With this project-based learning unit we really wanted to engage the inquiring minds of our little Grade 0s. So often, when we teach our littlies about our world and the minibeasts which inhabit it, information is just shared and transmitted to children without real purpose. We wanted to make the children co-creators of their own learning. We wanted to give them a purpose and reasons for their learning and allow them to become interactively engaged. By using Project-based Learning, we were able to do just this. 

I am a passionate believer in the power of technology integrated into pedagogical teaching to ensure that every child learns, discovers and grows. My passion for learning about how technology can enhance the learning of children and give them vital tools to share their thinking continues to grow too. I believe that it is through this real life project based learning that we can make school relevant to children’s lives and build vital real life skills within them.

So we designed this learning journey which engaged our boys by introducing a scenario where Captain Target, an awful villain, was wanting to rid the world of all insects and we had to convince him this was a very bad idea. They designed and created the world’s most helpful insect to convince Captain Target that minibeasts and insects are vital to our survival and the survival of the world around us.

THE DRIVING QUESTION

Can you create the most helpful minibeast in the world to convince Captain Target not to kill all the minibeasts?

THE HOOK: The children were introduced to a scenario where Captain Target, an awful villain, was wanting to rid the world of all insects. We engaged in P4C (Philosophy for Children) discussions about a world without insects. This got the children thinking about the necessity of insects in our world.

The boys watched this video which I created using various technologies such as Chatterpix, iMovie and Adobe Spark Video – and boy were they HOOKED and excited for the learning which lay ahead.

I used a WONDER WALL which allowed the children to share what they already knew

as well as provide us teachers with insights about what they still wished to learn. 

From this we led the children into investigating and learning about different insects and minibeasts using QR codes and simple books made on Book Creator as well as a Choice Board. The children learnt about different facts about different minibeasts and insects, focusing on how they moved. The culmination of this task was creating an animation of a moving insect using Animatic.

The boys also explored an App which I created using Glideapps.com to explore and learn about different minibeasts which exist in our world. From this point the children moved into learning about helpful insects, we had lots of discussions and watched interesting and informative videos about helpful and unhelpful insects. At the end of this week, the children drew a picture to demonstrate their learning about helpful insects.

This then led us into working out how we could answer the problem posed to us by Captain Target. In pairs, the children discussed and shared their ideas about the most helpful insect they would be able to create using the knowledge they had acquired. 

From these discussions, the children designed the most helpful insect in the world, combining facets of different insects and minibeasts. The boys worked in collaborative pairs to draw on all the knowledge they had collected and to create the most helpful insect in the world by merging different properties of different minibeasts.  They used annotated drawings and live presentations to their peers to share and assess their creation. 

The boys discussed how their minibeast would move based on the minibeasts they had used in their creation. Using Animatic, they create a visual animation of their minibeast moving.  This then led into using iMotion to create a stop motion animation and to make the actual minibeast they had created move. What fun and learning this led to! 

The final step of this project was for the children to draw all their learning and creating together within an iMovie about how they would convince Captain Target not to get rid of all the bugs. They incorporated their Animatic animations and their iMotion video as well as videos of themselves sharing their learning and ideas. These iMovies were shared with an authentic audience - their parents. Captain Target also came to visit us in class and the boys had the opportunity to convince him all about the reasons their minibeast was so essential to us and the world we live in. Captain Target gave them feedback on the successes of the minibeasts they had created and whether they had managed to convince him.

The discussion at the end of this unit, allowed the children to assess the success of the insect they had created and they decided whether it would be worthy to convince Captain Target not to destroy all the insects in the world.

I believe we have to make learning relevant and exciting for our children. We need to engage them in what we are teaching them and allow them to delve into their curious and inquiring natures.   I always thought my Grade 0s were too young to delve into an inquiry with independence and I must say they surprised me with their enthusiasm and responsibility in leading their own learning (with some facilitation from their teachers). WOW is all I have to say! These little boys have surpassed my every expectation in terms of their learning, exploration, curiosity, engagement, and most of all in their ability to collate all the meaningful information they collected into a final presentation to convince Captain Target that minibeasts are vital for our survival and he can’t get rid of them.

I am now more convinced than ever that hands-on learning within Grade 0 is essential for learning and project-based learning ensures this happens to the highest standard with maximum engagement. I just love allowing the children in my class to construct their own learning. They retain and engage so much more.

My biggest takeaways or lessons are: 

• Don’t be scared of technology, don’t be scared to take the leap into the unknown.  It is only through immersing ourselves in our own learning and development that we are able to ensure that we are giving the kids in our classes the best possible education to prepare them for the future.
• Be prepared to fail. There will be days when it doesn’t go to plan, when the technology doesn’t work, when the kids miss the mark, where you feel like walking away … DON’T – engage, explore, adapt and carry on!
• Hold onto your passion, the reason you became an educator and this will keep you floating along the process of learning and discovery.
• Ask for help, collaborate, learn together and make a difference.
• AND MOST OF ALL LEARN WITH PURPLEZA, THEY WILL CHANGE YOUR LIVES AND THE WAY YOU TEACH!

Want to learn more about IBL? Bring us to your school for our Breaking down the Silos workshop.

Or get your school signed up for our PurpleZA gamified PD platform and check out our epic Inspiring Interactivity for Littlies and Becoming a Learning Architect courses.