subjects are linked and a cross curricular theme can deepen there understanding.
• To help school council members gain confidence and see that they can make a positive contribution in reporting to adults.
• To give students a voice within there school and the wider community

Question 2: How did you organise learning to achieve your aims?

As a specialist college in engineering the year 8 student reps and I met with the head of engineering. The students wanted to do something about recycling in the school but wanted to understand why recycling is important and how it can be done. As part of the remit for specialist status we wanted to provide a cross curricular experience and embed the schemes of work within the school.

Process

Year 8 tutor reps met. They expressed a concern about the amount of paper wasted and not recycled. Some students were also concerned with the bigger issue of global sustainability.

Met with head of engineering and discussed how we could make this issue a cross curricular theme.

Tutor reps looked at a number of Global Footprints Quizzes and decided which was the best. They then went to the I.C.T department and asked if at the beginning and end of the project all year 8 students could spend 10 minutes during I.C.T lessons completing the quiz and recording there findings to show how much they had learnt. I.C.T department agreed.

At this point 3 departments were onboard

• 1)Engineering – designing a clock using recycled aluminium cans using the casting process.
• 2)R.E department- looking at creation stories and mankind being responsible for the world.
• 3)I.C.T department- Global Footprints Quiz for accessing student’s progress.

But students didn’t know how to involve other departments without asking each of them individually. They asked me what happened in staff meeting and if heads of department met together. After discussion they asked if I would inform other heads of departments about the project at the next curriculum management meeting (looking back it would have been better if one of the students had come with me but at the time they were lacking confidence). I then reported at the next curriculum management meeting what the 3 departments were going to do in the next half term and asked if any other departments could come on board.

Results from the meeting

• Science- renewable/ non renewable resources.
• Art- work on rainforests resulting in masks and objects being designed out of recycled material.
• History- work on how the contents of a rubbish bin at different times can show what the society was like.
• Geography- sustainability (water shortage in the south of England)
• Music- some classes in engineering made musical instruments out of recycled material.
• Maths- wanted to be involved but not sure how as there topic was Pie Charts. I managed to get statistics from Middlesbrough council showing local recycling figures which they used for there charts.

So with very little effort or change in the working day the year 8 students were about to receive a compelling learning experience around the cross-curriculum dimension of sustainable development.

Question 3: How well have you achieved your aims?

What differences are evident? What impact have you made on your learners?

• Difference on learners was easy to see due to Global Footprint quiz results- 26% of year 8 students had no change but the rest all had a lighter footprint by the end of the 6 weeks.
• Students from the year 8 team were monitoring staff and responded very positively to staff who were getting involved in the project. This showed that the students had taken ownership of the project.
• An inspection occurred during this time and one inspector who saw a group with specific learning difficulties reported that the vocabulary of the students were more akin to gifted and talented students. Learning in general was enhanced due to continual reinforcement.
• Students saw the relationship between subject areas and realised that they can use prior knowledge within classes.
• During this time the school was visited fortnightly to take our recycle paper. We know have a recycling bin in the car park.
• Students went to the ACT North East conference and showcased their work.
• Due to the success of this project teachers now regularly plan cross curricular projects and although they are not always directly related to citizenship issues the process of student involvement has been continued.
• Although the year 8’s are now in year 10 they still feel proud when this work is done, they see it as ‘ their baby’ and as more recycle clocks appear in classrooms they know that they made a difference.