Student+Poll+Sue+09

This was an interesting exercise and envoked a few giggles when getting opinions of some prep aged children. At a primary school level the children I spoke with knew the importance of being able to read and write and do maths. All those questioned on what they think they should or like to learn at school reffered to this in some way. These primary aged students seemed to just mention the subjects that they already participate in. Is this because they are so young and accept what they are taught to be the right way and its just the way it is. If I had conducted this poll on high school aged students or even adults would wish they could revisit their schooling days the answers I assume would be much different.

Prep Students male - would like to learn to read, write, to eat properly, wear ties and do more painting and drawing. female - would like to learn to read, do more soundwaves (literacy text), writing and the alphabet and maths.

Grade 1 male - maths, music, reading, art,spelling words, drama, church, maths and literacy games.

Grade 2 male - how to care for others, maths, languages, handwriting, reading, music, sports and art. male - Computers, reading and writing (literacy), maths, sport and science.

Grade 3 female -

Grade 4 female - Maths, spelling, drama and art

Grade 5 female - Literacy, maths, reading, PE, art, comprehension (like watching BTN and writing about it) and ICT.

I asked the questions: 1. What are you happy doing at school right now? 2. What would you like to do more of at school? and 3. What would you like to do less or not at all at school?
The kinder student (male) wanted to do more learning games on the school computers "like matching things", he also wanted to listen to more stories and learn to read, he was happy to participate in the science, languages, PE, art, music and numeracy lessons that he currently receives at school.

The Grade 2 student (female) wanted more a lot more art, especially painting, "bible stuff", learning about other countries because she enjoyed learning about China, writing creative stories, music, numeracy automatic response and games with time limits because it's fun and was happy with everything else.

The Grade 4 student (female) complained that she did not do enough art and said "I love art" and also wanted more opportunities to play around with music trying out other instruments and making up their own songs, also wanted to learn more about other countries and languages, do more science and learn to sew and cook. She was happy with the level of teaching in PE. She also wished to do no maths and no spellling because both were hard.

One Grade 5 student (male) wanted to do more maths, PE including soccer and ball games, literacy and drama, languages because he had not learnt any since grade 3, more science, more cooking and more "stuff on the computer". He also said he would prefer not to be taught art and music.

The other Grade 5 student (female) wanted to do more art and different stuff not just drawing all the time, PE in particular "ball skills, ball games like netball", more unit maths and mental maths (but no automatic response "it doesn't teach us anything, it's a waste of time"), more studies on other cultures and countries, more languages, more christian living activities (christian school), more "creative music" instead of learning songs. She was happy with the writing and creative writing and with the social studies. She said that she also wanted less science and would prefer if less things were done on the computer, "do them in books instead".

One Grade 6 student (male) said he would like to do more narratives and stories, more art "like art from other cultures like indigenous art where they make dot things and it looks so cool", 3D art like making stuff from toothpicks and constructing scuptures and things, more learning about other countries and cultures, more project stuff like science experiments to work our what works and what doesn't, more excursions that involve projects to see what works like "going down to the beach and making a raft to see if it floats, and more IT projects such as powerpoints. He was happy with languages, PE and music just as they are. He would like less maths, more computer game fun maths and maths games but less worksheets and work books which he said were "boring".

The other Grade 6 student (female) said she was happy to learn maths, literacy, PE, music, languages and IT but would like more SOSE projects such as those that involved researching other countries and their cultures and traditions as well as more science experiments and more art such as painting and clay because the drawing was getting "boring all the time". She also said she wanted the 2 hour literacy block to stop because it was taking up too much time and there was no time left to do the other subjects.

The Grade 7 student (male) wanted to do more english especially "asking questions about things that happen in books and stories and writing different things about books", more metalwork and woodwork, more PE because "we don't do daily PE which sucks". He was happy with science, art, cooking (which he said he really enjoys), languages, IT and music. He would like to do less maths especially algebra and would like to do no drama at all "probably because the teacher doesn't like me".

I really enjoyed doing this survey and was really interested to hear the different responses, especially since some involved my own children and step-children, so I got to find out their views that I would not have otherwise thought to ask. I would like to show the teacher at school some of the responses to the survey that I asked a few of his students today during my voluteer placement also, because I am not sure that the students are ever asked these questions and I think as I teacher I would like to know. I realise that teachers are too busy to cater to each individual student's preferences, some are too important to not include in the curriculum too, but if there was a general topic that they all wanted to do then I think it would be great to try and take that on board.

