Rob Bowker

Children’s perceptions and learning about tropical rainforests: an analysis of their drawings

This study analysed 9 to 11 year old children’s drawings of tropical rainforests immediately before and after a visit to the Humid Tropics Biome at the Eden Project, Cornwall, UK. A theoretical framework derived from considerations of informal learning and constructivism was used as a basis to develop a methodology to interpret the children’s drawings and to measure the change in children’s perceptions and learning after their visit. The children’s pre‐visit drawings mainly showed tree and plant outlines familiar to an English countryside. Rainforest animals were to the fore in the pictures and there was a general lack of scale, depth and perspective in the drawings. In the post‐visit drawings, the animals had mainly disappeared. There was often remarkable accuracy in the shape and detail of the tropical rainforest trees and plants now drawn. The post‐visit drawings also demonstrated far greater depth, scale and perspective than the pre‐visit drawings. The interpretation and analysis of the drawings gave insights into children’s understanding and learning about tropical rainforests and demonstrated that analysis of children’s drawings can be an effective method of assessing some aspects of their learning.

VAK or VAK-uous? Towards the Trivialisation of Learning and the Death of Scholarship.

Developments within education, psychology and the neurosciences have shed a great deal of light on how we learn while, at the same time, confirming for us all that learning is a profoundly complex process and far from understood. Against this background, and in this position article, we consider the recent rise in interest in the concept of learning styles as VAK (visual, auditory, kinaesthetic) in primary schools in England and Wales and begin to identify and interrogate some of the more unorthodox claims frequently used to legitimise and lend support to its validity. Through the casual acceptance and promotion of VAK, and its often wider association with the notions of accelerated and brain‐based learning, it is our assertion that the complexity of learning is becoming increasingly trivialised and scholarship at all levels within certain sectors of the education community compromised.

Children's perceptions of plants following their visit to the Eden Project

The study described is part of a larger research programme designed to investigate primary aged childrens learning during a visit to the Eden Project. Children from eight primary schools were interviewed approximately four weeks after a one‐day, teacher‐led visit to the Eden Project (EP) in Cornwall. Their responses revealed that the children enjoyed their visit to the EP and were affected by the sensory experience of being immersed in such a profusion of plants from around the world. The children showed interest in the plants that were relevant to their lives but were often unsure of the relationship between plants, people and resources. The analysis highlights the need for teachers to integrate a visit to the EP within their schools curriculum, particularly in respect of prior preparation and mediation, in order to capitalize effectively on the childrens experiences during their visit to the Eden Project.The study described is part of a larger research programme designed to investigate primary aged childrens learning during a visit to the Eden Project. Children from eight primary schools were interviewed approximately four weeks after a one‐day, teacher‐led visit to the Eden Project (EP) in Cornwall. Their responses revealed that the children enjoyed their visit to the EP and were affected by the sensory experience of being immersed in such a profusion of plants from around the world. The children showed interest in the plants that were relevant to their lives but were often unsure of the relationship between plants, people and resources. The analysis highlights the need for teachers to integrate a visit to the EP within their schools curriculum, particularly in respect of prior preparation and mediation, in order to capitalize effectively on the childrens experiences during their visit to the Eden Project.

Teacher preparation and the national primary science curriculum: a twentieth‐anniversary perspective

In 1989, the progressive introduction of a National Curriculum of subjects to all maintained schools in England and Wales brought compulsory science education into the primary sectors of these two countries for the first time. Such was its considered importance, science was placed alongside English and mathematics in what became known simply as ‘the core’. As a result of its elevated profile and an immense amount of hard work and effort by teachers and other professionals responding to requirements, science education provision appeared to benefit enormously. Successive revisions of the national primary science curriculum have brought about many changes, however, each impacting on the primary profession individually in different ways and as a whole. Findings from a recently completed ‘preparation to teach’ survey across several geographically distinct regions of England are presented here which contribute to our ongoing understanding of the overall status of science teaching within primary schools. Twenty years on from when the national primary science curriculum was first introduced and independently evaluated, attention is drawn to the continued progress being made at the ‘chalk‐face’ and to those factors widely perceived as continuing to inhibit delivery.

Assessing informal learning in an aquarium using pre- and post-visit drawings

This article discusses learning that occurred during primary school visits to the UK National Marine Aquarium (Aquarium). Before visiting, children were asked to independently create a drawing of marine life off the Devon coast and a drawing of tropical reef marine life, allowing an assessment of prior knowledge. Post-visit, children created another drawing, with changes between the drawings indicating the degree of learning. Visiting children participated in the Aquariums guided learning programmes, and children were observed to assess engagement and the contribution of provided information to post-visit drawings. Pre-visit drawings showed limited knowledge of local underwater habitats and less knowledge of tropical reef habitats. However, the comparison of post-visit drawings to pre-visit drawings showed that significant informal learning had occurred as a result of participating in a guided visit, demonstrating that the informal science programme at the Aquarium achieves the goal of enhancing knowledge and understanding of marine habitats.

Learning to teach “science” out of school: non‐school placements as part of a Primary PGCE programme

Primary teaching trainees were given a 1‐week placement in environmental science centres, to learn about teaching children in non‐school contexts. The placements were mainly in the South West of England, and included both residential and day‐visit centres. Evaluation was through written and oral feedback from hosts and students, against a set of criteria. The article provides a rationale for such placements within a PGCE programme, describes how they operated in practice and analyses the feedback to make recommendations for future operation of the programme. It recommends provision of more documentation on placements at the planning stage, and proposes a more structured programme for working with children and materials development. The article makes recommendations for further research into the logistics of such placements, the impact of materials developed by trainees, their role and status during placement, and potential benefits of negotiating their own placements. It concludes by discussing the implications for placements more generally.

Drawing Experiences in Marine Conservation

The UK National Marine Aquarium in Plymouth has the usual large display tanks of animals but also has an education programme that explores the local and tropical marine environment and conservation issues through creative art and drawing. The National Marine Aquarium also offers a Conservation through Tourism Award. Assessing the learning that has occurred in an informal science environment, such as an aquarium or a hotel, can be difficult without resorting to complex and intrusive questioning.