International Journal of Science Education
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International Journal of Science
Education
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Engaging Primary Students in Learning
about New Zealand Birds: A socially
relevant context
a a
Junjun Chen & Bronwen Cowie
a
Faculty of Education, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New
Zealand
Version of record first published: 11 Feb 2013.
To cite this article: Junjun Chen & Bronwen Cowie (2013): Engaging Primary Students in Learning
about New Zealand Birds: A socially relevant context, International Journal of Science Education,
DOI:10.1080/09500693.2012.763194
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International Journal of Science Education, 2013
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2012.763194
Engaging Primary Students in
Learning about New Zealand Birds:
A socially relevant context
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Junjun Chen∗ and Bronwen Cowie
Faculty of Education, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand
This article reports on a classroom study of a unit on New Zealand birds that focused on adaptation
and conservation in a Year 7 class. The unit used a ‘context as social circumstances’ model. The
researchers observed the nine lessons and interviewed students, the classroom teacher, and three
other teachers who had taught the same unit. The students completed a pre-test and a post-test
for the unit. Findings indicate that the students enjoyed and were interested in the unit, and had
learnt more than usual. The students investigated predators using the tracking tunnel in their
school gully and, of their own volition, in their home gardens. Some students pursued this
interest into the wider community after the completion of the unit. The ‘context as social
circumstances’ unit teachers helped students see the relevance of learning science for their lives,
personally and socially, which opens up the possibility of action outside the classroom. The role
of context, content and activity selection in the design of a unit that has social relevance is discussed.
Keywords: Context-based; Biology; Primary science; Coherence; Pedagogy
Introduction
Internationally, there is abundant evidence of a decline over time of student interest
and engagement in school science in general and in the further study of science sub-
jects in particular (Osborne & Dillon, 2008; Tytler, Symington, & Smith, 2011). Indi-
cations are that science education in New Zealand is experiencing the same challenges
(Bull, Gilbert, Barwick, Hipkins, & Baker, 2010). The programme for International
Student Assessment results from 2006 show that New Zealand students were less
likely than their counterparts from other Organisation for Economic Co-operation
and Development (OECD) countries to believe they are good at science even
∗
Corresponding author: Faculty of Education, University of Waikato, Private Bag 3105, Hamilton
3240, New Zealand. Email: jjchen@ied.edu.hk
# 2013 Taylor & Francis2 J. Chen and B. Cowie
though they reported high or medium interest in science topics, similar to those in
other OECD countries (OECD, 2007). The National Education Monitoring
Project 2007 findings reveal that there is a noticeable cooling in Year 8 students’
liking for science (Crooks, Smith, & Flockton, 2008).
In thinking about how to increase student engagement in science, Wieringa,
Janssen, and Van Driel (2011) propose that the central question is probably not
whether students should do more science but how teachers can make school
science relevant and coherent so that students have tangible reasons for engaging
in, and then continuing with, lifelong science learning (Jenkins, 2011). Context-
based education is currently a point of interest and innovation for achieving these
goals.
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This article provides an empirical evidence-based description of how a ‘context as
social circumstances’ unit (Gilbert, Bulte, & Pilot, 2011) can be designed using web-
based resources, specifically those from the ‘Conserving Native Birds’ story from the
Science Learning Hub (SLH) website.1 Data came from a Year 7 classroom (students
aged 11 years) and from the three other teachers in the same New Zealand primary
school. This study is part of a large ongoing project into New Zealand science
teacher use of the Hub’s materials. The Hub was developed to make the work of
New Zealand scientists accessible to teachers, as part of an initiative to support
New Zealand teachers to make science more relevant and interesting for their stu-
dents. The Hub provides teachers with teaching and learning materials to develop
their own teaching units. The research programme seeks to inform ongoing content
development and to provide examples of how the material might be used.
Context-based Teaching and Learning
Context-based science education has been promulgated since the early 1980s as a
means to address the many challenges facing science education (Aikenhead, 2007;
Gilbert, 2006; Wieringa et al., 2011). Examples include Salters’ Science in the UK,
ChemCom in the USA, PLON in the Netherlands, and Biology in Context in
Germany. The Salters’ material was developed over two decades to contextualise
biology, chemistry, and physics for secondary school age students (11–18 years).
The Salters’ material has been adapted for use in a number of countries across the
world to introduce a context-based teaching approach into school curricula domi-
nated by content-based approaches (Bennett & Lubben, 2006). Context-based
approaches can help shift the emphasis from learning scientific facts to authentic
learning that involves students in scientific activities (Krajcik, McNeill, & Reiser,
2008). They aim to link school science with students’ personal and societal lives
and to help them transfer their learning to other contexts, thereby supporting their
use of, and interest in, science in their everyday lives (Fensham, 2009; Osborne &
Collins, 2000). Research indicates this linkage can help students understand why
they need to learn science in school (Jenkins, 2011). Jones, Cowie, and Buntting
(2009) argued that context-based approaches have the potential to foster curiosity
and intrinsic interest.Engaging Primary Students in Learning About New Zealand Birds 3
Recommendations for the practice of context-based approaches include careful
consideration of the contexts used (Gilbert, 2006; Wieringa et al., 2011). Fensham
(2009) proposed that decisions about science curricula should use personal and
societal interest as a reference point. Harlen (2010) argued that students’ understand-
ing of science concepts is likely to be deepened if they learn them in relevant contexts.
