Groundwork London Haringey and Waltham Forest Air Pollution Project Evaluation Report 2014

Transcription

1 Groundwork London Haringey and Waltham Forest Air Pollution Project Evaluation Report 2014

2 Haringey and Waltham Forest Air Pollution Project Evaluation Report 2014 Frances Bowen Contents 1.Introduction Methodology Child Evaluations: Before and after (concept mapping) Evaluation of sessions delivered Teacher Evaluations: Headline figures Teacher Evaluations (see appendix A) Anecdotal feedback Findings and discussion Forward strategy Appendix A - Teacher Evaluations

3 1. Introduction The London Boroughs of Haringey and Waltham Forest have worked with Groundwork London to engage with nine schools to deliver an air pollution education programme. The project engaged 5 primary schools in the London Borough of Haringey and 4 primary schools in the borough of Waltham Forest. Both boroughs are committed to improving local air quality and raising awareness of the issues associated. This complements the behaviour change work that is ongoing through school travel departments, both relevant to the national curriculum. This project involved delivering a number of science based air pollution lessons looking at local air pollution levels via GIS and an investigation activity into the soot and dust levels at participating schools. This was followed by a creative workshop chosen by the school (ranging from travel related workshops, solar oven building or arts and crafts based creative exploration of the air quality theme). Schools also had the opportunity to receive an interactive fun animation session about air pollution using the schools individual messages they wanted to portray, as well as the option to go on a field trip on the topic of sustainable cities. This project was to raise awareness of the risks that are associated with air pollution and the actions that can be taken to improve air quality. All the schools are located in air quality management areas and most are adjacent to air quality hotspot areas. This engagement project is funded by DEFRA s Air Quality Grant programme.

4 2. Methodology A combination of evaluation methods were used, collected from a variety of participants. Child evaluations children were asked four questions before and after the intervention/workshops. These questions were designed to capture changes in attitude, awareness and knowledge. A random sample of around 50% of schools received this evaluation measure. 1) What is air pollution? measuring knowledge and understanding air pollution 2) What are the main nasties in the air in London? measuring knowledge and understanding (e.g. specific gases) 3) What are your thoughts and feelings about air pollution? - measuring development of thoughts and feelings 4) What can you do to prevent air pollution? measuring understanding of behavioural responses Teacher Evaluations quantitative measures were collected in the form of questionnaires, focusing on delivery, curriculum relevance and feedback from sessions (see appendix B). Qualitative measures of anecdotal quotes were collected alongside this. Photos were collected from a variety of schools to supplement evaluations Schools engaged Name of Number Year Number of workshops Evaluation conducted school of pupils Group conducted Earlsmead 57 Year 5 Science lesson 1 and 2 x 2 Teacher evaluation Primary 2 classes classes and school assembly School Bounds Green 56 Year 3 Science lesson 1 and 2 for both Child evaluation Primary 2 classes classes Teacher evaluation School 4 Animation sessions for both Photos classes Trip to The Crystal

5 Name of Number Year Number of workshops Evaluation conducted school of pupils Group conducted Welbourne 60 Year 5 Science lesson 1 and 2 for both Due to a change of staff Primary 2 classes classes we have been unable to School Creative Solar oven making x 2 gain a teacher evaluation Highgate 57 Year 5 Science lesson 1 and 2 for both Child evaluation Primary 2 classes classes Teacher evaluations School Creative Solar oven making x2 Photos Animations sessions x 2 Trip to The Crystal Edinburgh 60 Year 5 Science lesson 1 and 2 for x1 We were unable to Primary 2 classes class obtain the Teacher School Preparation for animation and Evaluation animation session x 1 Newport 84 Year 5 Science lesson 1 and 2 x3 Teacher Evaluation Primary 3 classes Solar oven workshop x 3 Photos School Child evaluation Roger 57 Year 5 Science lesson 1 and 2 x 2 Teacher evaluation Ascham 2 classes classes Primary Solar oven workshop x 2 classes School Woodside 86 Year 5 Science lesson 1 and 2 x 3 Child evaluation Primary 3 classes classes, 6 x animation sessions Teacher evaluation School Trip to The Crystal x 2 Photos St Francis De 57 Year 5 Science lesson 1 and 2 x 1 class Teacher evaluation Sales Primary 2 classes Journeys around the world School session

