Case study - Looking after bees
Year 7 students create solutions to protect bees.
About this resource
This case study shows how a year 7 class developed their interest in bees into a wide-ranging, cross-curricular study developing outcomes to protect the bees.
Case study - Looking after bees
Year level: 7–8
Curriculum level: 4
Learning phase: Years 7–8
Technological areas: Design and Visual Communication, Designing and Developing Materials Outcomes, Designing and Developing Processed Outcomes
Technological strands: Technological Practice, Technological Knowledge, Nature of Technology
Achievement objectives: Outcome and development and evaluation, Technological modelling, Characteristics of technological outcomes
Cross-curricular links: Science (Living World) and Mathematics (Geometry and Measurement)
School: St Joseph's School (Timaru)
Teacher: Katie Scannell
Mātauranga Māori
Traditionally, the ngāhere (forest) was the food store, the medicine cabinet, and the spiritual retreat for Māori. Plants and animals also have more senior status than humans. In pūrākau Māori, Tāne Mahuta, the guardian and protector of the forest, created plants before creating te ira tangata (humans). The ngāhere is also seen as the link between te ira tangata and atua (sacred guardians), demonstrating the close relationships and connections Māori have with whenua (land), the taiao (environment), and with atua.
The ngāhere is an interconnected yet complex ecosystem that relies on all who live and connect with it to maintain its health and wellbeing. From the tiniest organisms who live in the soil, to the plants who provide life-giving qualities, and to insects who help with nutrient cycling and pollination, the ngāhere is important for the survival of all living things. Pī (bees) are essential for the pollination of many of our native flowers, as well as introduced species.
In engaging with cross-curricular programmes of learning, ākonga can develop their understanding of the concept of kaitiakitanga (guardianship) and the important roles and responsibilities pī play as kaitiaki who help plants reproduce. As pollinators, bees transfer pollen between flowering plants and, therefore, keep the cycle of life turning. The harvesting of mānuka honey in Aotearoa New Zealand requires the presence of bees to ensure honey production is continued and sustained. In turn, bees pollinate mānuka flowers. As a rongoā (medicine), mānuka can be used to treat a variety of conditions, including burns and infections. It is widely acknowledged as having anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial properties as well as being used as an astringent and as a diuretic.
Enduring understanding
Organisms in an ecosystem depend on one another for survival.
This case study shows how a year 7 class at St Joseph’s School in Timaru developed their interest in bees into a wide-ranging, cross-curricular study investigating and developing outcomes to protect the bees.
Learning intentions could be:
Students will:
- describe design ideas and potential outcomes; this could be through drawing, models, or verbally
- undertake functional modelling to develop design ideas into a conceptual design that addresses the key attributes
- test the key performance properties of materials/components to select those appropriate for use in the production of a feasible outcome
- produce and trial a prototype of the outcome
- evaluate the fitness for purpose of the final outcome against the key attributes.
St Joseph’s School is set in a farming community and many of the students live on small farms or lifestyle blocks. Katie Scannell, a year 7 teacher, watched a Country Calendar television programme about the increasing threats facing bees. She decided to find out how much her students already knew about bees and to enlist their help with planning ways to protect and promote them.
Building on the school’s local curriculum, the teacher used a provocation – the threat to bees – that was relevant to the farming community in which most of the students lived.
Setting the scene
Katie sparked students’ interest in the new study by setting up the classroom as a restaurant, including tablecloths, place settings, and menus. Without giving any reasons, she told the students that most of the items on the menu were unavailable. The students were eventually able to work out that bees were essential to all these items.
This innovative activity served as a hook to engage students’ interest and stimulate them to ask questions and make discoveries.
The students brought varying knowledge, attitudes, and experiences to the resulting discussions. Because of their semi-rural lifestyles, many students were familiar with bees, and some whānau kept hives on their properties. Some students were afraid of bees, associating them with painful stings and thinking of them as enemies.
Students sought out expertise in the local community and shared what they had learnt with the rest of the class. This helped them in developing an important understanding – that the teacher is not the fount of all knowledge.