She suggested that this also contributes to an increase in students’ sense of confidence
in and familiarity with the same ideas in everyday events. The selection of curriculum
content to target within a context also needs to be considered. Harlen, along with
Duschl, Schweingruber, and Shouse (2007), has advocated that for primary students,
science teaching needs to focus on ‘big’ ideas. That is, it needs to focus on ideas that
have broad explanatory power, help students to understand the distinctive value of
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science, and prepare them for further learning in science. These authors suggest
that ‘big’ ideas need to be constructed from inter-related ‘small’ ideas so that ‘a foun-
dation of understanding can be laid, on which broader ideas are later built’ (Harlen,
2008, p. 13). They have pointed out that ‘big’ ideas are complex, mostly abstract, and
indeed meaningless if they do not evoke real situations. Hence, how to help students
develop connected and coherent understanding of the ideas and tasks (Mercer, 2008;
Millar & Osborne, 1998) embedded in a context needs to be carefully thought
through. In this regard, Scott, Mortimer, and Ametller (2011) make a persuasive
case for pedagogical link-making. They identified three overlapping forms of link-
making actions: support for students making connections between different kinds
of knowledge to promote deep understanding (knowledge building), support for con-
tinuity across tasks and lessons, and encouraging a positive emotional engagement
over time. All these aspects were of interest in this study.
A number of models and criteria exist for the design of context-based units in
science (Aikenhead, 2007; Elster, 2009). For example, Gilbert (2006) identified
four ‘models’ of how ‘context’ can be understood and used: context as the direct
application of concepts; context as reciprocity between concepts and applications;
context as provided by personal mental activity; and ‘context as social circumstances’.
Of the four, Gilbert et al. (2011) state that the ‘context as social circumstances’ model
has the most potential to address the issues facing science education such as relevance,
coherence and transfer of school knowledge to different but related situations, includ-
ing out-of-school settings. Within this model, a context is ‘situated as a cultural entity
in society’ (Gilbert, 2006, p. 969). It relates to topics and activities that are important
to communities within a society such as, for example, matters to do with the global
climate, ‘healthy’ food, and the ‘hydrogen economy’. Gilbert et al. (2011) proposed
four criteria for attaining context-based learning: setting of focal events that link to
an important, typical or topical event/issue and provide a framework for learning
related/ inter-related explanatory concepts (Criterion A); a behavioural environment
that supports discussion (Criterion B); the use of specific (scientific) language (Cri-
terion C), and opportunities to link to and build on extra-situational background
knowledge (Criterion D). They argue that a lesson that meets these criteria effectively
exploits the learning potential of context-based units. In this article, we use the
‘context as social circumstances’ model together with these four criteria to frame4 J. Chen and B. Cowie
the description of a unit on New Zealand birds. The impacts on students of making
science relevant and coherent are also explored. Two research questions were posed:
(1) How did a ‘context as social circumstances’ science unit play out in a primary
classroom?
(2) What impacts did a unit of this kind have on student interest, learning gains,
knowledge transfer, and future interest/actions?
The Research Study
The SLH research team is working with a number of teachers. This article describes
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how one Year 7 teacher, Karen (note all names are pseudonyms) and her students
learnt about native birds and also what the three other teachers who taught the
same topic thought about the bird unit. Karen worked for 6 months as a Teacher
Fellow on the SLH content development team and was interested to investigate the
impact of the Hub material she had designed.
The Teachers and Students
Karen is a qualified primary school teacher with a Bachelor of Teaching in primary
education. At the time of the data collection, she had five years’ teaching experience
in primary schools in New Zealand. The study school is a big primary school with
years 1 –8 (students aged 5 –12 years). Among the 29 students aged 10–11 years in
Karen’s class, 18 were girls and 11 were boys. The majority of them were of European
descent, six were of Asian descent, and one was of Māori descent (Māori are the indi-
genous people of New Zealand). We obtained written informed consent from all
students.
Karen was particularly interested in New Zealand native birds and chose to focus
on them during her fellowship. To develop the Hub story, she worked with New
Zealand scientists, science educators, and the SLH team. She visited various conser-
vation organisations throughout New Zealand and produced a series of articles, multi-
media resources (e.g. PowerPoint, Video, and Animation), teaching activities, and a
unit plan posted on the SLH website. Back at school, Karen introduced the bird
unit to three other teachers and they taught it in the same time period. Interview
data only were collected from these teachers. Classroom observations and student
and teacher interviews were undertaken with Karen and her students.
The Bird Unit
Karen planned the unit using a planner developed by Moreland, Cowie, Otrel-Cass,
and Jones (2010). The planner comprises a first page that prompts teachers to detail
their intended science learning outcomes (conceptual, procedural, and nature of
science). The second page requires teachers to develop a series of nested and
connected tasks that instantiate these outcomes. Karen’s unit consisted of fiveEngaging Primary Students in Learning About New Zealand Birds 5
interconnected parts or learning phases (Gilbert et al., 2011): brainstorming students’
prior knowledge, a focus on adaptation and then on conservation with the threatened
status of New Zealand birds acting as a bridge between adaptation and conservation,
and the reading of the New Zealand story Old Blue. These phases are shown in
Figure 1, which emphasises the linked nature of the various phases.
