An Alberta project may have the answer for those who remember school science classes being dull as dishwater.
As part of a change to the Grade 8 science curriculum in 2004, students are now treated to videos, posters and an interactive website to play up the wonder of water. The changes included a unit on salt and fresh water systems.
The program was conceived and paid for by members of the Alberta Irrigation Projects Association, government, corporate sponsors, school divisions and a nonprofit education foundation.
While the Alberta curriculum includes two approved textbooks, educators agree that following the books alone does not engage restless 13-year-olds.
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“There is a need for relevant and local curriculum support when it comes to water in Alberta,” said Jason Toner of the Inside Education foundation, which develops extra curricular programs for schools about resource related subjects such as water, forestry and energy.
“If teachers just teach the text, what kind of class would that be?”
When the irrigators were approached to provide educational material, the junior high science program looked like the best fit, and the association jumped in as a major sponsor and producer of an education kit.
“It really did appear there was something we could do here from the water science perspective that wouldn’t just be industry patting itself on the back reminding everybody how good they are,” said David Hill, general manager of the irrigation association, during the association’s annual meeting in Calgary March 6.
The video features a group of four junior high school students from Canmore who must learn about water and create a song for a competition. It ends with the four performing a rap song about the importance of water in their lives, with backup from a professional Calgary band and a crowd of cheering teenagers.
Information about Alberta and global water issues is included in a music video format with plenty of graphics and fast moving images.
About 950 kits have been distributed to schools through teachers’ conventions this year.
Inside Education has also developed teachers’ institutes free of charge where educators can see how systems such as irrigation, the oil sands and forestry work. The institutes, which can run as long as 10 days, tour teachers around the province and show them specific industries.
“Teachers working in a resource based province need to understand this,” Toner said.
About 100 teachers have participated, and it is estimated their education affects 6,000 students per year.
Inside Education employs about 25 field staff who work on outdoor education and provide in-class presentations. Last year, 31,000 students participated in 75 rural and urban communities.
