Many Victorian government schools are undergoing mergers for various reasons. Where I work four schools are merging into two. Our `campus' will be demolished and become a housing estate. This `campus' is home to many indigenous plants, very large local trees, and supports a variety of indigenous birds and insects. I think its important to analyse the biodiversity of our `campus' so our school community and wider community understand what we are losing, and take action to improve the biodiversity and quality of the permanent school sites' environments.
The Environmental education and computer conference project has influenced my proposal. As a science teacher I can employ science methodology for measuring biodiversity in my teaching practice using The Department of Primary Industry (2008) education program Biodiversity Up Close . The computer conference could be updated to use new internet and mobile technologies for people in the school community and wider community to share information, discuss perspectives, co-create knowledge, make decisions and coordinate action.
The Learning through landscapes project aims to improve the social, environmental and educational qualities of the school site with an analysis of school ground usage, design options and alternatives for improvements, development and the consequences for management. A similar process could be used by the four campuses for improving the quality of school sites using Biodiversity Up Close . This project aims to enable `teachers, students, and community members to measure the biodiversity present in school grounds, parklands and bushland and develop action plans to enhance these areas.' (Goyen 2009, p.25) This program also offers free professional development for teachers.
Research questions
1. What is the relationship between Biodiversity Up Close and student achievement of VELS?
2. Can participatory action research support one school with four campuses to educate for sustainability?
3. What internet and mobile technologies can facilitate the communication of biodiversity audit data and action planning between participants and the wider community?
Research approach
The research approach that I intend to adopt is education for the environment or a socially critical approach, which involves investigating real environmental issues and taking action for the conservation or protection of the environment. This approach is suitable for auditing the biodiversity of school sites with the aim of recording what is being lost and taking action for the improvement of biodiversity at the permanent school sites. A socially critical approach supports social constructivism by encouraging participants to collaborate on investigations, decisions, and action.
Stakeholders and roles in research
Participatory action research is a suitable mechanism for members of the school communities to become researchers involved in changing practices at the schools in regards to sustainability and biodiversity.
Students
A socially critical approach orientates students as collaborators on projects. Participatory action research is a social and educational process (Kemmis & Wilkinson, 1998) that can provide a framework for students to be involved in cycles of planning, acting & observation, reflection and re-planning. Students could design surveys to research students opinions about using mobile & internet technology, and biodiversity and sustainability concepts. They could also gather information and suggest actions.
Students participating in Biodiversity Up Close could achieve Victorian Essential Learning Standards (VELS) for Science, Interpersonal Development, Civics & Citizenship, Humanities (Geography), Mathematics, and Thinking Domains.(Goyen, 2009) Student achievement of outcomes could be used to inform success of using this project. Using Web 2.0 tools and mobile technologies would orientate students as generators of knowledge rather than consumers and allow the wider community to access and interact with student views and ideas.
Teachers
Teachers can help establish participatory action research for this biodiversity project and contribute curriculum expertise, suggest relevant teaching/learning strategies and identify cross curricula possibilities. They can also compile information regarding the VELS achievements of their students on this project. The Department of Primary Industry (2008) offers support for schools through Professional Development workshops which teachers can develop their knowledge and skills which may be shared with others.
e-learning coordinator
The use of internet and mobile technologies for students to publish their findings and coordinate action requires technical support from the school's e-learning coordinator. This person should also be involved with participatory action research as they can contribute technical expertise, organise appropriate software and hardware, identify relevant Web 2.0 tools, and provide information about what internet resources are banned in Victorian government schools e.g.Youtube & MySpace
School management
The principle class at the four campuses can contribute to participatory action research by disseminating relevant government and achool policies. These people also facilitate staff meetings and finalise agendas which could include discussion about auditing biodiversity across the four campuses.
Parents
Interested parents could be invited to collaborate to the participatory action research process. They could also be surveyed about their ideas about biodiversity and sustainability, and provided with opportunities to contribute knowledge and skills to improving the quality of the school grounds.
