Day ???: Making and sending out surveys

The Year 6 students are completing group inquiries on issues in our world. They are looking for people's opinions on different topics. If you have a spare minute or two, could you please complete some of their surveys below. Your help will be appreciated. Also, if you could pass some or all of these on through your circles of associates or social media outlets, that would be great.

The effects of graffiti on the community - https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/VGZRYZX

The impacts of fruit fly - https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/N3RTLWL

Your thoughts on palm oil - https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NBFPRLZ

Implications of pandemics on mental health - https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/N3LQ9LD

Day 16 Bonus: Guest speaker from the Big Issue

Two groups this year are looking into the issue of homelessness. To assist them, we were able to book an e-classroom session with a guest speaker from The Big Issue. 

During this session, the facilitator explained what marginalisation means and how it is to be homeless. She also discussed the needs of people and how missing aspects of those needs can lead to homelessness. We were also re-educated on stereotypes. This was an important lesson as it turns out that in Australia, 1 in 7 homeless people are primary school aged. 

We were also given the opportunity to listen to Marcus. Marcus lives in Sydney and he shared his story of being homeless, how he got there and what (as a homeless man) he appreciated from people. 

For more information about The Big Issue, hit this link https://www.thebigissue.org.au/

Day 16 Extra: Where is the Mathematics in the Issue?

The International Baccalaureate encourages us to be trans disciplinary in our learning. That is, to not just focus subject to subject separately from each other. 

Through the Exhibition period and during our me that is lessons, we will be trying to answer:

‘What maths can there be in researching/presenting our issue?’

There are mathematical skills that are really easy to engage in this process. We encourage students to engage those skills but also to challenge themselves with some creative mathematical applications. 

We look forward to seeing what they can present.

Day 16: Refocusing in on the Issues

After a holiday break, it’s important that we spent a few moments refocusing on the task that is Exhibition and the individual issues we are looking into.

We did this by coming up with a ‘mud map’ plan of the next four and a half weeks...

After this discussion, we also spoke about the need to concentrate and delegate researching so that at least 95% of it is completed during week 3. This will allow plenty of time to worry about the presentation side of their exhibit.

We also had the students sit into their groups and discuss the following:

• Share what you have 
• Discuss where you are heading
• Delegate what research/questions need answering
• Is there anything or anyone else you need to contact (we need primary source information)
• Get researching

Day 15: Primary Source Info, Preparing to Inquire, Presentation Ideas and Padlets

Primary Source Information:

We want as much primary source information as possible. We are not after a Chinese whispers, internet driven, copy and paste assignment. Discussions and encouragements have been around the pursuit of talking to people who experiencing the issues or are experts in the fields covered. 

Preparing to Inquire:

With newly established Lines of Inquiry, it is time to allocate/align questions to those lines as well as the key concepts being covered. Once this has been achieved, a brainstorm takes place to come up with primary sources that will help us find, locate and answer our questions. (Who can we speak to, where can we visit.)

Presentation Ideas:

• Video (documentaries, animations, zoom recordings, Ted Talk style, adverts, news reports, interviews, virtual tours, Plays, etc.)
• Audio (interviews, music)
• Diagrams (graphs, info graphs, technical drawings, labelled diagrams, cross-sections, before and after, etc.)
• Pictures (photos, artworks, provocations)
• Surveys
• Quizzes (Kahoot)
• Links
• PDF printouts
• Stories (picture books)
• Journals, Diaries
• What else can you think of?

Below is a Ted Talk example that we watched in class that also shows and ins-ire’s what is possible if you are passionate about an issue and your willing to make an effort to see change.

Padlets:

We looked at Padlets and Website design as a way of colllating and presenting our inquiries. Students all seemed pretty keen to use a Padlet as the chosen format for this role. it will be interesting to see what other formats they include within their Padlet to demonstrate their findings.

Catching Up With Mentors

Regular meetings with mentors is a big part of the exhibition process. Having an extra pair of eyes and ideas is great for bouncing ideas back and forward. 

Each group has met with their respective mentors and have begun developing a working relationship which should benefit their learning journey.

Day 12-14 Questions, questions, questions and Central Ideas and Lines of Inquiry

Using the Lotus Diagram, many questions have and are still being asked that link directly with the IB Key Concepts. 

We then reflect on these questions to see if they fit within the Sharing the Planet Theme and also look for any concepts that have a recurring theme (these are often the questions that lead to successful inquiry).

Following this, a conference is had with a teacher to help students turn questions into a Central Idea and Lines of Inquiry. Here is a draft version for the group above:

Then it’s time to organise the questioning with the Lines of Inquiry and let the inquiring begin.