Karen’s plan for the unit met the four criteria for the ‘context as social circum-
stances’ model (Gilbert et al., 2011), with each criterion being represented in each
of five parts in the unit. As noted earlier, the ‘context as social circumstances’
model incorporates focal event(s) that relate to students’ social and personal lives
and provides a framework to support concept development. New Zealand has a
large number of native ground-dwelling birds, many of which are flightless and endan-
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gered. New Zealand birds and their conservation are a strong focus of current research
with the Department of Conservation and independent groups in New Zealand. The
school where the study took place had a gully and was part of the New Zealand
Figure 1. The ‘context as social circumstances’ bird unit6 J. Chen and B. Cowie
Enviro-school programme, which aims to foster student awareness of, interest in and
action around environmental issues.
The second criterion (Criterion B) for this model is the behavioural environment,
which should include problems that exemplify important concepts and are designed
to support discussion and the social construction of knowledge. The aim is that stu-
dents develop a ‘coherent mental map’ that ties together concepts and activities so
that they come together in a meaningful whole (Gilbert et al., 2011; Harlen, 2010).
For the bird unit, Karen planned tasks that were connected and built on each
other. These activities helped students learn and use the specific scientific language
associated with adaptation and conservation. The development of ‘specific language’
is the third criterion (Criterion C) listed by Gilbert et al. (2011). The last criterion
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(Criterion D) is that students connect the focal event to relevant ‘extra-situational
background knowledge’. To meet this criterion, students need to connect their new
learning with prior knowledge and experiences. The unit also included opportunities
for students to transfer their learning from one focal event to the next. For instance,
students needed to use their knowledge of adaptation to understand the nature of the
threats to native birds and how they might be protected.
Multiple Data Sources
The unit comprised nine lessons of 45–90 min over 5 weeks. We collected qualitative
data in the form of videotapes, photographs, audiotapes, observations, field notes, and
copies of teaching materials and student work to thoroughly capture events and
produce rich descriptions of what had happened in the classroom (Fasse & Kolodner,
2000). For the classroom observation, two video cameras, three iPods, and two digital
cameras were used and field notes were made. Two researchers were present at all
teaching sessions.
Karen was invited to a full-day discussion of the unit with two researchers 2 weeks
after the final lesson. This discussion was grounded in the video, audio, and student
interview data. The three other teachers were interviewed as a group for 2 h focusing
on the unit and the impacts of the bird unit on their students.
Semi-structured student interviews were conducted for approximately 30 min the
day after the first lesson (four students), the day following the final lesson (eight stu-
dents), and again 6 months after the unit (six of the previous eight students). Students
were asked by the teacher if they were prepared to be interviewed about their experience
in the unit. Eight students volunteered. These students were characterised by their
enthusiasm for talking about their learning. They spanned the range of achievement
levels in the class. The students were interviewed in two groups of four. The interviews
aimed to learn about students’ thinking, including their enjoyment of the unit and the
extent to which they sustained an interest and took action related to conservation. With
consent, we collected student work and a student end-of-unit evaluation that detailed
what they had learnt, what they had enjoyed, and what they had wanted to learn.
The students completed a pre- and a post-knowledge test about New Zealand birds.
The test, which was designed by Karen, consisted of nine open conceptual questionsEngaging Primary Students in Learning About New Zealand Birds 7
on adaptation, conservation, and island bird sanctuaries, one multiple choice question
on threats to birds, and one yes/no question on conservation. The test was scored out
of 28 points. Pre- and post-means and standard deviations were calculated, and effect
sizes were used to examine the mean difference.
Data Analysis
To address the first research question, data from classroom observations were treated
as a primary data source and data from focus groups and interviews were treated as a
secondary source. The analysis procedure comprised a number of steps. First, each
lesson was summarised in terms of tasks, time, activity, sub-activity, and resources
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used (Moreland et al., 2010). These summaries were made immediately after each
lesson, based on researcher field notes and the video clips (please see an example
lesson summary in Table 1). The lessons/events were then grouped into learning
phases that comprised activities with the same learning content (Kelly & Chen,
1999). These phases were: brainstorming student prior ideas, adaptation, transition
activity, conservation, and the Old Blue story. Using the four criteria of the context-
based model by Gilbert et al. (2011), a deductive content analysis (Patton, 2002)
was conducted of the video data from each learning phase. Deductive content analysis
is based on a theory or model and moves from the general to the specific. In this case,
the analysis as based on Gilbert et al.’s (2011) ‘context as social circumstances’ model.
The research team identified and discussed which video sequences were reflective of
each of these criteria along with any sub-categories or themes for the criteria. The
video sequences were then organised into a video log and the researchers selected
representative sequences for verbatim transcription. Other sources of data were also
examined for evidence of Gilbert et al.’s criteria and this was integrated with that
derived from the videos. Searching for convergence among multiple and different
sources of information to form categories enhances the validity of data analysis (Cres-
well & Miller, 2000). Video sequence categorisation was member checked (Guba &
Lincoln, 1985) with Karen to ensure she agreed that the selected video sequences
did, in her view, represent the identified criteria/themes. Representative classroom
episodes along with comments from teachers and students are used to illustrate the
criteria/themes in the article.
To address the second research question, the videos along with the other sources of
data including interviews, student evaluation notes, and student unit test results were
analysed for evidence of the impacts of the unit on student interest, learning gains,
knowledge transfer, and any proposed future actions. This procedure was guided
by deductive content analysis (Patton, 2002).