Methodology
Rationale
Evaluation involves `the collection, analysis, and interpretation of evidence about the effects and outcomes of a selected activity.' (Thorpe 2001, p.126) This is achieved by designing and applying an appropriate methodology to for data collection. Methodology for this project has been influenced by outcomes based evaluation (McNamara, 2008) as the curriculum used at this school is the outcomes based Victorian Essential Learning Standards. A socially critical approach to environmental education research also informs the methodology with some methods collaboratively developed and applied to compile diagnostic, formative, and summative evaluation reports. These reports will be available to interested people in the school community via the intranet. Methods Qualitative and quantitative data methods have been selected from the Evaluation Cookbook (Learning Technology Dissemination Initiative, 1998). Methods have been selected for usefulness, cost effectiveness and depth of information needed and have been produced using the survey making software SurveyMonkey (SurveyMonkey.com, 2009).
Research question
Related questions
Cohort
Method examples
What is the relationship between Biodiversity Up Close and student achievement of VELS?
What internet and mobile technologies can facilitate the communication of biodiversity audit data and action planning between participants and the wider community?
What internet and mobile technologies were the students confident with?
Managing the data and reporting The surveys designed on SurveyMonkey can be analysed by SurveyMonkey.com (2009) at no cost, quickly, and provide user friendly reports of the results. These results can be compiled into the following reports and the information shared with the school community.
Diagnostic evaluation report - The results from the Checklist could be compiled as a report and used to understand what the students know before starting the project. Formative evaluation report -The results from the Confidence log and Usage statistics could be compiled as a formative evaluation report on student participation and community engagement. Issues that need attention can be addressed with modifications to improve the project for the participants.
Summative evaluation report -The Checklist of student progression points, Usage statistics and Questionnaire could be compiled for a summative evaluation report. Outcomes students have achieved, the use of internet technologies to facilitate communication and the effectiveness of PAR as a framework to support the coordination of biodiversity education across four campuses can be drawn from the quantitative data of the Usage statistics and the progression point Checklist, and the qualitative data of the Questionnaire
Goyen, K. 2009, `Auditing biodiversity and land management practices in the school ground and beyond', Labtalk, vol. 53, no. 2, pp. 25-32.
Kemmis, S. & Wilkinson, M, 1998, `Participatory action research and the study of practice.' in B Arwet, S Kemmis & P Weeks (eds), Action research in practice partnerships for social justice in education, Routledge, London.
McNamara, C. 2008, "Basic guide to program evaluation." Retrieved 24 September, 2008, from <http:www.managementhelp.org/evaluatn/fnl_eval.htm#anchor1581634>
MySpace.com, 2009, `MySpace' Retrieved 28 May 2009 from <www.myspace.com>
McNamara, C. 2008, "Basic guide to program evaluation." Retrieved 24 September, 2008, from <http:www.managementhelp.org/evaluatnfnl_eval.htm#anchor1581634>
SurveyMonkey.com, 2009, `The Simple Way To Make Surveys' Retrieved 7 October 2008 from <http://www.surveymonkey.com/>
Thorpe, M. 2001,"Evaluating the use of learning technologies", in EJ Burge & M Haughley (eds), Using learning technologies: international perspectives on practice, RoutledgeFalmer, New York. pp.125-34.
Victorian Curriculum Assessment Authority, 2009, `Victorian Essental Learning Standards' Retrieved 28 May 2009 from <http://vels.vcaa.vic.edu.au/index.html>
Youtube.com, 2009, `Youtube' Retrieved 28 May 2009 from <www.youtube.com>
Part B: Researching Environmental Education
Proposal
Many Victorian government schools are undergoing mergers for various reasons. Where I work four schools are merging into two. Our `campus' will be demolished and become a housing estate. This `campus' is home to many indigenous plants, very large local trees, and supports a variety of indigenous birds and insects. I think its important to analyse the biodiversity of our `campus' so our school community and wider community understand what we are losing, and take action to improve the biodiversity and quality of the permanent school sites' environments.
