PROJECT TITLE: Mars Rover Roving (term 2), Shark Tank (term 3)

School Name: Joseph Banks Senior High School

Teacher’s Name: Stacey Rowlinson

Year Group: Year 8

Number of students: 21

Creative’s Name: Jake Bamford

Creative Practice(s): Game Developer, Film, Writing, Illustration, Environmental Educator

Main Curriculum Focus – Integrated Studies (a blend of all subjects, intended to guide students through major project based learning)

Cross-curricular Links: Space Sciences, Engineering, Physics, Media, Business,

Context:

Joseph Banks Senior High School has lots of innovative ideas for subjects and infrastructure, especially the Integrated Studies class. While this opportunity is plain to see, the students often come from varied and difficult backgrounds or are low-ability. Their personalities were generally mature and confident, which made them easy to work with after rapport had been established. They appreciate freedom and flexibility in their learning environment, so they were perfect candidates for the Creative Schools program.

“The teacher doing Creative Schools and I have been meeting regularly to see where they are at and how they are going to. The feedback from students has been overwhelmingly positive. As a school we have been exploring how curiosity can work in the classroom. We’ve never had a whole school approach to this so Creative Schools is leading the way with this. Both teachers are really excited about working with a Creative Schools mentor to help them see how it works. The teachers will be presenting to senior leadership and providing feedback from parents and reflecting on the difference it has made to the students. Both teachers are really passionate about being part of the Creative Schools program. It’s about doing things differently. We have been exploring more interactive learning approaches. The kids want to participate in things that are different and new. Kids like a sense of wonder in their learning." (Deputy Principal)

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WHAT WE DID  

Term 2: Mars Rover Roving

Major Task: In groups, design and build a lego rover using Sphero Robots, associated chariots (which allows lego to be built on it), and a GoPro mounted using the lego structure. Students were to use this lego rover to conduct an expedition on a mock surface of Mars, using the GoPro, wirelessly connected to an ipad, as their eyes as they explored, mapped out, and marked points of interest on the mock surface.

Step 1: Researching the Red Planet

Students investigated existing research into Mars and made notes on the natural structures on the planet’s surface. This was an important part of the students understanding the planning that they would need to do to ensure their Lego Rovers would be able to explore the surface of Mars, overcoming any potential challenges. They made lists of these potential complications, risk assessments essentially, and discussed as a class the various ways they could plan to succeed around these. They could use their imagination to come up with solutions of all kinds, regardless of time or money constraints, although the final expedition they take on will be limited by the Lego Rover  they design. This allowed them to explore the greater possibilities of their designs, so they could then plan around the growing limitations.

Step 2: Constructing the Lego Rovers

In groups of 3+, students worked together to build their Lego Rovers using; a Sphero robot as the main mode of movement, the Sphero chariot or housing unit (includes lego shapes to allow for the lego building), lego to build up the housing unit, and last but not least; a GoPro mounted on top. One of their challenges with the design was to ensure the GoPro was secure in the housing unit. Part of their risk assessments included ensuring the GoPro could get the footage it needed, and remain connected/functional throughout the expedition - if their video feed failed while their rover was out on Mars, there’s no way they can just pop over and tinker with it to get it back online. Our expedition activity was intended to simulate this major limitation, and so the students had to make sure their Lego Rover, and the GoPro, could function by itself once they’d set it out on the mock surface of Mars.

Step 3: The Expedition!

We were all hotly anticipating this class! With weeks of planning, building and testing behind us, it was time to launch the Lego Rovers and gather some data. We used an outdoor classroom that included large rocks gathered from inland Western Australia, and I brought various hessian and other materials to build up the area and hide anything that looked too human-made. Hidden throughout the area were landmarks/icons printed on A4 paper. The students had to pilot their Lego Rover to find as many of these as possible in a 5-10 minute timeslot (making sure each group had a similar amount of time to explore the area).

Unfortunately, the weeks of testing and planning in the lead up to this session did not adequately prepare us for all the factors at play. The Lego Rovers struggled to drive along the rough surfaces in the outdoor classroom. The weight of the GoPro made things worse, especially when we tried a backup plan of moving the whole setup into the nearest indoor classroom - some students helped set up this backup plan. Ultimately, the expedition didn’t go as planned, and only one group got any usable footage.

While this whole thing could have been seen as a failure, we dedicated the next session to evaluating the challenges we faced and exploring how we could avoid them in the future. Insufficient testing of all the factors was a major point - we didn’t do enough test drives using the Lego Rovers in the outdoor classroom. Meticulous checking of checklist items was another - students were provided with comprehensive checklists that included things to test for, and while many of them did tick some of these items off, when it got to the expedition it became clear what they actually had checked, and what they did not. All in all, the project ended up being an important learning experience on testing, risk assessment and planning, and less about the media and technology use we had hoped for. The students were disappointed in the result, but they saw where we all went wrong (teacher, creative practitioner, and students) and how we could learn from this to ensure the next project runs more smoothly. Following on from this, it felt like many students began taking themselves and the tasks more seriously in Creative Schools sessions - all in all, a net gain for something that could have been a major setback.

