Energy saving week

Joyce is our resident environmentalist and with Energy Saving Week on the horizon she had some great ideas for an engagement event. This was a collaborative project involving the students and the story is taken up by Joyce below.

The last week in October is Energy Saving Week.  Now, I thought, if anyone should be promoting this, it should be my science students. (My environmental group, GreenFerry, was already organising an event in South Queensferry.) 

Fresh from my success at the book sale (and having enjoyed chatting with loads of different students) I suggested to my Science Access class that we put on a display/engagement event in the foyer on Thursday 27 October.  They were up for it.

So we abandoned examining texts in minute detail, we abandoned lessons on different styles of writing, we abandoned close analysis of structure and language, and opted for a bit of participatory planning and engagement.  I pushed back the chairs and brought the tables together. I unrolled a roll of wallpaper, and gave out post-it notes, and pens.  We planned out the type of event we wanted. Ideas began to flow, the energy level clearly rising. (No pun intended.) 

Using Mindmeister, electronic mind-mapping tool, I began to record the different elements of their plan.  From this, I will “invite” the students to add more ideas in their own time.  (Mindmeister is a free on-line collaborative planning tool.)

Soon (very soon – we only have three weeks, remember) I’ll allocate tasks, students will write letters, beg favours, prepare a display, leaflets, posters, organise photographs etc.  And, come the day, they’ll stand with me, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed to talk to other students, share their project findings (if that’s not too “heavy”) and gather energy-saving ideas.

If we’re VERY lucky, we’ll persuade the college, or another sponsor, to come up with a prize for all students who enter our competition.   Maybe an i-pod.  Maybe I’ll win.