Mel A. Suleau 02/08/2010

STUDENT POLL – Priscilla Hutchison I found the students I polled thought it was necessary to teach subjects in schools, with an emphasis on Maths-numeracy and English-literacy. While a Year 9, female student expressed the need for core subjects to be practical, relevant and useful in real life situations, she felt electives just need to be enjoyable for those students who choose to do them. I was surprised that students did not express more creative and imaginative ideas, such as having a school farm or learning magic tricks. Many schools place an emphasis on the teaching of subjects, and of those subjects, Maths-numeracy and English-literacy are often seen to be the most important. The students I polled appeared to have accepted this message and now hold it as their own belief. Despite this, the students I polled sadly were not engaged in their learning. Students reported that only on rare occasions they became excited about learning. A Year 6, male student summed it up when he said, “I’m not overly interested, but I’m not dead bored.” A major difference between the student’s views and those expressed in the media is that the media is pushing schools to teach something different and new. While students have accepted that what is currently taught in schools is what they need to learn, the media sees the necessity of addressing present practices, challenging them and calling for change. == [|JenniferSweeney] Student ideas varied greatly, as individuals chose what suited themselves as students and not as a whole school. Ideas were very diverse, most choosing a more explicit teaching of their favourite subjects i.e. HPE, music, art etc. It is interesting to note that none of the students that I questioned wanted more teaching of literacy and numeracy, with an emphasis on wanting more fun at school. Overall I think what they wanted was more engagement in their learning, to be a participator not a spectator. I think this has been expressed in the media and by other influential experts such as Sir Ken Robinson, in that creativity and engagement should be encouraged and that schooling should be an organic (growing the individual student) and not a mechanic (manufacturing the identical academic) process. I didn’t find any differences in the students’ expectations, except that they chose more of the subject they love and enjoy doing. These subjects were just as diverse as the students themselves. Everyone/student is different and has different interest and I think this was the message from the students. == ==Student Poll My student poll involved two age groups: Group 1: 12/13 year olds - currently enrolled in Year 7. All students thought English, Mathematics and Science were important subjects to be learning in schools. The interest in the subjects they are currently exploring varied, depending on student gender: Females were more interested in English, Music and Art. Males tended to express more interest in Applied-Tech, Drama, Society & History, PE and Science. All students polled did not enjoy French and did not have an interest for it. All stated they enjoyed Japanese and could see more relevance in learning this subject as opposed to learning French. All students were not 'excited' about learning in the classroom. All students enjoyed and learned a lot, from learning values at school. Group 2 : 16/17 year olds - currently enrolled in Year 11. All students thought English and Mathematics were the most important subjects to be learning in schools as they are necessary for the effective function of daily life. Maths Applied was seen as being relevant to daily life more so than Maths Methods. In regards to other subjects they thought they should be learning, the consensus was that values were important. It also depended on what career path a person was to take or where their interests lay. Again, depending on their gender, the interest of their subjects varied: females tended to be more interested in Sociology and Religion. The tendency for males was towards Science and Physics. Both genders concluded they were not particularly enjoying English Communications, yet enjoyed Mathematics. Interestingly, although many students were doing well in their chosen subjects, they all said they were not 'excited' about learning in the classroom. All students expressed it would be good to have a national curriculum as it would make it easier if they were to move schools. Interestingly, all students did not think they should learn driver training at school. Students believed extra learning such as this should occur outside of school and be the responsibility of parents and driving schools. (Tanya Gavralas) ==