The Environmental education and computer conference project has influenced my proposal. As a science teacher I can employ science methodology for measuring biodiversity in my teaching practice using The Department of Primary Industry (2008) education program Biodiversity Up Close . The computer conference could be updated to use new internet and mobile technologies for people in the school community and wider community to share information, discuss perspectives, co-create knowledge, make decisions and coordinate action.
The Learning through landscapes project aims to improve the social, environmental and educational qualities of the school site with an analysis of school ground usage, design options and alternatives for improvements, development and the consequences for management. A similar process could be used by the four campuses for improving the quality of school sites using Biodiversity Up Close . This project aims to enable `teachers, students, and community members to measure the biodiversity present in school grounds, parklands and bushland and develop action plans to enhance these areas.' (Goyen 2009, p.25) This program also offers free professional development for teachers.
Research questions
1. What is the relationship between Biodiversity Up Close and student achievement of VELS?
2. Can participatory action research support one school with four campuses to educate for sustainability?
3. What internet and mobile technologies can facilitate the communication of biodiversity audit data and action planning between participants and the wider community?
Research approach
The research approach that I intend to adopt is education for the environment or a socially critical approach, which involves investigating real environmental issues and taking action for the conservation or protection of the environment. This approach is suitable for auditing the biodiversity of school sites with the aim of recording what is being lost and taking action for the improvement of biodiversity at the permanent school sites. A socially critical approach supports social constructivism by encouraging participants to collaborate on investigations, decisions, and action.Stakeholders and roles in research
Participatory action research is a suitable mechanism for members of the school communities to become researchers involved in changing practices at the schools in regards to sustainability and biodiversity.Students
A socially critical approach orientates students as collaborators on projects. Participatory action research is a social and educational process (Kemmis & Wilkinson, 1998) that can provide a framework for students to be involved in cycles of planning, acting & observation, reflection and re-planning. Students could design surveys to research students opinions about using mobile & internet technology, and biodiversity and sustainability concepts. They could also gather information and suggest actions.
Students participating in Biodiversity Up Close could achieve Victorian Essential Learning Standards (VELS) for Science, Interpersonal Development, Civics & Citizenship, Humanities (Geography), Mathematics, and Thinking Domains.(Goyen, 2009) Student achievement of outcomes could be used to inform success of using this project. Using Web 2.0 tools and mobile technologies would orientate students as generators of knowledge rather than consumers and allow the wider community to access and interact with student views and ideas.
Teachers
Teachers can help establish participatory action research for this biodiversity project and contribute curriculum expertise, suggest relevant teaching/learning strategies and identify cross curricula possibilities. They can also compile information regarding the VELS achievements of their students on this project. The Department of Primary Industry (2008) offers support for schools through Professional Development workshops which teachers can develop their knowledge and skills which may be shared with others.
e-learning coordinator
The use of internet and mobile technologies for students to publish their findings and coordinate action requires technical support from the school's e-learning coordinator. This person should also be involved with participatory action research as they can contribute technical expertise, organise appropriate software and hardware, identify relevant Web 2.0 tools, and provide information about what internet resources are banned in Victorian government schools e.g.Youtube & MySpace
School management
The principle class at the four campuses can contribute to participatory action research by disseminating relevant government and achool policies. These people also facilitate staff meetings and finalise agendas which could include discussion about auditing biodiversity across the four campuses.
Parents
Interested parents could be invited to collaborate to the participatory action research process. They could also be surveyed about their ideas about biodiversity and sustainability, and provided with opportunities to contribute knowledge and skills to improving the quality of the school grounds.
