Exploring and understanding living habitats through a digital representation

The project
In this science project, students at St Luke's Marsden Park were carrying out an inquiry based learning approach to understanding living habitats. Students were learning that living things have structural features and adaptations that help them to survive in their environment. They learnt that the growth and survival of living things are affected by the physical conditions of their environment. 

Students then used Ozobots to build environments that are designed to to meet the needs of living things. Students looked at the social and environmental factors that will influence the design of of their habitats. 

The driving question 
How can we as zoologists, create a habitat for living things, so that we can help them to survive in their environment?  

The process

Students created a collaborative report of their chosen animal that describes how structural features and other adaptations of living things help them to survive in their environment. Once students were informed, they created their first  prototype of the habitat design. The students then presented their paper prototype to their peers. The students provided feedback on what they liked and next steps for the group,  

As part of that feedback we discovered that most groups did not create a bird’s eye view of the habitat. The students used this information and created their second sketch of the prototype. The students ensured that the feedback was part of their second prototype. Students then began to  build the 3D bird’s eye view model and presented to experts. 

From the students evaluations, it showed that students enjoyed the project and were able to understand the coding component of the task. 

Outcomes
ST3-2VA demonstrates a willingness to engage responsibly with local, national and global issues relevant to their lives, and to shaping sustainable futures
ST3 - 3VA develops informed attitudes about the current and future use and influence of science and technology based on reason
ST3-4WS investigates by posing questions, including testable questions, making predictions and gathering data to draw evidence- based conclusions and develop explanations
ST3-5WT  plans and implements a design process, selecting a range of tools, equipment, materials and techniques to produce solutions that address the design criteria and identified constraints

ST3-10LW describes how structural features and other adaptations of living things help them to survive in their environment
ST3 -11LW describes some physical conditions of the environment and how these affect the growth and survival of living things
ST3-14BE describes systems in built environments and how social and environmental factors influence their design 

Length of program
Wk 1-10

Skills

• initiate or help to organise group activities that address a common need
• select and use appropriate ICT tools safely to share and exchange information and to safely collaborate with others
  
• contribute to groups and teams, suggesting improvements in methods used for group investigations and projects
• identify and explain factors that influence effective communication in a variety of situations
• devise strategies and formulate plans to assist in the completion of challenging tasks and the maintenance of personal safety
• independently or collaboratively create and modify digital solutions, creative outputs or data representation/transformation for particular audiences and purposes
• select from, and safely operate, a range of devices to undertake specific tasks and use basic troubleshooting procedures to solve routine malfunctions
• use ICT effectively to record ideas, represent thinking and plan solutions
• assess and test options to identify the most effective solution and to put ideas into action
• scrutinise ideas or concepts, test conclusions and modify actions when designing a course of action
• evaluate the effectiveness of ideas, products, performances, methods and courses of action against given criteria

(Highlighted section are some of the skills that were being assessed as part of the project).

Thanks to St Luke's teacher Mrs Koelmeyer for the summary of the project.