Engaging students in questioning and the enquiry process Heather McCollin- FSC Flatford Mill 15th October 2014

FSC – who we are Informative and enjoyable opportunities for people of all ages and abilities to discover, explore, and understand the environment – Environmental education charity – Established 1943 – 17 Centres (14 residential) – Working with 140,000 people each year What we do: – First Hand experiences with school, college or university – Opportunities for everyone – Professional training courses for environmental professionals and teachers – Natural history and Art courses – Family holidays – Identification guides and free resources – Funded projects – Campaigns for the right to outdoor learning and fieldwork FSC believes that the more we know about and take inspiration from the world around us the more we can appreciate its needs and protect its diversity and beauty for future generations.

FSC Flatford Mill

Starting fieldwork In groups discuss what you would do here having arrived with your GCSE group.

titles Investigate management strategies on an area of coastline vulnerable to flooding - Why do coastal processes need to be managed? - How are coastlines managed? - Why does coastal management create controversy? An investigation of an Urban Ecosystem - How does the physical environment interact with living things to produce different large scale ecosystems? -In What ways for people use ecosystems? - How can ecosystems be managed sustainably?

Experience the environment Some examples – Kenning – Soundscape – Field Sketch (ipads) – Back to back describing / drawing – Sense of place photos Additional Information available on the handout

Questioning & creating a hypothesis Some examples – Framing – Observation circle – Photos and annotations – Thinking circles – Designing good questions Additional Information available on the handout

Accessing the top grades

Techniques for developing individual enquiry Some examples – Geog spot – Investigation layers – Just a minute – Question cards

Wider Context Different time / Different place Some examples – Photos – Newspaper articles – Video Blogs – Social Media

Trial An opportunity to have a go! – In small groups and have a go at one of the activities. – After 5 minutes we will feedback on how they worked. General impressions, good points? Bad points? Would you change or adapt them? Would your students engage with it? Have you done something similar or different (inside or outside the classroom)

Thank you Questions?