The students took ownership of their projects and formulated questions that would drive their investigations and designing, while avoiding the trap of leaping too quickly to a solution.
Gathering information
The students were keen to learn more about bees. They researched the Internet and were fascinated to learn how bees could communicate with one another, for example, using a waggle dance. They also discovered how essential bees are for pollinating plants - which in turn provide wide varieties of food for different organisms, including humans. The students used their analytical skills to research and identify key information about bees.
A small group of students was able to visit a local beekeeper. He showed them his beekeeper’s suit and opened a hive so they could spot the queen and the drones. The students were excited to see a swarm of bees gathered around a queen in a nearby tree. The group returned to school and reported what they had seen to the rest of the class.
An authentic purpose
By this time, says Katie, the whole class was becoming attached to bees. No one now thought of them as enemies, rather, the students had been horrified to discover that some scientists believed bees to be on the verge of extinction.
“What would happen if there were no bees?” – Noah
“What can we do to help protect the bees?” – Ruby
Collaborative planning
The class brainstormed ideas about how they could help to protect bees. As they discussed their ideas, the students realised that they also wanted to help promote the importance of bees to the community. They selected the ideas that seemed most likely to achieve each of these goals and grouped themselves according to their interests and skills.
The teacher acted as a facilitator, not a director. The students generated the ideas themselves and selected the ones they wanted to work on, creating strong ownership.
The students’ ideas included:
- setting up a bee-friendly garden
- constructing bug hotels to help protect the plants the bees rely on
- making seed bombs
- producing stickers to promote bees
- making podcasts and a documentary movie to promote the importance of bees.
The teacher rose to the challenge of relinquishing control of the project in order to promote student agency: “It was wonderful to see all the kids going off into their groups and working on their own projects. It can be a bit scary when you as a teacher have to let go. But they just leapt at the chance to do something practical. It’s great when you see them using what they’ve learnt and applying it to the real world.”
The design process
The students were used to following a design process that involved continuous discussion, self-evaluation, and a willingness to modify plans to help meet their purpose. They regularly asked each other questions like, “Is this really working?” and “What can we do to make it better?”
Their projects provide strong examples of authentic technological practice, involving iteration and design thinking.
A bee-friendly garden
Two new classrooms had just been built at the school, and the space behind them was perfect for a garden. One student group began planning a bee-friendly garden. They called on the locals for help, including Katie’s mother, a keen gardener, to choose plants that would attract bees.
The students measured the space, drew up a planting plan to scale, and were surprised to find out how many plants would be needed to fill it. Local gardeners donated plants and advised the students on how to plant and care for them.
Drawing a planting plan helped the students to communicate and test their design, as well as to apply their mathematical thinking. They were developing their technological knowledge in relation to modelling and evaluating design ideas.
One year later, the garden was still flourishing and the students were actively involved in maintaining it.
Bug hotels
Some students decided to build bug hotels that would attract friendly insects to the garden and help keep the plants healthy.
They drew up detailed plans for the hotels, selected suitable materials – including timber, nails, and glue – and learnt to use tools. They were determined to use sustainable and environmentally friendly materials.
Oscar designed his hotel in the shape of a hexagon, involving some complex geometry to calculate the angles.
The students’ planning and use of materials and tools illustrate the technological knowledge strand, and show that they understood the need to design for a purpose.
The students learnt to self-evaluate, adapting their plans to suit their budget and skills and discussing how to improve their designs.
“This project helped them understand the design process," says Katie. "They'd ask their ideas to the max, and then they'd ask, 'Can we achieve this within the materials available?'"
Seed bombs
One group made seed bombs using a soil and compost mix donated by a local company, a bee-attracting wildflower seed mix, clay, and water. They used these for planting at home and around the rohe (district) to attract more bees.
They then decided to take this idea a stage further and teach children from the new entrants’ class how to make the seed bombs. Soon, the whole junior school became involved, and some whānau took seed bombs home for planting.
Stickers
Another group decided to design and make stickers featuring bees. Katie challenged them by asking, “How will this actually help to promote bees?”
