Aimee Eberhard

2135166

Project Reflective Journal

Details of Project:

Final Year Professional Experience Project Proposal 2017

Student Name Aimee Eberhard ID: 2135166

School Reynella East College

Project Mentor Shari Lush Year level(s) 6/7

PROJECT OUTLINE

Focus of the Project Vegetable Garden (Health: Food & Nutrition)

The aim of this project is for students to explore sustainable food and gain life skills
Aim of the Project
through caring for a vegetable garden and preparing fresh food.

Students will work as a whole class and in small groups to sustain a small vegetable
Brief Description
garden. Following an inquiry process they will gather information to help them look
after the garden. They will locate and analyse information, evaluate and report
conclusions, take practical action in the garden and evaluate outcomes. Students will
track progress and learning through a class journal (either electronic or digital)
consisting of photos and written contributions. Throughout the process there will be
the opportunity for students to broaden their thinking around sustainable food, as
well as community gardens and their purpose. Students will finish their learning
journey by using fresh produce in the kitchen to safely create a nutritious lunch or
dinner meal and explore the importance of nutritious food. Students will use the
learning journal to evaluate and reflect on their learning over the course of the
project and present their thinking in a small presentation at the finish.

Start Date Thursday, Week 3, Term 3

Time Commitment Thursdays, Lessons 6 & 7

Finish Date Thursday, Week 8 , Term 4

The learning journey will be monitored through the use of a class journal and
Assessment Plan
reflective writing, video or multimodal presentation at the conclusion of the project.
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Process:
Week 0
I will be commencing my project next week and whilst I was visiting my class today I had the opportunity to introduce
the concept of the sustainable garden to the class. I really enjoyed this as it prepared students for the new routine and
it allowed an open discussion which created excitement and anticipation for next week.

Week 1
This week was the first week of my project. We spent time going through the outline of the project and as a class
created expectations around our time together. A foundation of the project is the inquiry process. During my
preparation I spoke with my mentor teacher about student exposure to the inquiry process and decided to implement
it with structure for students. I provided students with an inquiry process plan which had only headings that acted as
steps, as below:
1: Framing and focusing questions
2: Locating, organising and analysing evidence
3: Evaluating and reporting conclusions
4: Possible taking of action of some sort
5: Evaluate outcomes (reflection)
As a class we brainstormed what each heading means and wrote reminders on sheets that would help students to
conduct an inquiry. Many suggestions from students reflected learning I had completed with them during my teaching
block. Students were keen to have a practice, so I posed the question what is sustainable food?. Students recorded
predictions on the board and then went off in groups to research the answer, following the inquiry process plan to
step 3. Students then had the opportunity to share their findings and we recorded our learning in our class journal.
We also discussed how a vegetable garden is a type of sustainable food/living.

Week 2
We began this week by creating garden teams, which students will be working in over the next few weeks to plan
and organise their allocated garden bed. Once we had teams organised students discussed our previous learning about
what sustainable food meant. I then explained to students that the goal for this lesson was to create a list of potential
plants for their garden bed, and create instructions on how to plant them and care for them. I asked students what
they thought would be important things to consider when choosing their plants. One student asked if the combination
of plants mattered (which was brilliant because I wanted that to be asked!) and we were able to explore the concept
of companion plants. On the board we created a table so that each group could choose and record a core plant and
then continue to add to their list. We did this on the board so that everyone could view the process and there was the
opportunity for a variety of plants and teams could also work together as a class to compromise. For example two
groups really wanted onions as it worked with their combinations, so they worked out to each have a different colour
onion. Students also considered my list of plants that I created from what was in stock at Bunnings to ensure we could
purchase the plants they were after.

Week 3
This week the weather was horrible so we couldnt do any garden prep outside. So students continued working on
their care instructions. It was actually good to have this extra time, and I was able to spend time with each team to
check in and help them finalise their decisions. As a class we also looked at the budget I had and calculated how many
plants each team could have.

Week 4
I was absent this week due to being on school camp with my other 6/7 class, however students continued to refine
their plans for planting next week. I left notes to ensure that students had written the number of each plant they
required, and to create a plan using the measurements of their garden bed to ensure their plants would fit with
spacing. I absolutely loved receiving notes from my mentor teacher!