Methodology
Rationale
Evaluation involves `the collection, analysis, and interpretation of evidence about the effects and outcomes of a selected activity.' (Thorpe 2001, p.126) This is achieved by designing and applying an appropriate methodology to for data collection. Methodology for this project has been influenced by outcomes based evaluation (McNamara, 2008) as the curriculum used at this school is the outcomes based Victorian Essential Learning Standards. A socially critical approach to environmental education research also informs the methodology with some methods collaboratively developed and applied to compile diagnostic, formative, and summative evaluation reports. These reports will be available to interested people in the school community via the intranet.
Methods
Qualitative and quantitative data methods have been selected from the Evaluation Cookbook (Learning Technology Dissemination Initiative, 1998). Methods have been selected for usefulness, cost effectiveness and depth of information needed and have been produced using the survey making software SurveyMonkey (SurveyMonkey.com, 2009).
Research question
Related questions
Cohort
Method examples
Managing the data and reporting
The surveys designed on SurveyMonkey can be analysed by SurveyMonkey.com (2009) at no cost, quickly, and provide user friendly reports of the results. These results can be compiled into the following reports and the information shared with the school community.
Diagnostic evaluation report - The results from the Checklist could be compiled as a report and used to understand what the students know before starting the project.
Formative evaluation report - The results from the Confidence log and Usage statistics could be compiled as a formative evaluation report on student participation and community engagement. Issues that need attention can be addressed with modifications to improve the project for the participants.
Summative evaluation report - The Checklist of student progression points, Usage statistics and Questionnaire could be compiled for a summative evaluation report. Outcomes students have achieved, the use of internet technologies to facilitate communication and the effectiveness of PAR as a framework to support the coordination of biodiversity education across four campuses can be drawn from the quantitative data of the Usage statistics and the progression point Checklist, and the qualitative data of the Questionnaire
References:
Department of Primary Industry, 2008 `Biodiversity Up Close' Retrieved 28 May 2009 from <http://www.landlearn.net.au/resources/bio_up_close.htm>
Goyen, K. 2009, `Auditing biodiversity and land management practices in the school ground and beyond', Labtalk, vol. 53, no. 2, pp. 25-32.
Kemmis, S. & Wilkinson, M, 1998, `Participatory action research and the study of practice.' in B Arwet, S Kemmis & P Weeks (eds), Action research in practice partnerships for social justice in education, Routledge, London.
Learning Technology Dissemination Initiative, 1998, "The Evaluation Cookbook" Retrieved 15 May 2008 from <http://www.icbl.hw.ac.uk/ltdi/cookbook/cookbook.pdf>
McGlashan, L., 2009, `Part B. Discourse on environmental education research' Retrieved 28 May 2009 from <http://ess715.wikispaces.com/Part+B+-+Discourse+on+environmental+education+research>
McGlashan, L., 2009, `Participatory action research' Retrieved 28 May 2009 from <http://ess715.wikispaces.com/Participatory+action +research>
McGlashan, L., 2009, `Social constructivism' Retrieved 28 May 2009 from <http://ess715.wikispaces.com/Social+constructivism>
McNamara, C. 2008, "Basic guide to program evaluation." Retrieved 24 September, 2008, from <http:www.managementhelp.org/evaluatn/fnl_eval.htm#anchor1581634>
MySpace.com, 2009, `MySpace' Retrieved 28 May 2009 from <www.myspace.com>
McNamara, C. 2008, "Basic guide to program evaluation." Retrieved 24 September, 2008, from <http:www.managementhelp.org/evaluatnfnl_eval.htm#anchor1581634>
SurveyMonkey.com, 2009, `The Simple Way To Make Surveys' Retrieved 7 October 2008 from <http://www.surveymonkey.com/>
Thorpe, M. 2001,"Evaluating the use of learning technologies", in EJ Burge & M Haughley (eds), Using learning technologies: international perspectives on practice, RoutledgeFalmer, New York. pp.125-34.
Victorian Curriculum Assessment Authority, 2009, `Victorian Essental Learning Standards' Retrieved 28 May 2009 from <http://vels.vcaa.vic.edu.au/index.html>
Youtube.com, 2009, `Youtube' Retrieved 28 May 2009 from <www.youtube.com>