Student+Poll+Eve+03

Student Poll
Curriculum is primarily planned //for// students.

What do //**they**// think they should be learning about in schools?

Post the responses you received to the student poll you conducted.

Please use a subheading (including your name) as part of your contribution.

**Part 2 Student Poll Lisa Hitchcock **
The students I polled were hesitant to start and needed prompting to get them thinking about the curriculum and what they would like to have taught in schools. They are mostly excited and interested about what is being taught in the classroom. They wanted what was already in the curriculum to remain, although, one thought Religious Education could go.

The students choose things that they enjoy or would like to know more about, such as; horse riding, mechanics training, to ride motorbikes, cooking, woodwork, about animals and sewing. With one of the students I mentioned about financial literacy and life skills and she thought that would be good to be included. The students were very practicable in their choices and didn’t suggest anything that was really out of reach.

The differences between what the student views were and those of the expressed in the media were that the students were looking at it from their point of view, what do they enjoy? The media seem to report on the negative aspects of education/curriculum and create controversy. I think these differences exist because the media need to attract viewers or sell newspapers, whereas the students were being thoughtful in their considerations about what they would really like to be taught in schools.

Student Poll: Rosemary White

I asked a group of grade five students’ three questions below in a summary of their answers: 1/What do you think you should be learning about at school? More writing skills x2 Sports x1  Maths x4  Friendship x1  2/How interested are you in space (a current theme in their class) A little bit- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10- heaps Four children at 8 One child 9 Two children at 10 3/Are you excited about learning in the classroom? A little bit- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10- heaps Two children x 6 One child x 1 Four children x 8

These children are engaged in their class work in most sessions but as a cohort are probably less mature than the other grade five in the school.

Student Poll - Thomasina Ramsden

I interview five students, they ranged from 6 to 11 years old and attended the Primary school where I work. As everyone has stated my results were also varied. It seemed as the students got older they knew a little about what they should be learning in the classroom. The Prep to Grade 2 students mainly wanted to do more Art, music, sport. In general the things they wanted to learn were mostly play based activities. Some wanted lunchtime to be longer and they also wanted to watch more television while at school, they did not care what it was as long as they could watch it. When asked about the subjects they do the students expressed they enjoyed Maths, because the teacher made it fun to learn (and it was on a smartboard, thus being interactive for the students), they also like Japanese because they got to make things out of paper. Generally the younger students were engaged in learning when they could be a part of their own learning journey and it was interactive for them. The older students understood they had to read, write and do maths as these were basic skills, although they found it boring at times. Some said they would like more Art, Drama, dancing, sport, health education. The students definitely knew what they wanted to learn and found school had got less exciting the more they progressed through. One student stated that they do ask the teacher if they can do more of the subjects they like and the teacher did give them a stereo and now allows them to play music and dance in the school hall in lunchtime. A good result.


 * Student Poll - Jess Beer**


 * I interviewed 6 Primary school aged students for this activity. **
 * My results were also varied as others have stated. The younger students (P - 2) seemed a lot more interested in being taught arts and creative work. I found that the boys I spoke to were primarily interested in sport but also had a preference for art over literacy or numeracy. One of the students loved reading - alone. She was above average in her reading levels and found that group work meant she couldn't read the books she chose as she had surpassed the other members of her class. The older students (Grade 3 - 6) enjoyed literacy and numeracy but the one thing that stood out was the desire for more technology and computer studies. The students in the older years also indicated that they didn't think the LOTE they were being taught was helpful and that they hadn't learned a great deal more from the earlier years to present. **
 * I wasn't surprised that the younger students would have a preference for the arts as I have always tried to incorporate something creative in lessons when on placement with younger students, I think they like for something "fun" to be added to an otherwise boring maths class. A few of them stated that their favourite maths classes are when they get to do hands on rotations in groups etc or use target maths programs on the computers. **

=STUDENT POLL=

I had some very interesting results from my poll of students. Their ages varied from 12 - 18. They all agreed that we need Maths and English and most said History but not necessarily all the way through to Year 12 for any of them. It depended on which occupation you were looking at. My youngest student thought sport was important so people can learn about teamwork and cooperation so they can get on with other people through life. He also thought kitchen/garden were important subjects because of all the obesity. None of my students thought any of the subjects were over exciting. But they all commented on the teacher's ability to make them interesting. I had two students who had the same teacher for 2 years. One absolutely loved this teacher and said she had learned heaps and enjoyed his teaching style and the other student said he finds this teacher boring and loves it when he has subjects that involve going to other teachers. They both agreed that this particular teacher has a preference for teaching girls more so than boys. A couple of my older students thought there needed to be more subjects which helped throughout life for example pastoral care and community service. One student had to move from a country public High School where both English and Mathematics were made compulsory due to lack of other subject choices. He moved to a private school which accepted boarders. He stated that he was hopeless at Maths and if he had stayed at his original school he would not have been able to gain the ENTER score he needed for his tertiary choice. He went on to say that it was the best choice he has made so far in his education. In relation to the views in the media, which are varied, my poll has shown me what a diverse group our students are. One hat doesn't fit all and our schools need to have some opportunities to shape the curriculum to the needs of their students. (Jenni Hogan)

