Kea Enrichment
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Class: Year 7
Teacher: Rachel Arnold
School: Howick Intermediate School
Summary: Integrative, inquiry-based learning with a social action: a general classroom teacher links with a specialist technology teacher
The design, creation, evaluation and implementation of a prototype kea enrichment 'toy' is an example of student innovation within an integrative inquiry process that led to an effective social action for a group of four Year 7 students.
After immersion and initial research, the boys discovered that animal enrichment in zoos is designed to encourage animals to use their natural abilities, increase their activity, and give them opportunities to make choices and have new experiences. This means that they have fewer physical problems, breed more successfully, are better parents, and live longer.
The inquiry process began with the boys doing a series of brainstorming sessions (divergent to convergent), which incrementally refined the topic area from the broad, student-selected, topic of 'Conservation' to 'Endangered Animals' to 'New Zealand's Native Kea', which finally led to the inquiry focus of creating a 'Kea Enrichment Prototype'.
Rachel and the students identified the learning they would need from across the curriculum, which was then recorded as 'Achievement Objectives', 'Learning Outcomes', and 'Learning Experiences' on their individualised planning sheets. This also took into account student motivation, the key competencies, and their knowledge and skills. Their learning included a wide range of areas, such as: how to read maps, scales, and compass directions to show the location of wild kea in New Zealand; writing a report on the range of reasons that kea are endangered; using a Y chart to describe the characteristics of the birds; and then going to hard materials technology to create the mechanism.
The boys then developed deeper questions using Bloom's Taxonomy and researched their questions through books and internet searches on the kea. They watched videos on the BP Zoo Challenge website, which explain the process of designing and creating the existing kea enrichment toys at Hamilton Zoo. On the website, zoo volunteer and retired engineer Dave Croucher gives brief explanations as to how he goes about producing his innovative outcomes for the kea. The challenge competition is on-going, with different animals featuring each year. Teachers are encouraged to follow guidelines for authentic Technological Practice.
Rachel and the students visited Auckland Zoo to observe, photograph and take notes on the Kea's natural behaviour and characteristics.
Based on their research on key questions, the students came up with their own ideas and combined them to create a design for a kea enrichment mechanism that encourages the birds to work together and use their inquisitive nature to retrieve a grape from a see-saw pipe mechanism. With the help of Hard Materials technology teacher, Dave Coaton, the students selected materials and built their prototype kea enrichment mechanism. They tested its functionality, evaluated it using the SCUMPS thinking tool and made several improvements.
Rachel entered the students' prototype into the 2008 BP Zoo Challenge competition and it won first place. Responding to a request from zoo staff, the students brought their prototype to Hamilton so that it could trialled in the kea enclosure, which was the actualisation of the final stage of the inquiry process; the social action.
Teacher comment
At the zoo, Dave Croucher demonstrated how the kea enrichment mechanisms he had made worked. This was an amazing, hands-on learning experience for the boys who were able to employ a range of principles and techniques – from mazes to levers to pulleys. They met the native birds' keeper and their prototype was put into the Kea enclosure. We were privileged to receive a guided tour around the zoo and the boys had the chance to learn directly from the keepers about animal conservation.
This is a superb example of the amazing outcomes made possible by the Inquiry learning pathway employed at our school. When conducting this inquiry, the students were always interested and excited to learn the skills being taught at a learning workshop because they had made the decisions about what they needed to learn. There was a real and relevant application of all the skills and knowledge in maths, social sciences, science, technology, and language that they had learnt. Most importantly, the boys learned to take questions and research a step further by taking action and applying their learning to construct a real life solution that would make a difference. We are extremely proud of them and what they have accomplished.
Hamilton Zoo Keeper Cheridan Mathers with zoo volunteer and retired engineer Dave Croucher,
who helped the four Year 7 students through their project.
See the SCUMPS model in action (.doc download, 29 kb)
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