Term 3: Shark Tank

Last term’s project went a little off the rails, so we decided to keep the Shark Tank project within the rails, following the main project plans followed by the other Integrated Studies classes.  The main aim of this project was for the students to design their own business and product to then pitch in a mock Shark Tank event (similar to the TV show). Their tasks involved;

● Researching entrepreneurship, and examples of entrepreneurs

● Learning about business plans and why they’re useful

● Market gaps and how to spot them

● Generating product ideas

● Target audience/market

● Marketing and promotions

● Operations and legal considerations

● budgeting and funding opportunities

● Constructing a prototype for the pitch session

● Pitching their business and product

The mock Shark Tank event will happen in term 4, but the students did a practice pitch (which was assessed) in term 3 anyway.

“We wanted to make the learning more intentional. The students are reflecting on the process more. Working with a Creative Practitioner has given me a different perspective on how we can do things differently - like going outside. It’s been exciting. It’s good to see the space used differently now. The WA Space Science Centre is brand new. We are learning how to use the space. We don’t teach in domains. It’s been great having a Creative here to push us to use the space differently. The kids are really excited to come to Creative Schools workshops. The other class is only using the Sphero’s. But this class is developing different ideas with LEGO and using different surfaces.” (Teacher)

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How did we make the 5 Habits of Learning come alive?

Each reflection activity aimed to incorporate the 5 habits of learning in some way. Our most successful example was the Reflection Aquarium activity that we ran in term 3 as part of the Shark Tank project. We cleared a glass wall in the classroom, and at the end of every session the students chose a coloured marker based on the habit they thought they used most in the class, then they drew an aquatic creature or feature on the glass wall. Over the course of term 3 the students built a thriving underwater ecosystem (complete with sunken pirate ships and mermaids!) all based on their use of the 5 habits.

Another great example was during the Creative Schools Showcase, where the students were put in charge of running various activities. Notably, they also ran participants through a reflection activity similar to the Reflection Aquarium, and it was wonderful to hear them teaching the Year 7s about the 5 habits, just as they had been taught.

“I see kids being happy. They are getting a better education. Because Creative Schools is giving us different learning opportunities. Creative Schools is collaborative. I prefer working with others rather than by myself. It’s easier and there are more ideas.” (Student)

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How did we activate student voice and learner agency?

The style of the Integrated Studies classes already allowed us to give the students plenty of freedom with their learning direction. We provide the students with basic project plans, resources and guidance as they choose the direction, design and outcome of their projects. The Shark Tank project was a good example of this, where we ran brainstorming sessions with them, and they chose the product/business ideas that they were most passionate about.

“I’m noticing I look forward to school more. Because we get to do this different kind of lesson. I think I’ve been learning to just create and come up with new ideas. I’m building on my creative mind. It's giving me new ideas that I can use in the future.” (Student)

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WHAT WAS THE IMPACT?

Student: From about halfway through the sessions the students started excitedly calling out to me whenever they saw that it was a Creative Schools session! This was some wonderful positive impact!

A big change could be seen in the students’ willingness to be creative over the whole program. One student in particular began as a disruptive individual doing very little work, but during the second project he became one of the most effective workers of the class, leading his group to make one of the best pitches of the class.

Teacher: Stacey already had a well-established rapport with the students, including methods to get their attention, understanding their quirks and tendencies, and the students who required extra support. This made it a smooth transition for me to step into the class, as I could focus my efforts on building the creative learning environment and not have to worry about classroom management at all.

Creative: The misadventures with the Lego Rover project taught me a lot about accepting failure, but also making the best of it. Despite this seeming like a significant issue in the program, it ended up being a highly valuable learning experience for all involved, students, teacher, and creative. Furthermore, teaching a class in Joseph Banks SHS was a cathartic experience for me personally, as back in 2017 I was placed here during one of my Teaching Practicums, as part of my Masters Degree of Teaching. That practicum did not go well due to various reasons, but having had a successful two terms of teaching at this school as part of the Creative Schools program I feel like I have tackled an inner demon of sorts, and strengthened my confidence in my teaching abilities even further.

School: The Creative Schools Showcase was an opportunity for our class of Year 8s to practice what they’d learnt over the two terms in the Creative Schools classes. Each group ran an activity, similar to one of the warmup activities we’d conducted during the program, for a group of Year 7s. This showcase was documented by the school media department, and will be promoted via social media at a later date.

The setup of the Integrated Studies classroom allowed for other classes and teachers to see the activities being run as part of the Creative Schools program. I was given plenty of opportunities to talk about the program with other teachers, and share insights with them.

“As a Creative Practitioner it’s been very interesting it’s ignited my interest in teaching. I usually work with Primary. High school is a challenge but it’s great to connect with an older more mature group. The class is really flexible and student lead. The teacher knows the students and I can come along side with creative ideas. The school is very well equipped with tech. They will use 3D mapping on the iPads. The shark tank. They are connected to Aboriginal elders so we will look at that for next term. Translating popular media and translating it into Noongar. There is a lot of flexibility. We are going you put up a curiosity board to get them to be inquisitive and ask questions and help one another to answer them.” (Creative Practitioner)

“In other lessons we do more writing. But in Creative Schools we are building physical things. There is some planning and writing but not as much as normal lessons.” (Student)