I interviewed six students aged between seven and thirteen years. A few key issues where identified as a result of carrying out the student poll. Four out of the six students felt cooking was a very important subject for them to learn. There was also interest in learning dance, and technical subjects, like woodwork and sheet metal. Two of the younger students identified the importance of learning to read and write, so they could then perform other tasks. All students made reference to that fact that they needed to learn maths, but three students said they were bored and disliked the subject. When I asked the students why they disliked the subject, one student said, “he didn’t understand what was being taught,” and the other two, aged nine and ten, said they just didn’t like the subject. When students were asked what they thought should be taught in schools they all identified learning areas which were based around their interests. Last week I read an article which was focussed around the national curriculum and what to teach. The article discussed Australia’s obesity crisis and education in our schools. The writer, Tory Maguire, discussed the importance of teaching our kids about the nutritional value of food, and teaching them how to cook. She commented on how many Australians did not know how to cook and how our health is now suffering from it. Tory wrote, that the only way we could curb this problem was in our schools thorough education. (Maguire, 2010) It is evident from my poll that students actually have an interest in cooking. So if cooking was enforced, perhaps we would have more students engaged in their learning, who are excited and interested in the subject being taught. After carrying out this poll, I have learnt the importance of knowing my students interests, and how knowledge in this area can have a huge impact on their learning. I think students voices need to be heard, after all, they are the ones who are learning in the curriculum. ( Leeanne Marriner)

After interviewing 8 primary students of a range of age and gender and I received a lot of varied answers. The younger children’s answers focused on creative subjects. Their answers were to learn about art, craft, music, dancing, and creating and constructing things. They said they found these subjects interesting and they would always be looking forward to the subject and they don’t get bored. The middle age children’s answers focused on a variety of subjects. They said PE, art, science, computer technology and learning about the world were the subjects they wanted to be taught. They felt that these subjects are interesting, exciting and it kept them focused and on task. They also said that computers should be used in the class more regularly. The older children’s views and answer’s were interesting. They felt that English, maths and history were important and they understood that they needed to learn about these subjects, even though there not interesting at times. The subjects they were interested in and felt that they should be provided are photography, textiles, woodwork and IT. They said science, PE, art and computers are the current interesting subjects they do. The difference between the student’s views and the views expressed by the media differ because the media’s focus is on the big picture and that teaching should prepare students for life after school. The views of the younger students focuses on their enjoyment and interest. That could be due to the age gap because it appears that the responses of the older students are similar to the views presented in the media. (Hawraa Al Mosawy)

The students I interviewed were both boys and girls, ranging from age 7 (grade 1) to 17 (year 11). The first thing that struck me was one of the answers given when I asked if they are excited about learning in class, the 10 year old girl’s response was, “**Not with some of the teachers - it depends on the teacher”. The younger students were very excited because they want to be able to teach people what they know when older. One 8 year old loved reading group because they are using computers and it’s a bit different. The 17 year old said it varies; some things are more exciting than others, where as a 14 year old boy is quite disengaged because he likes sports and wishes there were more subjects about the human body or fitness. Another boy would like to learn things that could help them in their careers. **
 * Majority of the secondary school kids think they should be learning Math, English, science and SOSE (Studies of society and environment). One boy would like to learn more about the human body and the effects of drugs and alcohol. The primary children want to learn Numeracy, spelling history, hand writing and think there should be more technology. **
 * All of the students sounded keen and happy to be at school, the majority are interested in most of their subjects, especially grade one, they particularly like it when they do writing because they get to write about their weekend. (Narelle Pitts)**

I interviewed three students in grade one and two, aged between seven and nine, and three students in grades three and four. The grade one and two students were two boys and one girl. The two boys said that they think that they have to learn to write, although enjoy playing sports and would rather be doing P.E. The girl in grade two said that she likes to read, and enjoys literacy. The girl also said that she would like to spend more time doing art as she enjoys making things. All three students said that they enjoy learning in the classroom and some things that they do is fun such as maths games and group activities. The students from grade three and four were two girls and one boy. The two girls said that think that they should spend more time doing subjects in which they enjoy, such as art and music, and feel that they spend too much time doing literacy and numeracy. The boy said that he knows that literacy and numeracy are important, although loves playing games in P.E. The boy said that he enjoys classroom learning activities such as science experiments, and wished that he got to do more of the fun activities when in the classroom.
 * STUDENT POLL (Erin Sell)**

These students views seem different from what the focus seems to be in the media. The media reports issues such as the importance of literacy and numeracy in schools, and that these areas need to be the main focus. I think that literacy and numeracy are important, but also believe that students enjoy learning when it involves areas in which they find interesting. This is the hard part, trying to ensure that what you are teaching the students is both interesting and also valuable and challenging.

Part 2: Student poll The students that were interviewed for the purpose of this poll ranged from prep to grade 6. They all identified maths as the most interesting subject that they are being taught in school. When they were asked what they thought they needed to learn to prepare them for the future they responded that they needed to learn maths, literacy and science. If we look at the draft national curriculum we see that the curriculum areas of mathematics, English, and science were the first to be developed which falls in line with the student’s responses about what they feel is important for them to learn about. However, the media claim presented here doesn’t talk about these curriculum areas at all. It places more emphasis on the global perspective of education. These differences may exist because the model that places more emphasis on the core curriculum areas of maths, literacy and science is the model that is familiar to the students that were polled. -Kim Rae

After undertaking my survey of 6 primary school aged children I learnt that it can differ a lot between gender and age as to what they think they would like to study more of. A grade 2 girl said that she loved music class because she really liked to listen and make music but only had this opportunity once a week, she also said that she can’t wait until she is old enough to join the school band like her older sibling. Computers was a subject that a grade 6 boy thought he might like to know more about because he said, so many jobs when you are older involve computer knowledge. Maths was the choice of a grade 5 girl because she said she loved maths because she was good with numbers and enjoyed maths problem solving tasks. She was among the top achievers in her class in most subjects. One of the grade 6 girls said she really enjoyed Visual arts time but didn’t like the fact that they only got to spend 1 lesson a week in the specialist arts room. She would like to see more arts involved into the classroom on a day to day basis. Both the grade 1 and 6 boy’s that I asked said they would love more sport each week. This really didn’t surprise me as boys and some girls of all ages love getting outside and playing games. After asking that children what they would like to she taught more of in schools, I think they tended to go for the fun subject as they usually provide a bit of down time. I don’t really think that a lot of children can look at what might benefit them in the future, but usually different opinions that are expressed in the media from teachers, parents or business professionals do have some knowledge at what might benefit the next generation of workers. Rachelle Collins

__**Student Poll**__
====I asked a class of 7 special needs students what they would like to be taught at school. They were of varying ages but were classed between years 7-9 secondary. I knew I would probably get a diversity of interesting responses as these students had a range of disabilities from behaviour to intellectual and physical disorders. ==== ====And yes they did deliver. 4 of the students wanted more physical activities incorporated in the curriculum and their responses ranged from learning how to drive a car or motorbike at school, to going fishing and visiting 'Dreamworld Themepark' once a year. Three students wanted more computer games to be played at school. ==== ====The classroom teacher suggested one of the students with a hearing impairment had a love for animals and had often brought lizards and frogs and other creatures to school to show his peers. 2 students discussed learning the guitar and drums and the possibility of recording music. One students liked the game Monopoly which made me think he had an interest in numeracy through handling money and associated maths concepts. ==== <span style="color: #008000; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Emily Oliver

<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 180%;">Student Poll – Mahala Pirpiris Initially I felt I should ask primary students about this, but I am not often in the company of primary students right now, so I decided to ask the teenagers in my life and some of their friends. They loved that they were asked. They said they wished they were asked more often as they are the people who are actually studying! Here are their responses.

My 14 year old son said he thought the current subjects were pretty good and we shouldn’t change anything. I was astounded as I’m waiting to see a sign that he is actually paying attention!

Then I asked my daughter who is in Year 12 and some of her friends. These are the answers they gave me: - Etymology – the history of words – we should know why we use the words we do. - The curriculum should go more into more depth and have more specialized topics - Much more variety in available languages! - Creative writing - Cooking

I should state that these responses were all from Year 12 girls who are all absolutely delightful, hardworking students who are engaged in everything they do. I wonder if their teachers would be surprised at the answers they gave!

I often ask students what subjects they are doing but I have never asked this question of them before. It underlines strongly the need to know and understand your student’s interests no matter what age they are. Enjoying what they are doing creates motivation and motivation goes a long way towards engagement.