Year 9 Big Ideas in Winter Term focused on deepening students’ awareness of Perth - their capital city. The term-long project engaged students in real-world future problem solving as they explored the big question: “Is Perth ready for the future?” The project was structured around the geographical inquiry process. We began by developing students’ knowledge of significant landmarks in the city through an engaging activity where students worked in pairs to produce a three dimensional model and plaque of information about a landmark in the city. The models then served as three dimensional symbols on a large map of Perth, of which students used their iPads to take “aerial photographs” and record geographical observations.
With an overall sense of the geography of Perth, students began to engage with the inquiry process. Students were allocated to research groups in order to focus their inquiry into the big question. The groups were: Tourism; City Living and Retail; Heritage; Transport; Culture, Arts and Communication and Sustainability. Within these groups, students conducted initial research, formulated smaller inquiry questions and built itineraries for Curriculum Enrichment Week. They also participated in small interactive workshops to develop the information gathering skills such as conducting surveys, interviews, note-taking and photography, that they would need to undertake their inquiry during their week in the city.Curriculum Enrichment Week served as an opportunity for students to deeply engage with their research topic, considering the current climate of Perth and suggesting possible problems and potential solutions as the city grows in the future. They were given opportunities to connect with a wide range of people in the Perth community - from an audience with the Right Honorable, The Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi to a presentation by town planners and surveying members of the general public to gain a sense of interests, concerns and ideas for the future of the city.
Students were also given a sense of the people and places most connected to their research topics within the City of Perth. For example, the Sustainability group visited City Farm and conducted a site survey of the Swan River at Point Fraser facilitated by an education officer from the Swan River Trust. The Heritage group visited the Perth Mint and the Museum of Western Australia to evaluate how these places are working to retain public engagement with Perth’s heritage. The tourism group visited the Bell Tower and many locations around King’s Park to establish a tourist’s view of Perth and how tourism could be better promoted and sustained in the future.
In the weeks after Curriculum Enrichment Week, the students have been synthesising their geographical data to answer their inquiry questions. They have produced extensive geographical research folios showcasing the process of their inquiry and their engagement with and use of primary and secondary sources, such as surveys, photographs, notes and graphs. The task has also incorporated an opportunity to demonstrate parts of the English Achievement Standard through the creation of a Photographic Montage through which the students have thoughtfully told the story of Perth, in relation to their research topic, through combining words with their own photographs taken during Curriculum Enrichment Week. The students have been challenged to evaluate their data to identify potential problems facing the City of Perth in the future and formulate possible solutions which they will showcase in “Perth 2043” - a multi-modal presentation in which students will present their solution - a vision for Perth thirty years into the future.Ms Karen Taylor
Year 9 Big Ideas