__//**Student Poll, maaitken (Meaghan Aitken) 137262**//__
 * This student poll involved two groups, one of which was a group of 3 grade 7 students, aged between 12 and 13. The second group was a group of 4 grade 12 students aged between 17 and 18. I found their opinions somewhat similar considering their age difference and experiences they would have had in school so far.**
 * To begin with, the younger students believed they should be learning more cooking, primarily because this was 'fun' and English and Mathematics because they believed it would be useful once they left school. Naively, they also thought that English and Maths would be the ONLY subjects they would need to get any job in the workforce. All of the younger students weren't interested in "Home echonomics (sewing)" and didn't think that it was necessary for the future. May i just add that these three students were also all male (as i was unable to pick and choose my students) and perhaps if a female was involved in the younger poll, the result may have been different in regards to sewing as they are the majority when it comes to home echonomics (this is not based on fact, just my own opinion). While the boys were very interested in "woodwork" and "metalwork", they didn't think that it would make much difference once they left school because they were of the understanding that a grade 7 'shop class' wasn't going to make any kind of impression when they were applying for an apprenticeship. I think they are correct. Although the boys didn't enjoy the primary subjects like Science, English and Maths, they knew that these subjects had a bigger chance of helping them leave school with a better grading upon entering the workforce. The students were also quite definite that there should be more Physical education taught in school because they are learning so much about childhood obesity (which they seemed to be more annoyed about than passionate about), and they think someone should 'do something' and get more PE involved. The three students that were polled had no interest in any Language subjects such as French, German, Japanese etc because they had no interest in visiting those destinations and didn't find it helpful. They found it 'boring'.**
 * The older group of students were somewhat similar. They would like to see more cooking at school as more and more people are getting interested in hospitality and as the new TV shows are coming out ("Masterchef") more people are thinking about culinary skills. All 4 of them understood that Maths, English and Science were all important and central subjects and were happy to continue with the 3 of them as 'compulsory' subjects. Like the younger group, Language subjects didn't interest them but after year 8 they become elective subjects and neither of the polled students had taken up a language subject again since year 8. The two females in the group were studying 'Sociology' as an elective and found it interesting and valuable if they were to pursue this at higher education such as University. All 4 of the polled students believed that Religion should be an elective subject and not compulsory but were all agreeable that they would like Roady Safety, Learner driving and Drug and Alcohol awareness brought into the school curriculum which was surprising for me. I think that some of the subjects the students may want at school won't be supported by the media as they wont be deemed necessary.**

(Kylie Wicks)The poll I conducted consisted of 9 students made up of 1x 6 year old, 3x 8 year olds, 4x 9 year olds and 1 x 12 year old. The group was also a mix of 4 boys and 5 girls. Overall the choices mostly appeared to be based on individual enjoyment or ability. Many also commented on their teachers ability to make it fun. I am including the responses I was given as I think they help see things from the students' perspectives. Question: What do you think it is important to/should learn about in school? Answers: Science seemed popular and when asked why the main reason was the experiments more hands on. Food for thought for other areas of curriculum. Question: How interesting/fun are the things you are learning about at the moment? Answers: Question: Are you excited about learning in the classroom? Answer: The more hands on experiences seemed to be deemed most valuable to the students because they were more fun. I feel this was a valuable insight into the students minds and could prove to be a useful reflection tool later in my career.
 * = Age ||= <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Gender ||= <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Comment ||
 * = <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">12 ||= <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">M ||< <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Science and Electronics because they are fun and you do things. ||
 * = <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">9 ||= <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">F ||< <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Maths, science, literacy, how to write neat and draw properly (put the details in). ||
 * = <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">8 ||= <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">F ||< <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Money - maths, spelling because need to be able to when you get a job. ||
 * = <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">8 ||= <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">F ||= <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Maths because practice makes you good at it and Spelling because if you don't write well you won't get a good report. ||
 * = <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">8 ||= <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">M ||< <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Spelling because sometimes I get things wrong. Maths so you can do tricky sums. ||
 * = <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">9 ||= <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">M ||< <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Reading so you get better and better at it and Maths so if teacher asks you a question you know the answer. ||
 * = <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">9 ||= <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">M ||< <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Science to get more good at doing it and writing then you get more smarter. ||
 * = <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">9 ||= <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">F ||< <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Art because you get to be creative and Science because it is fun. ||
 * = <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">6 ||= <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">F ||< <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Space, Plants, Art, More words and handwriting. ||
 * = <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Age ||= <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Gender ||= <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Comment ||
 * = <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">12 ||= <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">M ||< <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Alright some good some bad. Science and maths are good more fun doing experiments and stuff. Literacy and English are not as fun cause you have to write more and learn lots of words. ||
 * = <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">9 ||= <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">F ||< <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Really interesting been doing science and Maths seeing if things rot quickly and hard sums. ||
 * = <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">8 ||= <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">F ||< <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Good we went for an excursion to council chambers and learnt what different people do there. I like working with the class next door too. ||
 * = <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">8 ||= <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">F ||< <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Sometimes I like learning about how to write information reports about animals. ||
 * = <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">8 ||= <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">M ||< <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">yeah. Maths cause I am good at it. Science because we put a raw egg in vinegar the egg shell came off and floated then the skin stuff that was left made the egg bounce. ||
 * = <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">9 ||= <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">M ||< <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Kind of fun. Maths cause I am good at it and playing in the playground. ||
 * = <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">9 ||= <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">M ||< <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Interesting writing rainbow poem and maths cause i am good at it. ||
 * = <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">9 ||= <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">F ||< <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Very. Like doing science and Art. Maths is a bit boring and english is hard. ||
 * = <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">6 ||= <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">F ||< <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Fun because we are learning about space and get to make posters and we get to choose what we put on there. We learnt that a spaceman lost his glove in space and it is still floating there. ||
 * = <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Age ||= <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Gender ||= <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Comment ||
 * = <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">12 ||= <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">M ||< <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Good teacher makes it fun ||
 * = <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">9 ||= <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">F ||< <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Yes Teacher does it in a fun way. ||
 * = <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">8 ||= <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">F ||< <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Yes learning new things everyday. ||
 * = <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">8 ||= <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">F ||< <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Yes Teacher tells us what we are going to do and learn new things ||
 * = <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">8 ||= <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">M ||< <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Sometimes I like science but don't find some other stuff fun. ||
 * = <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">9 ||= <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">M ||< <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">yeah when we do science experiments and stuff we can do stuff with. ||
 * = <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">9 ||= <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">M ||< <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Interesting cause we learn about lots of things to make us better and smarter and teacher makes it fun. ||
 * = <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">9 ||= <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">F ||< <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">I like working with partners ||
 * = <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">6 ||= <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">F ||< <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">yeah get to be more creative its fun getting to know more about different plants and what's in space. ||
 * = <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">6 ||= <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">F ||< <span style="color: #ef00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">yeah get to be more creative its fun getting to know more about different plants and what's in space. ||