6 3. Child Evaluations: Before and after (concept mapping) We have mapped the pupils before and after understanding of air pollution. These visuals represent pupils responses to the evaluation questions before and after the intervention/workshops. The schools included in this evaluation were Bounds Green Primary School, Highgate Primary School, Woodside Primary School and St Francis De Sales. We have used concept mapping to display the results. Question 1: What is air pollution? - The visual below maps the growth in knowledge and understanding of air pollution Nitrogen dioxide Particulates in the air It is not good for us Greenhouse gases Chemicals Bad source of air Factories and bad smoke Melting of ice and polar bears Dirty environment Smoke What is air CO2 Soot and dust SMOG pollution? Air we re breathing Caused by fuel in cars Comes from factories People get asthma Dirty smoke It s caused by traffic You can measure your footprint Chemicals in the air Hurts plants Carbon Monoxide Contamination of the air around us

7 Question 2: What are the main nasties in the air in London? The visual below maps the growth in knowledge and understanding more specifically of the terms associated with air pollution (e.g. specific gasses) Particulates Nitrogen dioxide Soot Carbon Monoxide Fuel from cars SMOG Chemicals Steam and petrol in cars Carbon Monoxide Smoke Fire What are the main nasties in the air in London Global warming Gases from smoke Bacteria and viruses Steam Gas Dirt Oil, diesel, fuel Dust Dirty gases that make us cough There were lots of gases in the industrial revolution Carbon Dioxide Many different gases in our air

8 Question 3: What are your thoughts and feelings about air pollution? The visual below maps the development of thoughts and feelings It kills plants and if there s not enough plants then not enough oxygen It is a bad thing, I don t like it There is loads of dirt and soot in the air that isn t very good I think we all need for us to buy electric cars It s bad for the ozone Really bad for the environment It s bad for us all Bad for your Really bad for the environment You cough and it s bad air What are your thoughts and feelings about air pollution? It doesn t smell very nice It isn t fair for other people people might die Bad for nature and living things Causes pollution and health It makes people ill and it s a bad bad coughs thing It spreads all over the world It makes us poorly Nuclear power stations are Trees and plants die something to do with it Causes damage to lives everywhere I think we should be kind to nature and not make it dirty It can cause us health It is bad for habitats problems You get lung problems

9 Question 4: What can you do to prevent air pollution? The visual below maps the development in understanding of behavioural responses to air pollution Share a car with someone Stop getting in the car as Plant more trees in our much and start walking school Solar powered cars Walk to school and don t idle! Stop people smoking Get fit and healthy Close factories Riding bicycles and walk Stop lighting fires Cycling Change the fuel that powers cars to water Plant more trees What can you do to prevent air pollution? Walk, bike and scooter Not take the car, walk instead Recycling Make sensible choices Get an electric car Bad source of air Hybrid cards/ half water/ half gas We could get the bus Bike to school or get the bus

10 4. Evaluation of sessions delivered For each session delivered we have evaluated the strengths and weaknesses. We monitored and evaluated our processes and delivery throughout and tailored this to each individual school. However, a final evaluation allows us to reflect on these sessions and identify aspects which were more effective and where there may be room for improvement. Some activities worked better with particular year groups however we had the flexibility to tailor our work appropriately. Science lesson 1 Investigating air quality Mapping pollution (NO 2 ) in the local area pupils learnt about what air pollution is, where it comes from, how it affects our health and what we can do about it. Strengths Interactive mapping session in groups worked well as an investigation into where they thought the levels of pollution would be around their school and local area. It enabled pupils to make predictions and ask scientific questions. Local relevance using real data that the pupils could relate to. Introduced new concepts/vocab including Nitrogen Dioxide, particulates, soot and dust. Combination of group work and presentation was a good mixture of delivery, reaching different learning styles. Weaknesses We adjusted the ratio of presentation and group work, to include more interactions and a shorter presentation. We amended the presentation accordingly (two presentations for different age groups). Science Lesson 2, sampling of particulates (soot and dust) Pupils participated in a scientific inquiry regarding the air they breathe around their school location. They took part in a simple investigation to gather information on air quality. Higher ability groups created graphs to represent the results. Solar oven session - Arts and Crafts workshop: Pupils made a solar oven out of pizza boxes The investigation and sampling of particulates was a simple way of the pupils investigating the levels of soot and dust in their school grounds that they could evidence and visually see the results. The soot and dust investigation allowed engagement and discussion afterwards about how they can make further changes to reduce air pollution locally Relevant links with the curriculum in science and maths. Graph plotting of the results allowed numeracy focus. Creative activity on renewable energy and how solar energy work, linking to the air pollution concept. The activities worked well in small groups and Some of the activities were better suited for year 4/5 (for example graphing the findings from the investigation), this was not best suited for year 3 s. The GLA toolkit used was not designed for being used as a prerequisite for the graphing and the numbering needed adjusting to suit our lesson plan The session worked best when it was sunny, however it was possible to represent the general concept without sunshine This worked best as a

11 encouraged discussions throughout the session Helped pupils relate air pollution to wider sustainable issues. Encourages problem solving skills through the making of the model. development session, building on the concept of local pollution to the wider topics, but was less focused on air pollutants themselves. Animation Pupils participated in coming up with a message about air pollution, and created an animation based on the message. Journeys around the world To compare and contrast how other pupils travel to school in capital cities around the world. To compare pollution levels in those capital cities with London. To learn what constraints and experiences determine journeys to school for children in other cultures The Crystal trip and activities An interactive school Creative, fun and engaging workshop that gave the pupils an introduction to the understanding of all the different processes involved with developing a stop animation, technical as well as artistic. Links to many areas of the curriculum. The pupils were able to be fully involved in the development of the stop animation, from creating their images and designs to operating the camera and viewing their snapshots on a laptop. A final product allowed the message to be shared with the wider school and community beyond the delivery of the project, leaving a legacy. High end polished product achieved. This element of the project added an additional dimension, by comparing the global perspective on air pollution with the local London experience. It also tested their geographical knowledge of the world and how different environments reflect how people travel and lead their lives. The workshop was very interactive and gave the pupils a chance to explore their creativity, create their own character and display and present it to the rest of the class. This addressed listening and speaking skills. Interactive and investigative field trip which allowed pupils to have The process was quite time consuming from start to finish and required pupils to work in small groups to shoot their animation. The remaining pupils needed curriculum relevant activities, and therefore more staff time would be ideal. The process could be developed using a computer animation programme that would be pupil led, by focussing on the editing process e.g. Hue animation. While this would not achieve a high end product, smaller groups would work on their own separate animations and pupils would have greater involvement in the production process. Pupils not involved in the final edit. This session had a travel focus and is most relevant to schools interested in travel plans. Not suitable for Key Stage 1, even year 3 required more help and visuals to really understand and picture what it is like to live in other places. Logistically the trips were a challenge, particularly if more

12 trip to investigate the problems that face our planet today (with an air pollution focus) the freedom to explore the sustainability problems facing our earth today. We provided a quiz/question sheet to ensure there were learning outcomes from the field trip. The questions encouraged pupils to explore the exhibition and directed them to make links with the learning outcomes of the previous sessions delivered in class (e.g. science lesson 1 and 2). The exhibition contained a section in air pollution specifically, (as well as areas that related to air pollution such as sustainable travel and energy use). than one class wanted to visit in one day. They required a lot of prior planning, risk assessing and extra staffing. The Crystal exhibition is ideally aimed at secondary school aged pupils, therefore we tailored their original question sheet to suit primary school level pupils and we provided the teachers/helpers with prompt sheets to support the pupils.

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14 5) Teacher Evaluations: Headline figures Headline figures from all teachers evaluations collected: 100% of respondents felt that pupils had increased their knowledge of air pollution 90% of respondents felt the pupils found the workshops fun and engaging, 10% said reasonably 90% of respondents felt the sessions were relevant/linked well to their curriculum topics, 10% said that air pollution wasn t on the curriculum 80% of respondents reported the rate of delivery as very good, 20% felt the delivery was reasonable 90% of the respondents would recommend the sessions to other schools, 10% would neither recommend or dissuade

15 6) Teacher Evaluations (see appendix A) 1) Do you feel pupils have increased their knowledge of air pollution? Yes, definitely. Children with a basic understanding were extended as they were allowed to ask plenty of questions and a scientific answer was given. But at the same time, the needs of the children who find these concepts tricky, were also met with simple and clear explanations and examples Elisma Kemp, Woodside Primary School Yes definitely, the children responded to the questions and gained more knowledge on the subject via the outdoor task and bar graphs Miss Caulfield, St Francis De Sales Primary School 2) Do you feel the pupils found the workshops fun and engaging? Yes, they loved the solar ovens and the stop animation. Also high engagement with the initial mapping exercise Rebecca Lewis, Highgate Primary School 3) Did you feel the sessions were relevant/ link well to the curriculum? They fit perfectly in to our topic on the environment. Previously we have looked around the world and tried to include our local area, but this was excellent Lauren Young, Roger Ascham Primary School 4) How would you rate the delivery of the sessions? Sarayu s delivery was energetic, pacey and engaging. She was very passionate about the subject, which enthused the children. The other members of the team were also friendly and interacted very well with the children Rob Burgess, Highgate Primary School 5) Please highlight the strengths of the air pollution sessions delivered? Challenging, interactivity, all children engaged at their level, all children s contributions values no matter what the level, Fantastic trip! Children really enjoyed it! Elisma Kemp, Woodside Primary School

16 6) How do you think we could improve for next time? Maybe more emphasis on the other things that pollute the planet Faye, TA Highgate Primary I would like to collect more evidence of what the children did. So, I would plan time for children to record their learning as I think it is important for them to reflect on the session afterwards Elisma Kemp, Woodside Primary School It would be good to have projects to be able to disseminate the knowledge regarding what can be done, in own family and wider world Susan Wood, Earlsmead Primary School. 7) Would you recommend these sessions to other schools? Definitely, unless that meant you didn t have the time to come back to me. We would love to have Groundwork come back again and repeat the sessions Lauren Young, Roger Ascham Primary School Yes, especially if links with the new National Curriculum are made clear Anri Ruthen, Newport School Yes, science should be given more time so a whole day helps with impact and reinforcement Miss Caulfield, St Francis De Sales Primary School

17 7) Anecdotal feedback Through the duration of the project we have received s and comments about the sessions we have been running through school. Here are some comments from some of the teachers, children and other members of staff. Carmen Mcormick (Woodside primary school) I m really excited with the way the children have been motivated by the lessons Groundwork are doing! I was hoping to do a display to further promote the air pollution project Elisma Kemp (Woodside Primary School) Thank you so much for the amazing trip. The children wrote a diary entry about the trip and so many of them commented on how it was their 'best trip ever' Louise Joll (Highgate Primary School) Thank you so much for a great trip on Friday. The children loved it (one said it was the best ever!) and some are talking about going back with their families. They really enjoyed your sessions as school too. Many thanks to Sarayu and all the team. We are looking forward to seeing the final animation Rebecca Lewis (Highgate Primary School) I just wanted to add my thanks to Louise's. You and your team worked wonders with our Year 5s, and they gained so much from the experience. You really got them thinking about the environment and their role in it, and they loved all of the interactive learning, and of course the trip (which I was sad to miss). Thank you so much for all your efforts - much appreciated by all of us at Highgate Primary. Miss Powell (St Francis De Sales Primary School) The children loved the day. They really enjoyed making the animations and it encouraged them to work well as a team Children from Highgate Primary School How have you enjoyed the sessions? We ve really enjoyed the animation, it s been really cool we understand it better now and it makes more sense

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19 8) Findings and discussion There was a clear development of knowledge and confidence through the workshops that were run through the course of the project. When asking the questions at the first initial session basic answers were produced such as close factories, you cough and it s bad air and bad source of air. In our final session with each school pupils were able to give more developed and comprehensive answers such as changing the fuel that powers cars, I think we need to all get electric cars and the mention of key gases such as Nitrogen Dioxide which they hadn t previously mentioned. As we came to the end of the programme pupils were proposing some brilliant ideas on how they could prevent pollution in their local area, including using less polluting forms of transport to school to generating new technologies to prevent pollution. Through conducting a pupil survey before and after the workshops, it enabled us to evaluate and also reinforce the pupils learning. Across all schools included in the pupil survey engagement increased from the initial workshop to the last lesson. Not only were their answers more comprehensive but they were a lot more inquisitive about the topic and asked more in depth questions, showing understanding and thinking around the topic. The air pollution programme has combined creativity with science, successfully engaging pupils throughout; this is backed up by feedback from teachers and teaching assistants. The pupils and teachers enjoyed the variation of activities that helped to engage the pupils from start to finish. The animation stood out as one of the main positive elements in the sessions as it was fun and engaging, with one teacher noting that it s great to do something so creative but at the same time learning about the world around them. The animation gave each child the opportunity to stamp their own mark on the final product and allowed them to think about the wider picture and what message was most important for them to communicate. The trip to The Crystal was a great chance for the pupils involved to learn about the problems that face our earth currently today and was a very interactive exhibition, fun and engaging. The Crystal itself is predominantly geared at Secondary level, however we adapted the exhibitions existing resources to make questions suitable for primary school level. The session focused on investigating and finding answers in the displays and interactive boards and gave a good variety of subject areas to explore also a particular area on air quality and pollution. Risk assessments were undertaken before every session working with the children. We used The Crystals existing risk assessment as a basis and adapted this to suit our delivery needs.

20 9) Forward strategy There are many ways we could develop this project further in the schools themselves and also develop the resources used. 1) The use of Ipads - The use of Ipads could make the process more interactive and give each pupil the ability to be able to create their own individual animation and their own personal message portrayed through the use of the Stop animation apps (Istopanimation, Stop Motion Studio or Stopmotion HD). These apps are fairly inexpensive and with many schools having Ipads, this offers an opportunity to deliver these sessions. 2) Hue Animation Studio We could deliver further sessions that are accompanied by the use of Hue Animation Studio (stop animation kit), that can be installed onto computers and then the children can each create their own animation. This would allow the pupils to gain editing skills by adding their own sound effects and also adding text and special effects. This would link nicely with I.C.T in the curriculum. 3) Further sessions surrounding Sustainable School Travel plans pupils measuring and analysing their modes of transport to school (tally chart and graph the results) to look further at the link between air pollution and sustainable travel. 4) Diffusion tubes The use of diffusion tubes can be incorporated into the air pollution workshop to measure nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and are relatively cheap, easy to use and require limited attention. These can give a good indication of air pollution across a large area. These are best incorporated when engaging with a school over a period of time. 5) Whole school approach The project could integrate the whole school, as most of the schools only had sessions with one year in particular and a few classes. They could link with the rest of the school by holding more assemblies (only 1 school requested an assembly) or taking the project further by holding an event for example a car free day, whereby every year or class has to make a pledge to reduce car travel to school. This could then be recorded/tallied and the results communicated with the whole school. 6) Parental involvement - We could further develop this project to the wider school community by communicating through newsletters and could develop methods of parental engagement.

21 7) Connecting with other schools - It would be a good development if a number of schools could work together in a cluster to share knowledge, information and possibly hold an inter-school competition. This could encourage a competitive edge to reducing air pollution and could potentially link in with some local secondary schools. The schools could participate in a final event to celebrate all the work that has been completed. 8) Energy Awareness - This project could be followed by another topic of energy reduction within a school setting. Energy audits and sustainable classroom activities could be undertaken to make children aware of elements within the school building that they can influence in the longer term. This is not just looking at our local area but also at good practices currently being undertaken from within the school. 9) Direct curriculum links - An improvement that was raised with one of the teachers who was there during our sessions mentioned that it would be great to make direct links with the curriculum. To create a case for the project and look at what elements of the curriculum it could directly slot into. She mentioned that the more we can make it relevant for the teachers and easy to evidence they will be very interested in pursuing the sessions and developing them further.

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23 Appendix A Teacher Evaluations

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