Week 5
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PLANTING WEEK! This week we were able to plant our sustainable garden. Before heading out to the garden we
reviewed action plans from last week so students knew what they were doing when we got out to the garden. I was
just as excited as the students to finally be creating the garden. It was so wonderful in the garden because we were
outdoors and many students were in a new situation and even though they had a plan there were still unknowns in
the process. Many students had not considered the depths their holes needed to be and used trial and error to create
their holes. One student figured out it was easier if you broke up all the soil before planting and this knowledge was
shared throughout all the teams. It was quite hard to step back, however it was so wonderful to watch the interactions
between students to problem solve and get their garden beds looking how they wanted it. When we returned to the
classroom we discussed our gardening and recorded reflections in our class journal. Students noted they had lots of
fun doing something new, and expressed the trial and errors they encountered.

Week 6
This week we got to be a bit crafty. We went for a walk to check on the garden and give it some TLC. I instructed
students to collect some specific sticks whilst we were out there and bring them back to the classroom. The mystery
intrigued them. When we returned to the classroom I explained todays task of making bird deterrents for the garden
beds. Students were able to use sticks, string and alfoil, and in order to gain their materials they had to share a plan
with me. I was very, very surprised with just how different each teams design was, yet were all extremely created and
well thought through. Students all worked really well in their teams and the garden looked very funky when we were
finished. When we had a class discussion at the end of the day students expressed how much they enjoyed a fun and
creative lesson. Before the end of the lesson I handed out a community garden proposal task sheet, as I will be away
for the final two weeks of term. We went through the task and students were able to ask questions. We also created
a garden roster for students to go out and ensure the garden is being looked after.

Reflection:
I have really enjoyed the learning journey of my project so far from both teacher and student perspective. Being able
to make learning hands on, changing the learning environment and making the process student centred is what I
believe has made it successful so far. Although we having been achieving proposal goals I have been struggling with
student concentration during our allocated time in the classroom. We have been working on the project lessons 6 and
7 on a Thursday afternoon and students are easily distracted from being on task. It is hard because we need to be able
to do some theory research to help understand concepts surrounding the garden. I can see the difference in the
relationship I have with the class only seeing them for small times compared to full days and full time during my
teaching placement. After the holidays I will be trying to implement the theory learning in a more hands on, abstract
way to still achieve the learning goal, as during our hands on lessons students have been fully engaged, so it seems to
be what works during this learning block.

As well as being of benefit to myself and the students in my class, the garden is very beneficial for the primary school.
The school has been implementing sustainability strategies, including rubbish audits, recycling stations and chickens
which classes feed their food scraps. A sustainable garden further contributes to the schools vision and is a space that
can be used by all for years to come. Students are working on turning the garden into a community space and sharing
it with the rest of the school, which is helping to create a sense of community within the school. One aspect of the
schools mission states for students they will learn the skills necessary for their future.

Throughout the process so far I have learnt how important student-teacher relationships are, especially when it comes
to coming in for a small portion of time a week. I feel I have benefitted from pre-established relationships with students
as it has helped me to plan lessons with students in mind. Students have been learning a new concept and I have
enjoyed helping guide them through the process. I had a real positive moment when the class was organising
themselves and one student had been absent the week before, and as per the class agreement their buddy was filling
them in on what they missed. This students was explaining concepts without looking at her notes and using phrases I
had explained as well as in her own words showing understanding, and it made me feel so wonderful that she was
teaching another student something that I had taught her and was excited about it. I have also been able to implement
improvising strategies as I had to read how the class was when I came in and that impacted on the spot decisions I
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made about implementing the lesson. As frustrating as it has been at times I have found it to be a good aspect as it
was an element of teaching I had been wanting to improve in.

The concepts being taught through the sustainable garden are really important for students. I really believe that life
skills are important things for students to gain through school, especially at the year 6/7 level. Through this project I
am hoping that students are able to develop the willingness to look after something, come away with the satisfaction
of growing something themselves, a sense of community through looking at and implementing a community garden,
see the benefits both health wise and financially of a sustainable garden and gain the skills to be able to plan and grow
their own garden.

Looking Forward:
In the coming weeks I am planning to work with the students on implementing their community garden visions. We
will continue to work on caring for the garden, and begin planning healthy recipes the food could be used for. We will
continue to add to the class journal and I will add pictures and created recipes and create a copy for each student to
keep. Students will in groups or individually present their reflection on the process to the class and how they will use
their new skills in the future. This presentation, along with their community garden proposal and participation will be
used to finalise a grade to go towards students health grade for the semester.