Allan Whittome, Badgingarra Primary School

Allan began his teaching career as a high school teacher in 1975. He moved to Badgingarra Primary School in 1999 and continued innovative teaching-learning experiences that promoted the achievement of student learning outcomes in meaningful contexts so as to engage Science and students in scientific learning.

His unassuming and quiet nature hides a depth and intensity of passion for things scientific. He has the ability to spark a child’s imagination, challenge students to explore and investigate the physical and natural world around them from the local environment to the World Wide Web. To develop within the students the ability to question, delve, seek answers, make the connections, make responsible decisions and work collaboratively and safely. Learners are encouraged by Allan to take some responsibility for their learning and they are valued. He is able to immerse students and teachers alike in the learning area and is able to have all contributing to the learning and knowledge.

He has been able to interweave Science and Science Literacy into the learning fabric of the school in a non-threatening and encouraging manner. Allan knows and understands his students well and responds by developing learning tasks to engage his students in real science situations.

Allan’s dedication to primary students is seen through their enthusiastic application towards tasks set for scientific discovery. He challenges students to think for themselves, to ‘think outside the square’, to, accept mistakes as learning tools, question the obvious and test popular beliefs against scientific values. He has demonstrated the ability to be knowledgably tailor tasks to fit the needs of students and provide them with science in a real life context. Allan has shown children and adults alike that science can cross the bounds into all the learning areas and vice versa.

The dialogue has become multi-directional with input coming from all stakeholders in the learning community namely teachers, students, parents, professionals and the surrounding community who all have been immersed in the science process. Science is taken outside of the classroom, allowing for the exploration/research into the real world problems requiring multi disciplinary inputs.

The scientific process is developed through interactive activities integrating several learning areas thus developing the whole child while having fun. Students eagerly await Allan’s science lesson in all of the classes across the school.

Allan’s students have been involved in:

• Schools Innovation Design Challenge F1 in Schools, I-bot robotics, jitterbugs, bristlebots, clay investigations, carbon sequestration investigations, bottle rocket science, aquaponics, permaculture gardens and worm farms, mint & herb gardens, brewing investigations, construction of model of solar system, investigating the properties of material eg pretzels.
• Weather and climate change observations (WeatherWatch, Air Watch and Globe), solar vehicles (cars and boats), Engquest, alternative energies (Hydrogen vehicles & wind power) bottle dragsters and CO2 dragsters. Ant farms, frogs, chickens, lizards, guinea pigs, gold fish and hermit crabs living in the classroom, Australian Ladybird hunt. Along with investigations into the environment and geology, water quality, rock & minerals, caves, biodiversity, recycling and local environment
• I-bot robotics as an integrated open ended, science/reading project allowing the students real life contexts for their reading and science investigation through the use of the Internet and providing the scope to allow extension for students requiring it.
• Clay investigations, students given the opportunity to identify & investigate the properties of clay samples collected locally and then to check them against the tests of a commercial lab. Students utilising parent input into their identification of the properties.
• Bottle rocket science project and students’ public launch day to which the community was invited to observe the launch of the students’ rockets, teams produced their rockets to a budget plan and design, investigated the science involved and then launched.
• Chickens, lizards, guinea pigs, gold fish and hermit crabs have all been invited into Allan’s classroom to encourage observation and the values of animal care and conservation.
• Investigations and tasks in the areas of renewable and sustainable energies, eg solar projects, wind projects.

The school being made a solar powered school with it own solar panels, production data collected from the units are made available to the public.

• Permaculture gardens and worm farms as part of Life and Living, aquaponics, permaculture gardens and aquaculture to extend the science learning interest of students so testing their scientific knowledge. The establishment of a small orchard as a special project for a special needs child. Students being awarded an Environmental award for their achievements.
• Construction of model of solar system along McNamara Road by Year 2/3 students as part of Earth and Beyond. The Year 4/5 students also constructed a model of the solar system using string across the playground and foam balls representing the planets.
• KP1 investigation-Earth and Beyond -Why they can’t see the stars of a day? By sitting in the darkened sport shed and observing the light coming through the holes and then observing the difference when the light is turned on.
• KP1 investigations- Earth and Beyond -shadows, the sun, day and night and the moon. Use of digital cameras so students with parent help to capture images of the phases of the moon then print out and place onto the classroom wall to produce a moon/lunar calendar.
• KP1 investigating the properties of pretzels, spaghetti and brick made of bread to build the three little pigs houses.
• The making of bird nesting boxes placed around the school to support local birdlife and replace nesting areas in community- development of student environmental awareness and responsibility.
• The production of hiking sticks from grass tree stalks with students of Years 2/3 for the Cool Eco-Tool students carrying out investigations into the using of local grass trees as a suitable material. Testing properties of the grass tree wood, developing in the students the understanding of different properties such as strength and hardness. Students designed tests and equipment for testing. Their investigation and product being awarded the best eco-tool at the state environmental Awards.
• Year 6/7 production of musical instruments from a variety of natural and recycled materials investigating sound and acoustic properties. These instruments were then used in the school’s end of year concert allowing demonstration of Science to an audience.
• Students taking part in the Sustainable Living Challenge to explore ways of achieving more efficient and sustainable living practises. Students actively investigate environmental issues that impact on their lives eg soil erosion, water, climate, biospheres.
• Adopting a land site for the students to make scientific observations and to make scientific decisions based on data collected as to the best rehabilitation of the area. Collecting scientific evidence from soil and water to monitor the health of the site and allowing students to make decisions as to the rehabilitation and vegetation used. This has become a benchmark reference site for other sites. 2008 in a partnership with Dept of Rivers establish data logging equipment on monitoring bore - collect recharge data
• GLOBE School collecting environmental data 2000-2004. Establishment of School weather monitoring stations with students collecting and submitting collected data to an international data base. Students ground truthing satellite images.
• Lake Indoon water monitoring project for students to monitor water quality and macro invertebrate in the lake.

Students were able to collect valid scientific data that was used by authorities to make management plans for the lake. The students experienced science in a real authentic context as well as contributing to their community and environments wellbeing.