Hero photograph
Jack Dunlop and Aidan Reynish
 
Photo by Gerd Banke - Teacher of Science

Exciting personalised learning in science

Gerd Banke - Teacher of Science —

Science class 10B students follow their passion, by getting familiar with the octopus!

When science class 10B were given the opportunity to choose a body system to learn about, student's Jack and Aidan didn't want to just learn about just one system, or even focus on only the human body system.  They were most eager to learn about the body systems of the octopus.

After Jack and Aidan had investigated how octopuses move, sense the world, digest and reproduce, they dissected an octopus so they could see what all the organs looked like and how the organs worked together.
Photos are attached of the students and their dissection (warning: some are quite graphic so view with a strong stomach!).

Once they had completed their investiations they prepared the attached powerpoint to outline what they learned (the presentation is attached at the bottom of this article in powerpoint or PDF versions).

Through carrying out the octopus inquiry and the dissection, Aidan and Jack gained an appreciation of how complex the octopus's body systems are, and how many organs are interlinked and work together - just like within the human body.

In the same class other students wanted to learn about the human sensory system - about the structure of the eye and how humans see colour.  Whereas another group wanted to find out how joints work and another wanted to know about the excretion system and how our kidneys work.

This type of student directed learning aims to give the student greater control, ownership, and accountability over his or her own learning experience. A student-centered learning environment encourages students to make some of their own choices while they learn which ultimately enables students to become independent learners and experience an education which is more meaningful, relevant and effective.