Student poll, by Therese Duff. From my student poll I learnt that students, as all stakeholders, have many and varied ideas as to what should be taught in schools. Mostly all students I polled agree that literacy and numeracy should be taught as they are seen to be the basis for all other learning. That is where the similarities end; besides literacy and numeracy views on what should be taught included science to further enhance human development. One year 5 student said ‘science, real science where you get to blow things up’, maybe he will be a pyrotechnics expert when he grows up. We should learn history so we don’t forget the mistakes of the past and make them again. Computer skills, including touch typing for primary aged students. Gardening and environmental studies so we can learn to take good care of the planet. Good character/values and morals because a lot of kids don’t have good role models at home. One year 11 student stated that she thought students should ‘learn more about more about what is going on in the world instead of learning about evolution. They should also be teaching about Creation. It was the comments of this student that prompted me to research what had been said in the media on this topic for the ‘claims in the media’ post. I have found that every student I polled voiced opinions on topics that interested them. All students had subjects they were currently studying that they loved and ones they found boring and irreverent. The high school students seemed to be engaged with more of their subjects, I assume this is because unlike primary students, they have a choice in what they study. <span style="color: #7030a0; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">An overwhelming majority of students polled state that they are excited about learning in the classroom. This could be because of the strategies the teacher utilises in presenting the topics and setting learning tasks for the students. I agree with Kylie Wicks, the subjects the students seem to be engaged with and learning in are also the ones they are having fun in.

_

__Student Poll Danielle Porter__

__In my student poll I interviewed students ranging from 6-18 years of age, consisting of 5 girls and 2 boys. When it came to read my data I found it very interesting to read. Most of the students said Maths first up, only two participants a 12 year old boy and a 6 year old girl felt Maths wasn’t needed. Among the other common subjects that came up were, Literacy, Arts, Knitting and sewing. The two boys aged, 12 and 16 both answered that practical work, such as woodwork and electronics, should be taught more. An 18 year old girl felt that discipline, morals and manners should be taught at school, but believes this could cause problems with parents. That they may feel is going too far and those things should be taught in the home.__ __I found that the boys were interested in some things learnt at school. While girls seemed to be interested in all subjects that had so far been taught.__ __As for the excited learning question I found that, across the board, all the students felt that sometimes they were excited others they were not. They liked the idea of more practical learning as well as learning outside in the classroom. For example an excursion, or taking a normal class outside on a beautiful day.__ __I found that my six year old student felt that subjects/topics like plants, bones and planets should be studied and taught more. In my opinion, if I was required to evaluate my findings, she was picking subjects already studied that she enjoyed and just wanted to do more in that particular area. The older students answered, I think, on a more practical level, what would be useful for the future to gain employment etcetera.__ __This is why the media’s role in Curriculum is important. They are reporting on what people are thinking and saying out in the world, those who are on the front line. I think the Governments, businesses want the Curriculum to prepare the young people for what the media reports is wanted in jobs. The media spreads the news of what society expects, ranging from rule abiding to pre-requisites for employers.__ __At the end of the day everyone is going to have their own opinions on what the Curriculum should be. My seven student poll has proved that, not one person answers were the same as the other. They were similar but not identical. I think the difference of opinions vary so much because people base their views on their own experiences, goal, ideas and aspirations.__ _ 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.

<span style="color: #008000; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 91.2%;">Please use a subheading (including your name) as part of your contribution.