Results
The findings comprise two main sections that answer the two research questions for
the study. The first section describes the enactment of the bird unit over five learning
phases, and the second details the unit impacts on student learning.8 J. Chen and B. Cowie
Table 1. An example: lesson summary
Meso task Micro task Time Planned interactions Criteria by Gilbert et al. (2011) Resources
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Understand the (1) 00:02:20 (1) Questioning: can you (1) Setting of focal events: knowledge (1) Non-fiction
definition of Brainstorm tell me what you knew about native birds; books
adaptation and what they about native birds? (2) Behavioural environment: activities (2) Internet
adaptation occurs already know Anything you knew such as brainstorm, reports, and access
over many discussions are embedded in an
generations. This environment focusing on native birds;
can take hundreds (3) Specific language: native,
of years and has introduced, extinct, offshore island, and
an impact on the adapted;
organism (4) Extra-situational background
knowledge: all activities are built on
students’ background knowledge about
birds and native birds
(2) Adaptation 00:26:03 (2) Encourage students (1) Setting of focal events: knowledge (1) Internet
to work in groups and to about adaption of native birds; access
locate information on
bird and animal
adaptations in response
to the questions below:
† What is adaptation? (2) Behavioural environment: activities (2) Native bird
group work, reading, and discussion are adaptations article:
allocated in an environment focusing on http://www.sciencelearn.
adaptation; org.nz/Science-Stories/
† How long does it take (3) Specific language: adaptation, Conserving-Native-
for adaptation to occur? habitat, generation, organism; Birds/Native-bird-
† How does adaptation (4) Extra-situational background adaptations
benefit the organism? knowledge: activate student knowledge
about their own family history to
understand better about adaptationEngaging Primary Students in Learning About New Zealand Birds 9
The Coherent Bird Unit
Part A: brainstorming students’ prior knowledge. To begin Lesson 1, Karen surveyed
students’ prior knowledge about native birds and conservation using whole class
brainstorming in conjunction with discussion in pairs. She recorded student responses
about native birds by constructing a web of student contributions on the white board.
Student comments indicated what they already knew about the features, threatened
status, and habitats of native birds. For example, students knew that tūi have a
‘white tuft on the throat’, that kākāpō, kiwi, and albatross are nearly extinct. If stu-
dents could not elaborate on the meaning of an idea or a word, Karen left a question
mark beside it and signalled that they would explore this during the unit.
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Karen making a visual record of student contributions appeared to support students
to search for additional, related ideas, thereby encouraging them to think more deeply as
they were obviously keen to contribute ideas/examples, quietly discussing possibilities
amongst themselves. For example, when a student said that they knew of some native
birds such as the kākāpō, takahē, kiwi, and albatross and then moved on to discuss
which were nearly extinct Karen asked, ‘What could we do to help these birds?’ One
student replied that he had read that establishing an offshore island was one way to
protect native birds. Karen probed, ‘How did the birds get to be there?’ and the students
answered, ‘By ships’, ‘planes’, ‘people could take them there’, and so on. Karen took
advantage of this discussion to ask how some of the introduced birds and animals had
entered New Zealand. This led into a discussion about mice coming by way of ships
and the need to ‘pay attention that other predators come through this way’.
After the unit, Karen commented of the brainstorming activity:
As you can see, when they heard my questions, they thought [by themselves], talked with
their neighbours, and reported to the class. Some kids could reflect on other kids’ answers
and extend the discussions. I like doing this in my class. They thought deeply, and did not
just simply answer my questions. They built on each other, and contributed new ideas.
(Video Data, T-Karen, October)
By tapping into what students already knew, Karen established a baseline on which
to build future learning. When a student suggested that native birds were special
because they were ‘adapted to our country’ Karen responded, ‘I’m really glad that
Andy pulled out the term “adapt” with native birds, cause we’re going to learn
about adaptation today’ (Field Notes, October). Through this action, Karen used
the student’s contribution strategically to introduce the first ‘big’ idea of the unit.
Karen explained in an interview,
The reasons I used brainstorming was that I can understand what my kids know about the
birds and native birds, and what they did not know so that I can arrange my teaching to fit
my kids . . . I like doing this in my class, it can activate students’ prior knowledge and link
this to new knowledge. (Video Data, T-Karen, October)
Part B: adaptation. Karen introduced and exampled the idea of adaption in Lessons 1, 2,
and 3, which provided students with multiple opportunities to use the language that they
were learning in a number of different but familiar contexts as detailed next. In Lesson 1,10 J. Chen and B. Cowie
Karen first introduced the ‘big’ idea of adaptation using the article Native bird adaptations
online. In small groups, the students clustered around wireless laptops to read the article.
Each group was allocated one question to consider. Karen signalled that she expected stu-
dents to synthesise the reading and answer their question using their own words. The ques-
tions focused on the definition of adaptation, the types of adaptation, the process of
adaptation, and its effect on an organism. Once each group had an agreed answer, they
shared this with a neighbouring group, and then with the whole class. Evidence that the
students were able to summarise the ideas in their own words came from their written
notes and whole class contributions as is illustrated by the following statements:
They [adaptation] occur over many generations. It is definitely not a quick process. (Field
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Notes, S18, October)
Behavioural adaptation is getting used to a habitat. (Video Data, S13, October)
This sequence provided students with opportunities and the incentive to explain
and use the science terms they were learning. This kind of purposeful use of
science language was a feature of the unit.