In response, the group decided to prepare an informative presentation about bees for the new entrants’ class and to give the children stickers to wear.
The stickers stimulated questions from whānau, which allowed the new entrant children to pass on the knowledge they’d gained about the importance of bees.
Podcasts and a documentary
The students came up with a variety of approaches for communicating their messages, adapting these to suit their purpose and audience.
Some students were keen to create videos and podcasts to convey information about bees and promote their importance. The class analysed a range of videos and podcasts to identify elements that made them appealing, conveyed information clearly, and held their audience’s attention.
The students used these details to help them create and evaluate their own projects. If a podcast failed to hold its audience’s attention or convey information clearly, the students discussed how to improve it, and made changes.
One student made a documentary video, modelling his communication style on that of David Attenborough. The podcasts and documentary were shared with other classes and at assembly. The documentary was also shared on the class Facebook page so that parents and whānau could view it.
The students had ownership of their work and saw it as a legacy they would leave behind for the school. The project helped them understand how crucial bees are in our ecosystem and the impact of past and future actions on bees’ well-being and survival.
Contextualising learning within an authentic local issue ensures that it is of interest, and that you have available relevant stakeholders who can help provide feedback and information that will help inform the project. Your local curriculum could provide ideas for authentic contexts. In addition:
- Managing the development of multiple, wide-ranging technological outcomes in one class is not easy. Consider how you will provide timely, ongoing support and guidance.
- Learning about bees in the beginning is a great opportunity for students to develop their science capabilities, including close observation to gather and interpret data. Many students will not be able to identify native and introduced bees or even identify wasps from bees. Close observation accompanied by identification will support students to develop their knowledge of bees.
- Research the history of bees in Aotearoa New Zealand, both endemic and introduced species. How different are the endemic bees to introduced honey bees? What are the implications – positive and negative – of introducing species to Aotearoa New Zealand. What are the implications – positive and negative – of increasing the number of honey bees in Aotearoa New Zealand?
- Investigate the effects of current pesticides and chemical weed management use on endemic bee populations.
- Talk to local iwi about native plants pollinated by bees and the use of those plants in rōngoa Māori.
- Explore how maramataka can be used as a tool for beekeeping.
- Bees are VIPs (Very Important Pollinators) - Connected 2012 Level 2 – explores the symbiotic relationship that has evolved between the honey bee and flowering plants. It describes how, in the process of gathering nectar and pollen, the honey bee helps to pollinate flowers.
- Thank Goodness for Bees - Connected 2012 Level 2 – explains how honey bees differ from similar insects. It describes how honey bees have adapted to be able to collect nectar and pollen from flowering plants and how they turn the nectar into honey. It also explains how bees produce wax to construct honeycomb to store their honey.
- Staying Alive - Connected 2012 Level 2 – identifies some reasons why the honey bee is becoming endangered. It describes the behaviours of other living things, including humans, that are threatening honey bee survival.
- Home Sweet Comb - Connected 2012 Level 2 – describes a selection of beehives made by people living in different cultures and at different times across the world. It describes the materials the hives were made of, their shapes and structures, and how beekeepers collected the honey stored inside them.
- Healing Honey - Connected 2012 Level 2 – explains how mānuka honey has special healing properties that make it valuable for medicinal purposes. It discusses the technological experimentation and modelling that went into the development of a honey bandage to treat wounds.
- The buzz of bees – resources curated by the Science Learning Hub - Pokapū Akoranga Pūtaiao to support the 2012 Level 2 Connected journal article Bees are VIPs.
- A Sweet Business - School Journal Level 3 November 2016 – A group of students at Te Aro School want to go into the honey business. Can they afford it? Will they make a profit? What will their budget look like? This article looks at how one group of students turned honey into money!
- For the love of bees - Find out more about Aotearoa New Zealand’s 28 species of native bees.
- Kōanga- Spring Inspiration – NZ Association for Environmental Education – Lots of useful information links from this page:
- The Science Learning Hub – Pokapū Akoranga Pūtaiao has a range of resources for students to investigate and learn more about bees, including:
