Student+Poll+Sharon+10

=Student Poll. Georgia McCristal.=

I interviewed 6 students ranging from prep to grade 6 and asked them all the two same questions: The other question I asked the students was
 * "What do you think is important to learn about in schools?**" I got quite a varied response with the younger students suggesting such things as art, adding and subtracting and sport and the older students suggesting things such as history, maths, english and science.
 * "What do you enjoy learning about the most in class?**' the answers that i received to this question were quite predictable both the younger and the older students reported back with: arts, sports and music

I believe that as you grow up your set of values change and you start to learn what it is that will benefit you in the long run. In saying this, throughout school i remember being reinforced in the fact that english, science and maths are subjects that will benefit me in the long run, I don't know if this is because these subjects were the only ones we seemed to have been tested on or not. I put it all down to experience, as you grow up you learn what skills get you what you want. I was not at all surprised in the feedback i gained for my second question it indicates that kids like to be physically active and show creativity. The subjects in chosen for this question engage all the senses as well, which is all part of growing up and exploration.

STUDENT POLL - Donna Vlahos
After interviewing students of ages varying from 11 to 16 years old, I have found that all that has requested of the curriculum from this group are practical subjects that they will find use for in everyday life.

Subsequent to speaking with Thomas, Abbey, Samuel and Cooper from Year 5 and Year 6, I found that the subjects that the children enjoyed most were the more hands-on topics. The students enjoy physical education, art and music and general group activities in class. They were quite happy with what they were learning, but added that they would like to learn more about the planet, environment and human body.

I also spoke with Mel, 15, and Jarrad,16, who were not entirely happy with what they had been learning at school. While they enjoyed subjects varying from English to Woodworking, the students did not look forward to Maths and History. They have found the current topics of these subjects irrelevant to them presently and irrelevant to their futures.

Ultimately, I believe many of the students do not know or understand the curriculum or why it is in place. The high school students had never received an explanation as to why they were studying certain areas and how it could be used in everyday life.

Both sets of students were excelling in subjects that were hands on and that they could see a use for in everyday life. While the students enjoy practical subjects, I think the media has a more future focused point of view. I think the media mostly view the curriculum from what would be beneficial for the country’s interest rather than a personal interest. The media emphasise learning of economics, Australasian relations and politics. While the media look at the student population as a whole, the students consider their own wants and needs individually and often without great thought to the future.

__ Student Poll – Natalie Pauly __ What do you think should be taught in schools?

Grade 6 Male student: Woodwork/ Metal Work

Grade 5 Female student: Pottery/Art

Grade 3 Male student: Football Training/Sport Reflection: I was quite impressed with my students’ responses, I was expecting them to suggest unrealistic out there answers such as how to fly a plane, how to be a princes or how to travel to the moon but they all chose activities that are currently taught in schools today. I was also impressed that their choices were hands on and active outdoor activities. With kids interests being more indoor activities at home such as computer games and watching tv it is important that schools assist in keeping them interested in being active.

18px​Week 3 - What Should We Teach?
Tutorial group 10 Sharon Student poll; Kayelene Theodore

Grade 2 - 7 year old boy ; – like to play more sporting games! -learning about around the world, but not interesting. -I enjoy learning in my classroom. Grade 3/4 - 9 year old girl ; -I like to learn about life / history -I am learning about plants. This is very interesting because I don’t know a lot about plants. -I love our classroom because we have an open grade with a big room and lots of people. Grade 5/6 – 11 year old girl; -We need to learn life skills not just maths. -Australian history my teacher makes it very interesting she has special ways in which she teaches it to the class. -Excited about learning in class as our teacher has different exciting ways to teach us. She uses props to help us learn. Year 8 – 13 year old girl -I think we learn the right things at school. -Something’s are interesting. Woodwork I don’t enjoy because the teacher is always grumpy. Having a double Geography Monday morning is draining. -Excited about learning now because they have painted our classroom from pink to blue and white. Year 10 student -year 10 is your choice so I can do the subjects that I am interested in to help my career choice. There is no law subject offered in year 10 or 11 this would be good. -I am very interested in my subjects my teachers engage with what they are teaching and they know about what they are teaching. I am also in with a good group of students. -Yes because in year 10 we are treated not as students but as a part of the school the teachers have a joke with us and we have a mutual respect for each other. This makes me happy to go to school. I think the answers from all these students make interesting points. The year 8 student comment about woodwork proves that our approach as teachers does impact on our children. Also I thought the comment about the colour of the room was interesting. The grade 6 comment on life skills is probably lacking in some schools and could be incorporated in different areasof learning, food for thought! The 7 year old boy who wanted to play more sport has a point as the obesity problem grows maybe more physical activity could be implemented. The 9 year old has a different classroom set up where there are two classes in one large room and she enjoys having all the different children in their class and two teachers, a different approach to a classroom set up. Finally the year 10 student who enjoys attending school demonstrates that with teachers that really engage with their pupils earn their respect. Respect is very important earn.

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.

Folowing are my results from asking a variety of boys "what should be taught in schools?" (Jacquie Coad) Kindergarten Boys: “How to read”, “Things I don’t know”, “Art” Year 2 Boys: “How to make a farm”, “How to be a pilot”, “Science and Chemistry, because I like to discover things!” Year 3 Boys: “Maths, to help me add up my scores”, “How to spell really long words”, “How to draw really cool pictures” Year 4 Boys: “Anything outdoors”, “Japanese or Chinese, not French”, “How to make computers”, “How to use your manners”, “How to have a career” I was a little shocked at the variety of answers. By everyone having a different one, shows how each child has a different need from school and this could influence the way you teach. They all wanted to learn something and there were no negative responses, which was good. I like how practical some of them are, but I was surprised at “the manners” comment, and when I asked why, he replied “because we need to know them to get a good job!” However, my favourite response was by one of the kindergarten boys, as he looked at me like I was stupid and said "things I don't know!"

Student Poll CHARMIAN COLE

A year Nine Student: "Ummm I think we should be learning about day to day life after we leave school"

A grade one student: "Dancing, every day because I love it!"

A grade six student: "I want to do more Science because I like doing experiments and learning about the world and I want to be a scientist"

A grade eight student: "I love sport and I think sport should be compulsory in all schools because we are short of players in our soccer team and I know a girl who goes to a school that has compulsory sport. This would be good because it would help kids get fit and healthy and help the kids who need more team players to be able to keep playing their favorite sport"

Reflection: I particularly loved the last answer and agree with her totally, what a great idea. The little girl who wanted dancing everyday has obviously found her passion for which she would like to concentrate more on and it would be great if the opportunity was there for her to do this. Dancing was my passion and I believe it should be part of any school curriculum as it is an alternative to a sport and is also a social activity. The year nine student who said she thought they should learn more about day to day life after school was interesting as she drew comparisons to what her Mum had taught her as she was growing up about ATM machines, saving money, using a washing machine, catching planes, trains and taxis. She compared this to what some of her friends didn't know and felt it was important that these things were taught to them. Interesting debate as to whether these things should be up to parents or the school...... hmmm.

Sharon Fraser: What great feedback from the kids - 4 students with 4 different opinions about the curriculum. I wonder what the ideal school would be for each of them and what the teacher's role would be?

Student Poll (Nicole Wojcik) I have interviewed six students very briefly. Student 1 (Prep) – Because of the age of this student it was difficult to communicate with them about the curriculum. The student did tell me that they like coming to school and enjoyed sport the most. Student 2 (Grade 3) – ‘I like learning at school, my favourite subject is literacy. I like reading.’ When asked if the student thought the curriculum should be changed they were not familiar of this word in particular. Student 3 (Grade 4) – When speaking with this student, I asked, ‘do you like the subjects you are taught at school?’The student responded ‘not really, sometimes it’s hard. I want to do cooking like my brother at his school.’ Student 4 (Grade 5) – ‘My favourite subject is maths. I think we should do more maths.’ Student 5 (Grade 6) – ‘I know what the curriculum is, it’s what we’re marked on I think. I like what we are taught and don’t think it should change.’ Student 6 (Grade 8) – ‘The curriculum is in the news sometimes. I’d like to be taught more English. I’m not very good at maths. I like my electives to they are probably my favourite subjects.’ Reflection – These students didn’t have a very broad concept of the curriculum it was the students who were grade 6 and up it seems that did have some sort of understanding but even then it was mentioned on something they were marked on rather than what they were taught.

Sharon Fraser - there is a bit of a theme here - teach more of the things I'm 'good at' and like doing!

__** Student Poll - Sara Hugen **__ I interviewed 6 students during recess at their school. I was able to speak with three boys from year 6 (Students A,B,C), a boy and a girl from year 3 (Students D,E) and one girl from year 2 (Student F)

**Student A**: “I don’t know, I want to be a doctor though so maybe some more stuff that would help me be a doctor.” **Myself:** “You think that teachers could maybe start teaching about professionals earlier?” **Student A & B**: “Yeah” **Student B**: “I really like science because I get to really learn new things and make things. It’s really cool when we get to do experiments and projects in class.” **Student C**: “ I am not very good at English, can we get rid of it? If I could do more of something I would do more maths. I like the big worded ones that you do as a group.” **Student D**: “ I want to work with my friends more. I hate it when the teacher asks me questions I don’t know. I get so embarrassed” **Student E**: “I would like to do more work outside. Do you think we could change things and do more work outside would be so fun wouldn’t it. Something different.” **Student F**: “ I like school, I like my friends, I don’t want school to change”.
 * Question Asked: What do you think you should be learning about in school? **
 * Year 6 Boys **
 * Year 3 **
 * Year 2 **

My group of children all seemed to me to be asking for the same thing. VARIETY. They all wanted more hands on learning also. Outside of the question stated to them, they also discussed with me how much more interested they would be in different topics such as numeracy and English and LOTE if they could do it as a group and learn together. They felt that it really helped them understand difficult things more easily as it was easier to ask a friend to explain than to be the odd one out asking a teacher. In conclusion of their ideas I would say that peer learning appears to be important to children from different grades. I was really surprised by what the children came back with. I tried to use age appropriate words to the children to ensure they understood what I was asking and I provided more details to those who still didn’t. Trying to relate the children’s views to the media is difficult to me as instead of really pointing out a subject or topic they were interested in they were discussing **how** they want to learn. I think this is a very interesting and important finding. Children in primary school aren’t ready to decide for themselves whole heartedly what they should learn but they do seem to know how they want to learn it.
 * Reflection **

Sharon Fraser - I really like your point - they're more interested in 'how they want to learn' not what they have to learn. We should aim to link what they're interested in, enjoy doing, find fulfilling and fun with what they need to learn (says who?).

__**STUDENT POLL – Emma Cornick**__ I interviewed 6 children from a primary school asking them each '//what do you think you should be learning in school?//'
 * Student 1 - (year 2):** 'How to make video games, I want to make one with a huge black fast car that races around a track that has heaps of obstacles like shooters and if I hit one then I loose a life or they shoot me and I loose one too.'(he giggles)
 * Student 2 – (year 3):** 'I think I should learn cool stuff like how to make things with wood and heaps more PE because I am really good at running.'
 * Student 3 – (year 4):** 'I know we have to learn all the boring stuff like maths but I love painting and clay work, I want to do more stuff like that, that's way more fun than quiet reading and spelling tests.'
 * Student 4 – (year 5):** 'I really don't want to learn more maths, I hate it and it's so boring, I like stuff with my mates, group work and that. Science is pretty cool, like when we made a volcano, yeah I want to learn more stuff like that.'
 * Student 5 – (year 6):** 'I want to learn more cooking and art stuff. That's my favourite part of school, I love painting and drawing but I am not a very good drawer, science is ok too, I like reading but I don't like talking in front of the class, it scares me.'
 * Student 6 – (year 6):** 'I don't know what I want to learn, school sucks, I like recess and lunch so I can be with my mates, best part of school is the holidays.'
 * Reflection:** After asking the children what they think they should learn I realise that they viewed it as what they want to learn not what they think they should learn. Also the mention finding maths and English based areas boring was a common denominator. Creative areas were well liked and students were wanting to learn and participate more in these areas.

Sharon Fraser - again, the difference between what and how they want to learn and what they need to or should learn! Surely these shouldn't be mutually exclusive.

STUDENT POLL - Angela Derrick

I interviewed seven students ranging in ages from 5 years to 17 years old - from both genders. These students were from two Primary schools and one College. The question put to each student was age-appropriately delivered, resulting in some interesting remarks.This excercise proved enlightening, as the opinions were candid and varied. The question was " What do you think should be taught in schools?"

Girl - 5 yrs: "I like everything. I like numbers and shapes." Boy - 6 yrs: "I like writing and coulouring-in. I like playing with my friends and being nice to people. I like painting." Boy - 9 yrs: " I enjoy Maths. I think Art and cooking should be taught at school." Girl - 10 yrs: " I think we should learn photography and dancing. Spelling is too easy, 'cause I'm in the highest level. If we had more photography, it would be more interesting." Girl - 11 yrs: "I think dancing and gymnastics, because I like to dance." Girl - 12 yrs: "Maths is what I really like to learn - spelling the least. I want to learn more about Religion, 'cause I like to hear about God. I like to learn with my friends. I think we should learn about Autism. My friends don't know much about it and I have a nephew who has Autism, so they could know more about it." Girl - 17 yrs: "I believe we should have the choice of all the subjects now on offer. They should be structured differently, though, to encourage individual thinking. Art is my 'best' subject and I am really interested in exploring more about it. I would prefer to be given an overview of the subject prior to starting and then choose out of it, what is valuable to me."

I was impressed by the last student in her candid comments. I think she is a deep thinker and probably should pursue a course in Art, Psychology, Philosophy and/or Theology in her higher educational studies. It seemed that the younger students were mainly interested in learning the things that __they__ liked or were interested in. We all seem to put 100% effort into the things we enjoy doing - ironing, washing, cleaning....

Sharon Fraser - really interesting outcomes thus far....

Student Poll - Mellina Scavone

I interviewed a range of students from primary and high school and the answers were quite interesting. Many of the primary students just wanted school to be more 'fun', so thought school needed more art, sport, games and drama. One student thought that school would be much better if he could bring his nintendo DS!! Some primary students were excited for learning, some were not, and those that were not said they were bored. All the high school students I interviewed wanted more life skills to be taught, such as better sex education, driver education, alcohol and drugs education, resume writing and social situations. I found this response quite interesting because I was thinking of subjects like history, maths, english, etc whilst the students all came up with skills that would benefit them after leaving school. I think that teaching these life skills in high school would greatly benefit students and help them to become functional citizens in today's society.

Student poll - Theresa Blizzard

I canvassed a number of students from a both private and public schools. I chose varying age ranges form 3 years to 13 years, both boys and girls. I asked them the following questions, I must admit I was very pleased with my own children's responses. (Eleanor, William and Harry) It summed up their personalities for me in a nut shell. My youngest just wanting to have fun, my middle child who asks really deep questions at times and my eldest and to date, most studeous. I have left the wording as they reported it to me for all responses. Questions and responses: Eleanor 3 years pre kinder: I paint a picture
 * 1. What do you think you should learn in school?**

William 6 years prep: How dinosaurs were extinct. How nature grows. The letter M and all the letters. How did God make the world? Maths.

Ava 6.5 years Grade 1: Maths. Religion. How to read. Sounds.

Jack 8.5 years Grade 3: Spelling. Maths.

Harry 10 years, Grade 4: Math. Writing. Reading. Make friends. History of everything. Art. Sport. How to keep fit and healthy. Electronics like computers and tv and how to work the subwoofer. Technical drawing - but thats like in high school. How to tell the time. How to drive (high school again). Woodwork. Aboriginal stuff. How to use the bible - because you might need to use the bible one day - you never know. To be confident. Space and gravity. Cutting with scissors. How to tie your laces. You can't jsut stay inside and do work, you have to get outside and get physical - mentally and physically. How to stay healthy. Music. Drama. How to swim, run and that's about all.

Ariel 11 years grade 6: basic knowledge of subjects that help you when you grow and that. Maths and that for measurements, english and langauge and that, science the basics, drama and confidence and creativity and that.

Robert 12 years Garade 7: How to build and consruction. Physical stuff, sport. Math. Yeah - I guess reading. Welding.


 * Question 2. What do you like most about going to school?**

Eleanor 3 : I play with my friends.

William 6: Seeing my friends

Ava 6.5: to learn

Jack 8.5: Play with your friends.

Harry 10: Playing with my friends and stuff. Doing artwork like drawing, PE, sometimes maths is fun. Waiting for the reports and seeing if I got a good report.

Ariel 11: Larning about all the different subjects and hanging out with my friends.

Robert 12: friendship and learning.


 * Question 3. What do you like __//doing//__ most at school?**

Eleanor 3: Going outside to play.

William 6: show and tell, becasue you can listen and look at what they have and what they do and move around things.

Ava 6.5: Learning about religion, maths, sounds, reading.

Jack 8.5: Doing maths.

Harry 10: all the things I just said. (see answers in Q2)

Ariel 11: Maths and English and drama.

Robert 12: metal work.

Eleanor 3: Yes
 * Question 4. Do you like going to school?**

William 6: Yes

Ava 6.5: yes

Jack 8.5: yes

Harry 10: yes

Ariel 11: yes

Robert 12: yeah.

I learnt a lot from the answers I recieved. I found it interesting that all of the children who went to the same private school named up some form of religious teachings in some form even when I know that both sets of parents of these children are non religious families. Is their interest in learing about the unknown the thing that they are drawn to want to know more about? I'm not sure. Harry seemed to itemise the majority of all he has ever accomplished at school since Kinder, and project what he may need inthe future. Robert, who I know is not what would be classed as a confident reader, ommitted reading from the list of things that should be taught. I asked him "what about reading for those children who need it for their jobs?". It was only then that he said it should be taught. I think that from the answers, children what to learn about what interests them and what they are good at. I attended a session with Andrew Reimer last year, who told us that noone is great at everything. So why spend time struggling on the things you know you are not good at, and instead spend most of your time on the things you love and are good at. It's good for your self esteem and good for productivity, and it's time well spent. Spend a little time on adapting and learning tools that will assist you in being able to get the job done in the area your not so great at. For example I'm not great a numbers, but I need to use them in my work, so I have developed spreadsheets and notes that can assist me in calculating what I need when I need it. Then I can spend the majority of my time creating stimulating learning environments, display chiildren's art work, liase with parents, motivate team members etc. The children all said they enjoyed school, which I thought was great, as they all seemed engaged. Ariel was able to articulate the corrolation between going to school and needing it for wrok later in life. The common thread was the importance of social interactions with each of them. School is a fabulous means by which to practice those ever important social skills. Children have to learn to share, take turns, choose their friends and how to interact with those they don't get on with. They need to learn negotiation skills, mediation skills, peer support, how to interact with people in the community, "authority figures", professionals to the school as visitors, two way communication, appropritness of humour and when and where to use it, and in front of which audience it best suits. How to work independently and in a team. The main difference that I can see, if I am interpereting it correclty, between what the children wnat and what is going to be offered in the National Curriculum, is that once in formal school, there will be a set pattern of what will be taught to children all across Australia at the same year level, as opposed to what intersts the child at the time. I can see this as a way of disengaging children who may be on the brink of caring about their education or not. The differences might exist because older stakeholders (other than the children themselves) had not considered that what the children are interested in as a way to get them engaged in the program/curriculum, and make learning tangible and relevent for them. Rather, those stakeholders thought about meeting everyones needs and not treading on anyones toes in the process. However, in saying that I thinkthat the Early Years Learning Framework for early childhood in the form of the Belonging, being and becomeing document, does a good job of meeting childrens individual needs and scaffolding on the areas that are of interest to them. Allowing them to not be categorised into age groups as so often happens, but rather be inclusive of all children. This way, an infant can go all through their early childhood life before reaching formal schooling, and have a smooth, individualised program that incorporates what they need to have a strong sense of identity, feel connected with and contribute to their world, have a strong sense of wellbeing, are confident and involved learnersand are effective communicators (Belonging, Being and becoming, 2000) The hope/idea is that by the time that very same infant gets to "school", they will already have the tools to ensure that they are able to be effective learners.

**//__ Student poll __//**

//“I would like to learn how to speak in other languages and learn about other counties.”// //“I think we should play better games in sport like football and cricket.”// //“I would like to do drama more often then once a week.”// //“We don’t get to do any cooking at school; I think we should get to cook our lunch everyday.”// //“We only do dancing sometimes in sport, like a few times a year. We should have a class that is just dancing.”// //“We should have a class that is about computer games and stuff. It would be cool to learn how to make games or just play them.”// **__Grade 10 female student:__** More modern books in English //“The books we read and study in English are old school; we should be reading more modern books that we can relate to.”//
 * __Grade 2 female student:__** Languages
 * __Grade 2 male student:__** Sport
 * __Grade 4 female student:__** Drama
 * __Grade 4 male student:__** Cooking
 * __Grade 5 female student:__** Dancing
 * __Grade 5 male student:__** Video games, computer games

I decided to interview a boy and girl from each grade to see the different interests and idea each sex expressed. It was interesting to see that all the boys chose physical activities. The girls chose some physical activities but also talked about learning about other countries and languages. The students I interviewed had some great ideas. All of these ideas could be used in a classroom setting. Some could be implemented on a regular basis and others in moderation. Students would clearly like to have more of a variety and learn more about the things they are interested in. Obviously schools need to teach all students maths and literacy as this is the key to successful functioning in society and also the ground work for learning in other areas, but there needs to be more individualised programs for students, as they all have such different interests and capabilities. Mel Anning

STUDENT POLL- Christine Russell 5-8-2010 __Grade 1 student: __ reading, maths, sport, we should learn more about reading the time, science experiments. __Grade 3 student: __ literacy, maths, English, religion, practice spelling, PE, drama, art, science, cooking, pottery, swimming. __Grade 5 student__: literacy, maths, science, society and history, cooking, a language that you would like to learn for the future, swimming. __Grade 7 Student__:

literacy, maths, different languages (particularly Asian), science, drama, PE( so you can stay healthy), food and textiles, political studies, life skills (how banks work, paying bills etc). __Grade 9 student: __

English/literacy, maths, physics, ethics, languages (as an extra subject-optional), employment knowledge (how to apply for employment and other relevant knowledge), careers, financial literacy, etiquette, foreign relations.

All the students I interviewed were thoughtful in their answers, they all (at their respective ability levels) thought that most of the core subjects were important and the older students were very focused on learning life skills, preparing themselves for life after school. The younger students were interested in learning the things that they enjoyed the most but understood that it was important to be able to read, write and understand maths.

Student Poll by Tamatha Creely

I interviewed 5 children, ranging from age 4 - 8, these are my findings

Student 1 - aged 5; Should learn different things; parachuting; art and craft; read and write; know the boundaries of where your allowed to go; be able to talk to your teacher; include topics of self interest such as space ships and horses and have a special weekly person (Kindergarten experience).

Student 2 - aged 8; Should learn everything

Student 3 - aged 8; Should learn about nature/plants ie the environment such as animals, space, recycling, air, water; art skills such as colouring; maths skills; reading/writing; computer skills; languages; science; have student mediators if you need help

Student 4 - aged 6; should learn reading/writing, (so as to enter the premier's reading challenge); learn about bullying; learn how to play with friends, nicely (socialisation skills) this includes looking after friends when they are upset or hurt; celebrate birthdays; learn not to litter; being sensible on the mat (listening skills); gardening skills (to look after the school garden)

Student 5 - aged 4 (pre-school class); should learn the ABC's; skipping skills; nutrition skills (how to eat properly and taking of lunch to school); special interests such as airports and cars; writing.

This exercise I found interesting, especially from the point of view from the younger students. Even from an early age we seem to have firm ideas about what we will be learning within the school environment. These answers were thought about in quite depth, bar one student, who wants to learn and know everything, without much effort I think, but that maybe me generalising the short answer. The students also seem to have a sense of values and morals they would like to see continue. This then forms the basis of safety and comfort zones for optimal teaching and learning experiences.