Is there a design to nature? & What in nature inspires us?
In May 2016, our Year 7 students began the learning expedition ‘Grand Designs’. This was the second time the expedition had been delivered. Building on the success of last year, students took part in the second iteration of expedition which was completely cross curricular with no distinction between STEM and Humanities and Arts sessions. Every session was simply; Grand Designs.
The learning targets were :
- I can explain Darwin’s theory of Evolution through Natural Selection and how it challenged the Christian faith
- I can describe how genetic inheritance results in species variation
- I can use a range of mathematical principles to describe observations found in nature
- I can critically appreciate a range of poetry to develop and construct my own poetic writing
- I can explain the interdependence of organisms within an ecosystem
- I can explain how changes in an environment can impact upon its ecosystem
- I can produce a lino print of my species
- I can use figurative and descriptive language in my writing
Our students were immersed into the expedition in several different ways. Students produced a large scale representation of ancient cave art and produced beautiful pieces of artwork showing different extant and extinct species that were present during the times of early man.
Students also went to Sandall Beat woods and spent time ‘sitting quietly’ in nature. Students made observations of the local flora and fauna and looked to develop an early appreciation of what it means to be ‘in nature’.
The expedition was split into two case studies. The first, ‘Revolution’ explored the theory of evolution and it’s principles and also the Creation story found in the Old Testament of the Bible. Students put themselves in the position of Charles Darwin, tracing his story from his early life to the voyage of the Beagle. We looked at how Darwin’s theory of Evolution through Natural Selection contradicted key parts of the Bible and how these ideas were considered dangerous due to the possible implications that might affect a deeply religious victorian society. Students looked at the mathematics of patterns and sequences and the generation of the Golden Ratio using the Fibonacci sequence. They then examined instances of Fibonacci and the Golden Ratio found in nature, such as the number of spirals on a pine or in a nautilus shell.
The second case study, ‘ Art Thou Inspired by Nature’ saw students looking at the habitats, ecosystems and adaptations of the species found in Potteric Carr nature reserve. Students researched a specific species and looked at how it formed part of the ecosystem. Students visited Potteric Carr on a weekly basis to complete field research to inform the work that would make up the final product. Students practiced their descriptive writing, using the Potteric visits as inspiration. Students also worked on a lino print of their species which would again form part of their final product.
Our students completed weekly fieldwork where they visited Potteric Carr to research their species. While there, they would have the opportunity to speak with the expert Kat Wooley who manages the education programmes for the reserve and is the head park ranger. Students could make good use of Kat’s expert knowledge to inform the scientific and descriptive writing that would form their final product.
Building on from the product of last years expedition, a field guide the reserve; students were again given a species to research and write about. Students produced a piece of scientific writing which described the species, its habitat, its adaptations and information on where it can be found. They also produced a first person narrative in which they used descriptive and figurative language to tell the story of their species.
Students produced a lino print using up to three colours that represented their species. Rather than a field guide, this work was collated and presented as 50 individual interpretation panels that would be displayed in the appropriate habitats at Potteric Carr itself.
The expedition was assessed in a number of different ways from writing evaluative essays, discreet tests, poetry and the work produced for the product itself.
The lasting legacy of the expedition can be found at Potteric Carr where the student work is exhibited. Not only does the work provide information for visitors of the reserve, but the careful presentation of students beautiful work complements nature itself.
Links to all the resources relating to the development of the final product and the relating expedition can be found on this page.
Click here to buy framed prints of the 2015/16 lino produced by students.
In 2015 this same expedition was completed with our then year 7’s but instead of the 50 interpretation panels displayed at Potteric Carr students products a book. The book shows each of the 50 students species lino print, scientific writing and first person narrative.
The book is on sale at Potteric Carr, at school and on our online shop. Click here to order a copy online.
Take a look at the film for this expedition…..