In Lesson 2, Karen revisited the ‘small’ ideas to do with the three types of adap-
tation (behavioural adaptation, physiological adaptation, and structural adaptation),
asking for explanations and examples of each type. The class brainstormed examples
of the different types of adaptations for cats (see Figure 2). Karen’s choice of cats was
deliberate and based on her knowledge that many of her students had cats as pets. For
structural adaptation, the students suggested cats’ eyes can see in the dark and cats use
their tails to keep their balance when jumping. As for behavioural adaptation, the stu-
dents stated that a cat’s fur and tail ‘spring up’ when it is scared and that it purrs when
Figure 2. A map for brainstormed examples of the different adaptations using a cat (photograph by
the author)Engaging Primary Students in Learning About New Zealand Birds 11
it is happy. For physiological adaptation, the example given was that cats suckle their
young. These examples indicated that the students understood the different types of
adaptation and could apply the ideas to a familiar mammal.
In Lesson 2, Karen created a further opportunity for students to use the science
language and apply their knowledge of the different types of adaptation, this time
to the features of native birds as part of a card sorting activity, Classifying bird adap-
tations. The statements on the cards related to the characteristics of a number of
native birds including the takahē, kererū, tūi, and kiwi. In this activity, students in
small groups set up three labelled columns, one for each type of adaptation, and
then sorted and classified the statements as representing a particular adaptation. In
some instances, the groups quickly came to an agreement about the nature of the
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adaptation. In other cases, there was considerable debate. For example, the statement
that ‘Tūi have hollow bones and no teeth, which makes their body light for flight’
proved problematic. Physiological adaptation is a particularly challenging phenom-
enon for children to understand. Karen initiated a conversation to clarify this idea
by linking it to students’ personal experience:
If we were outside, it was very cold. You just stood there in shorts and a T-shirt, what thing
would start to happen to your body? (Students: start shivering, teeth chattering, fingers
became blue and purple. . .). So all these are things that are happening to your body,
they are physiological adaptations. That’s your body defenses. That’s your body’s way
to help you. (Video Data, T-Karen, October)
Across Lessons 2 and 3, these different activities provided the students with ample
opportunities to use the language of adaptation and to apply the ideas in a range of
contexts. The sustained focus on the rich diversity of New Zealand birds not only
served to deepen students’ appreciation and knowledge of these birds but also
required them to carefully consider and apply their ideas to a range of sophisticated
examples of adaptation, thereby moving beyond discussion of commonplace
examples such as giraffes and zebras.
Part C: transition section—understanding the threats to native birds. Lesson 4, which
focused on the threats to native birds in New Zealand, acted as a transition session
between the ‘big’ idea of adaptation to the to-be-learnt ‘big’ idea of conservation.
Through their reading of the article Predation of native birds and Internet searching,
the students completed the worksheets: What factors have caused birds to lose their
native habitat and Threats to New Zealand native birds. These activities drew students’
attention to the endangered status of native birds, and why it is important to make an
effort to conserve native birds. The students read and were shocked that dogs caused
70% of kiwis’ deaths from 1990 to 1995 and that one dog killed 500 of the 900 kiwis in
Waitangi. These worksheet activities, coupled with data from students’ own research,
alerted them to the extent of the problems faced by native birds. They evoked a strong
emotional response that contributed to students’ desire to learn what they could do to
help. As a student said in the post-unit interview, ‘I did not know before this that my
dog, even my cat, could kill kiwis. That really surprised me. They are so cute!’12 J. Chen and B. Cowie
Part D: conservation. In the second half of the unit, Karen orchestrated four activities
over five lessons to do with the ‘big’ idea of conservation: learning about native bird
conservation terminologies and methods, constructing and placing a predator track-
ing tunnel in the school gully, and encouraging students to transfer the investigation to
predators into their home gardens. She introduced and focused on the ‘big’ idea of
conservation as a problem that is situated in the wider New Zealand context in the
main but she also made links with the school and student home contexts in a
manner that supported knowledge transfer between the two situations.
In Lesson 5, to introduce the methods used to protect native birds Karen used an
article called Protecting native birds and a PowerPoint called Methods of predator control.
The students read and talked about the different types of predators and techniques
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used in New Zealand to protect native birds. In Lesson 6, she guided her students
to read the article Birds’ role in ecosystem and then promoted discussion on the
impact of bird habitat loss. Next, the students worked in small group to draw a
food web of the New Zealand bush ecosystem (see Figure 3). For this, they used
the knowledge they had learnt. These activities were an important precursor to stu-
dents making tracking tunnels2 to check the presence of predators in their school
gully. They used the information to analyse where they should locate their tracking
tunnels (see Figure 4). When the students checked their tunnels the next morning,
not many tracking paper strips had footprints on them. The students concluded
that this was the evidence that their area was reasonably safe for native birds.
After placing the tracking tunnels in the school gully, some students asked to take
them home to place in the gullies near their homes. Some students brought tracking
strips of predators from home back to class. As one girl said, ‘I put the tracking tunnel
in the bush, added milk and things from home, put butter in, and then checked it.
There were footprints, I think it was a hedgehog’ (Follow-up Interview, S6, June).
Figure 3. A food web of New Zealand bush ecosystem (photograph by the author)Engaging Primary Students in Learning About New Zealand Birds 13
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Figure 4. Placing a tracking tunnel in the school gully (photograph by the author)
The other three teachers reported that their students took similar actions in using
the tracking tunnels at home.
The sequencing of these activities was important in building a foundation for student
knowledge and interest in the tracking tunnel activity. The tunnel activity required the
students to apply and make connections with what they had learnt, and to think ahead
and beyond their classroom learning. As a hands-on activity, it nurtured students’ sense
of personal worth through a ‘being there’ experience. The teachers did not just tell the
students how the ideas connected with the real world, but provided them with oppor-
tunities to experience these connections in a local context that was familiar and impor-
tant to them (Cook, 2004). The tracking tunnel activity provided a tool for students to
learn more about their surroundings and what threats native birds are facing so that stu-
dents would understand the need to make an effort to manage predators. The activities
helped students to see the personal and social relevance of school science, and provided
students with a stimulus to think about further actions and engage with learning science
lifelong (Elster, 2009; Jenkins, 2011).
Part E: Old Blue story telling. To conclude the unit, Karen used the Old Blue story to
strategically help her students to create a coherent mental image of the unit as a whole
in Lesson 9. Old Blue, by Mary Taylor (1993), is a true story about how New Zealand
Chatham Island black robins were brought back from the edge of extinction through a
breeding programme based on one bird, Old Blue. As she read the book aloud, Karen
asked a number of questions to prompt the students to predict or think about the story
and to recall and make connections with what they had learnt in the previous lessons.
The ideas she focused on were to do with adaptation, the impact of predation, and
methods for conserving native birds.14 J. Chen and B. Cowie
Karen’s reading of Old Blue evoked a strong emotional response and obviously
brought the ideas of the unit to life for the students (Scott et al., 2011). As one
student explained,
The true story of Old Blue happened on an island in New Zealand. It’s close to me. It’s
different from those [stories] of other places. So we know we may also try to protect
our native birds like what was done in Old Blue. (Interview Data, S5, December)
Another student who obviously enjoyed and empathised with Old Blue, noted in
interview,
I was very interested in the story—how we create more robins and how we grow
more of the kinds of plants they like (Interview Data, S7, December).
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Two students from the focus group commented that if Karen had read Old
Blue before they had learnt about adaptation and conservation it may not
have had the same impact. One student explained: ‘If Ms Orange [Karen]
read that book in the very beginning, we might not understand what was
going on. Cause we had learnt about adaptation and conservation, we could
understand’ (Follow-up Interview, S8, June). These comments suggest that
Old Blue not only played an important role in helping students develop a coher-
ent overview of the ideas of the bird unit, but also made the ideas of the unit
relevant to their lives out of school, thereby fostering their interest and emotion-
al engagement in school science.
To conclude, the five learning phases of the unit, in different but cumulative ways,
addressed the challenges of lack of relevance (personal and social life and experience),
lack of coherence (coherent unit map and connective instructional strategies), and
lack of transfer (applying and transferring knowledge to new focal events/contexts)
posed at the beginning of the article.
Impacts on Students
Student interest. Three sources of data, student end-of-unit evaluations, and student
and teacher interviews, indicated that students enjoyed the bird unit. These com-
ments signalled that their interest in and knowledge of science had been increased.
The students in the end-of-unit focus group identified that learning about native
birds had been interesting for them because now they better understood the
reasons for the birds’ predicament.
S10: When the people say like. ‘Oh, protect native birds, protect our environment’, but
we actually do not know what and why, cause we don’t know much about them. Now
we know about native things, their habitat, adaptation and so on.
S12: It’s a lot of easier to protect them when you know what you’re going to protect and
how you can protect them.
S7: We always respect our environment, but knowing more about it, you get to respect it
more. (Follow-up Interview, June)
In their end-of-unit evaluation notes, 23 of the 26 students reported that they had
been interested in and enjoyed the unit and the remaining three class members did notEngaging Primary Students in Learning About New Zealand Birds 15
comment on these aspects. The following statements are representative of student
comments.
I really enjoyed the unit and I liked doing the tracking tunnels. I didn’t know much about
native birds before, but now I want to do my bit to help. I am worried about the native
birds, because it’s so important. (Evaluation Notes, S9, December)
Bird unit was great fun! My favourite part was the tracking tunnel. (Interview Data, S4,
December)
All four teachers reported that their students had enjoyed and learnt from the track-
ing tunnel activity. Ellen, one of these teachers, reported that after her students had
completed the tracking tunnel activity they had gone on to produce a plan for how
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they could keep native birds safe in the school grounds, ‘They looked at the school
grounds and the gully for our area and thought about what they could do. They got
into different groups to make their plans and learnt a lot from that’ (Interview
Data, T-Ellen, March).
Student learning gains. If students enjoy a unit does it mean they have learnt any-
thing? Comparison of the pre- and post-unit tests results showed that students’ under-
standing had increased, with a mean difference of 3.1, up from 13 to 16. The strength
of mean difference between the pre- and post-tests was checked using effect size. This
was medium (d ¼ 0.676; p , 0.05) indicating the unit contributed a student outcome
gain of medium effect, (Borenstein, Rothstein, & Cohen, 2001). In other words, the
increase in student knowledge of native birds as a result of the unit was statistically
significant.
All four teachers and the focus group students were of the view that the students
had learnt much more than usual from the bird unit. For example, Ellen agreed the
unit had led to learning gains, ‘Their knowledge grew with the unit. It’s not just
doing experiments, discussion, and writing a report. It’s more specific. They learnt
more about the birds. It was great’ (Interview Data, T-Ellen, March).
In their end-of-unit evaluations, all 26 students reported that they had learnt a lot
about New Zealand birds, 23 stated that they learnt facts relating to native birds, five
stated that their understanding had increased, six stated that the unit had been inter-
esting, and 12 stated that they felt more confident in their knowledge of native birds
and the threats they face. One student commented,
I have improved so much on this subject. I knew almost nothing and now I know a lot! I
will continue to grow in my knowledge of birds. I enjoyed this unit a lot because it made
me understand why birds are so important. (Evaluation Notes, S13, December)
Another student said that she learnt about more than native birds: ‘With this [unit],
you don’t only learn about the birds, but you learn about the environment’ (Interview
Data, S5, December).
Student transfer. Over the course of the unit students transferred their learning in a
number of ways. As Gilbert et al. (2011) defined it, transfer is considered to have16 J. Chen and B. Cowie
taken place when learners use concepts or part of concepts ‘derived in relation to one
focal event, meaningfully in another focal event’ (p. 830). The students in the case
study class used their knowledge of bird adaption to discern and explain the adaptive
features of other animals. They used what they had learnt about adaptation to under-
stand the threats to native birds, where to best place tracking tunnels in the school
gully, and to consider potentially productive conservation methods. All four teachers
commented that some students had, at their own initiative, used the tracking tunnels
at home, thereby providing evidence that they had transferred their school experience
into a more distant new context. Nola identified this action as knowledge transfer into
the ‘big picture’ of conservation: ‘They can transfer knowledge and an experience into
a sort of big picture, and think about it in a different way. Why we need do this? Are we
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trying to create a conservation area?’ (Interview Data, T-Nola, March).
Students taking responsibility for the environment in this way was a school goal, as
Nancy, explained: ‘We were trying to make the kids really aware of how they need look
after their environment, and how important it is to take care of our gully. We want
them to take ownership of that’ (Interview Data, T-Nancy, March).
The teachers viewed student use of the tracking tunnels in their home gardens and
local environment as indicative of student ownership of the unit ideas. Evidence of
knowledge transfer in this way goes well beyond what the unit test could assess and
lends support to the value of the ‘context as social circumstances’ model when the
goal is knowledge that travels beyond the classroom.
Sustained student interest and/or action. The six focus group students who agreed to be
interviewed 6 months after the bird unit reported that they and their families had fol-
lowed up on the unit ideas. One student had been to Mount Te Aroha for a bush walk
to look for native birds with her mother. Another had been to the park beside his house
to observe wildlife. Yet another student had discussed native birds and environmental
matters with her family. She told us that her father communicated with the owner of a
private property adjacent to a reserve to fix the fence in order to keep predators away
from native birds. One student had visited Tiritiri Matangi, a bird sanctuary, with her
family as a follow-up to the unit. She had researched the birds on the Internet prior to
the visit and used this information to identify them when she was on site:
We went to Tiritiri Matangi, which is like an offshore island with lots of native birds and pen-
guins, and stuff. What I did was I searched what sort of birds lived there before I went. I
could see which one was which when I was there. It’s fun. (Follow-up Interview, S10, June)
In terms of further actions for native birds and conservation, the focus group stu-
dents reported they were more aware of and concerned about these matters as a
result of the unit,
S10: I really like animals and I respected them (before). But the bird unit gave me even
bigger respect for them and our environment.
S11: The bird unit seems more cool now. Everything is so much more interesting since
you know more about it.Engaging Primary Students in Learning About New Zealand Birds 17
S12: Yes, I do know more about native birds and trees, I definitely know a lot of more
about birds, trees and the environment. (Follow-up Interview, June)
When talking about the difference that they might make in conservation, two girls
talked about action in and by the community,
S8: In the future, probably the biggest difference is in my area, and my surroundings. If
everyone around you does something, that’s a big group.
S4: And it can get bigger and bigger. A big group of people works together. (Follow-up
Interview, June)
These comments clearly signal the wider value of a context-based unit that supports
student to link-making and transfer of their learning into their lives beyond the
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classroom.
Discussion and implications
We have set out how a ‘context as social circumstances’ science unit played out in a
primary classroom and documented its positive impact on student interest and learn-
ing in the short and longer term. The students and teachers in the study reported that
students had enjoyed the bird unit. Both groups considered that the students had
learnt more than usual. The 6-month follow-up interview provided evidence that
for some students their learning in the initial context had been substantive and com-
pelling enough for them to transfer this knowledge to a new but related context
(Engle, 2006); some students had continued to explore the ideas with their families
and in the community. Student interest in the ideas of the unit had been sustained,
at least in part, due to the unit’s relevance to students’ personal lives and the local
environment. Thus, the unit met the demands of being interesting, relevant and enga-
ging in the short and longer term. It is not our contention, however, that any unit
based on New Zealand birds would have the same ‘context as social circumstances’
outcomes. Teacher selection of a context, associated content (concepts, skills and atti-
tudes) along with their design and orchestration of activities, each has a role to play in
student engagement and success. Contexts, content and pedagogy need to provide
opportunities and incentives for students to share and develop their ideas and to
take action themselves as they engage in the challenge of science learning.
Designing an Effective Context-based Unit—Selecting a Relevant Context
Context-based units are recommended as one of the ways teachers can provide learn-
ing experiences that stimulate student interest and curiosity, and have relevance
beyond the classroom. However, context selection requires careful consideration of
the opportunities and incentives the context has for students to transfer their learning
and to make connections with their lives out of school (Gilbert et al., 2011; Harlen,
2008). Moreover, these opportunities have to be considered right from the start for
the likelihood of transfer to be optimised (Engle, 2006). In this study, the focus on
native birds—their particular characteristics and the challenges they face—provided18 J. Chen and B. Cowie
a context that was of current societal interest in the local region and in New Zealand
more widely (see also Zeidler, Sadler, Simmons, & Howes, 2005). It provided a fra-
mework within which the ‘big’ ideas of adaptation and conservation could be exem-
plified, were naturally inter-related and could be connected to students’ personal
and social lives. Students were able to understand why native birds might face
threats from predators, to assess the presence of predators that might threaten
them, and to use this assessment activity in their home gardens and community.
Moreover, there were a number of sites they could easily visit with their families
to follow up their learning. The unit opened up space and opportunities for
students to engage with others to pursue an interest in birds, thereby increasing the
possibility they might sustain their learning into the future at least in part because
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they had come to understand they were part of a wider community of interest (Brans-
ford, Brown, & Cocking, 2000; Engle, 2006; Gilbert, 2006; Nordine, Krajcik, &
Fortus, 2011).
Designing an Effective Context-based Unit—Focusing on ‘Big’ Ideas
Teachers cannot include the full range of possible topics and activities in their class-
room curriculum, so they need to make decision about what content to focus on.
Harlen (2010) and Duschl et al. (2007) argue for a focus on ‘big’ or unifying ideas
that students need to understand to make informed decisions about scientific
aspects of the world around them. Karen’s bird unit was structured around the
‘big’ ideas of adaption and conservation, which are biological understandings that stu-
dents need if they are to be critical, informed, and responsible citizens (Harlen, 2010).
Karen developed and linked these ideas by starting from and interrelating a series of
‘small’ ideas embedded in activities that drew in, built on and extended students’
knowledge of native birds and familiar animals. It is significant that New Zealand
has a large number of endangered native bird species with distinctive adaptive fea-
tures. This diversity provided a rich context for students to engage in an in-depth
examination of the concept of adaptation and to consider implications for conserva-
tion. It is quite possible that in the absence of a clear focus on the ‘big’ ideas of adap-
tation and conservation, Karen’s students would simply have learnt a set of interesting
facts about New Zealand native birds, and missed an opportunity to develop an ela-
borated understanding of adaptation and its with wider applications. Overall, the find-
ings suggest there is merit in teachers beginning their planning by identifying the ‘big’
ideas in a context and working back to identify the ‘small’ ideas, attitudes, and skills
that need to be developed and connected to help students understand and operatio-
nalise these ‘big’ ideas.
Designing an Effective Context-based Unit—Orchestrating Activities
The activities that teachers use shape and frame their students’ opportunities to learn.
The way teachers orchestrate and link these activities shapes student experiences of
school science and their understandings of what science is about. There is, forEngaging Primary Students in Learning About New Zealand Birds 19
example, ample evidence that students do not always experience their (science)
lessons as connected or coherent (Mercer, 2008). In this regard, Gilbert et al.
(2011) note that it is important, within the ‘context as social circumstances’ model
that students develop a coherent mental map of what they are learning. Karen sup-
ported her students to do this through her focus on two ‘big’ ideas and her articulation
of the links between ideas, tasks and lessons. The ‘big’ ideas provided an anchor-point
that she revisited over time to connect activities and ‘small’ ideas together. Her explicit
pedagogical link-making (Scott et al., 2011) contributed to her students’ experience
of their science learning as connected and cumulative, and helped maintain student
interest and momentum in learning over days and weeks.
Throughout the lessons, Karen explained scientific terms using examples that con-
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nected to students’ life experience to encourage them to transfer or connect what they
were learning to other contexts. Gilbert and colleagues advocate this approach as a
way of enabling mental maps to be invoked and extended whilst encouraging students
to perceive the relevance of the current learning. This strategy has been shown to
increase the chances students will develop coherence and depth of understanding
(Mercer, Dawes, & Staarman, 2009). By applying scientific concepts to familiar
real-life scenarios, teachers can stimulate student interest and also help ensure they
come to appreciate the personal and social relevance of school science (Jenkins,
2011; Nordine et al., 2011).
Karen provided students with multiple opportunities to learn and use the language
associated with both ‘small’ and ‘big’ ideas in a manner that supported student experi-
ence of language development and learning as a social process supported by discus-
sion (Gilbert et al., 2011). The students engaged in lively discussions as they
sought to understand and to make personal sense of new terminology and ideas.
Karen used a range of reading strategies, based on her knowledge of teaching
reading per se, to ensure that reading tasks promoted students’ active engagement
with science ideas. As Bulman (1985) explains it, ‘if we wish to give our pupils a
taste of being a real scientist then reading should play an important part in our
science lessons’ (p. 19). Knowledge application and transfer happened explicitly
during the reading/discussion process as students applied their new ideas and ter-
minologies about adaptation to different animals.
Throughout the unit, students were captivated by the large coloured images of New
Zealand native birds that Karen projected on the interactive whiteboard. From
student post-unit interviews, it seemed that the aesthetic appeal of New Zealand
birds added to the charm of the unit. Old Blue served to bring the ideas of the unit
to life through the depiction of a conservation success story. The reading was a mem-
orable event that provoked an emotional and intellectual response from the students.
The story was made more compelling by the scale of the challenge to be overcome and
by evidence of the collective commitment of those involved in the conservation effort.
Karen’s reading of Old Blue as a focal activity fostered student emotional engagement
with the substantive content of a unit, which is an important aspect of pedagogical
link-making (Scott et al., 2011). Pappas and Varelas (2009) found that non-fiction
narratives written as engaging stories help to make ideas coherent, memorable, andYou can also read
