It contains educational material in the form of information and school projects, with links to information on study and career opportunities within the Faculty. It has been developed after extensive consultation with schools, students and DECS to ensure that it meets the requirements of the current curriculum, teachers and the level of interest and ability of students.

The format is visually dynamic and requires Netscape 2 to run all of the facilities housed in this package. The speed at which various components are downloaded will depend on the memory capacity of your computer network and the speed of your modem or line.

At the moment this is a prototype of a larger package we plan to release at a later date. Feel free to save all the files on your system and run it on your local server, but keep checking our internet site for further developments.

The package was intended to be used in schools but there is no reason why it could not be used outside of a classroom.

How you can use this package
The information modules contain up-to-date information on the strategies currently employed in pest management, drawing on the considerable expertise of the Faculty of Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences of the University of Adelaide. Each module can be run through in about ten to twenty minutes.

Most modules also have links to projects which extend the critical thinking of issues. Some of these projects require students to go away and do some research before they complete the project. They are all designed so that students can work in teams.

The projects range from being very simple exercises in developing opinions on various topics (Debate) to a complex decision making process that requires careful reading of the information presented (Integrated Pest Management of Millipedes).

This package has been designed so that it can be used in a flexible manner. It can be visited once, perhaps using one of the projects, or a visit to the Careers information module. You can start at the introduction and work your way through the information modules. You could let the class loose on it and ask them to pick one of the projects to do.

The package has relevance to three of the seven curriculum areas of the Statements and Profiles: Science, Technology, Studies of society and environment. The particular components of the statements and profiles that this package addresses are listed below.

• Agriculture and business studies
• There needs to be explicit links between the classroom and the world of work, involving career education and examining the labour market.

• at a personal level, to develop the confidence, optimism, knowledge, skills and abilities to satisfy their own questions about the physical, biological and technical world
• as members of society, to be able to take a confident part in the public debate and decision making about science and public science policy and to appreciate achievements of Australian scientific research
• in preparing for post-school options, by developing in students an understanding of science and its importance in society, thereby helping them to make decsisions about further education and careers and other life options related to science (Science statement).

Characteristics of students in years 8-10

• concerned for their relationship with and place in the world; and their responsibilities and futures
• aware of the impact of the practice of science on their lives
• increasingly interested in understanding how scientific conventions and theories provide explanations of physical and biological phenomena
• concerned about the impact of human activity on the environment
• use both qualitative and quantitative data
• use analogies and models to develop explanations
• recognise the importance of using information based on scientific evidence
• interested in the pluralism of opinions and values about the applications and practices of science
• increasing awareness of further study and options

There are five strands in the Science curriculum: Working scientifically, Earth and beyond, Energy and change, Life and living, Natural and processed materials.

Of these, this package has relevance to Working scientifically, Earth and beyond and Life and living.

The aim of the Working scientifically strand is to result in students learning to:

• work alone and in groups
• become critical-minded and sceptical about evidence
• take into account ethical and social considerations
• pose questions to investigate
• discuss scientific information and method in relation to environmental, religious, social, legal and economic viewpoints
• consider the intended/unintended consequences of action and immediate /longer term implications
• take part in community debates on practical issues
• seek parallels between their own procedures and efforts in learning and the work of professional scientists
• find out about the work of scientists in the community

The Earth and beyond strand requires among other things that students learn to:

• study scientific principles of alternative techniques in farming and conservation through context of students' concerns for the environment and responsible use of earth's resources
• undertake detailed case studies on the management of resources and the effects of human activities on the environment

The Life and living strand requires students to:

• investigate local environment and analyse relationships in food webs
• explore relationships and interactions so that students begin to appreciate that living things are integrated and that feedback mechanisms are essential means of maintaining equilibrium

Studies of society and environment

This area promotes the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values which enable students to participate as active and informed citizens in a democratic society and within a global community, dealing with significant matters such as ethics, social justice and ecologically sustainable development and are actively involved in gaining knowledge and making decisions and choices.

Characteristics of students in years 8-10

• build on their awareness of their own ways of thinking and conducting investigations

There are six strands in Studies of society and environment; Investigation, communication and participation, Place and space, Resources, Natural and Social systems, Time, continuity and change, Culture.

Of these, this package is relevant to the first four.

In the Investigation, communication and participation strands, students should learn to:

• show, in their investigations, signs of a growing sense of self and an awareness of their own beliefs
• explore their own attitudes and motivations as they examine the opinions and motives of others
• may incorporate their conclusions and viewpoints into a relevant social activity in the school or local community

In the Place and space strand, students will learn to:

• study the factors and processes influencing aspects of the natural (eg. vegetation, climate, soils, landforms, fauna) and built environments (urban, agriculture, transport).
• apply understandings about the consequences of human modifications to the natural and built features of places and predict future consequences of planned modifications to places.

In the Resources strand, students will learn to:

• begin to examine more complex and specific issues of resource use and management
• investigate post school options eg opportunities for paid employment
• gather information about occupations and their entry requirements and identify general competencies required in the workplace
• from this information, draft career plans and consider school subject choices and further study options

In the strand Natural and social systems, students must learn to:

• gather information on local, national and global environmental issues to simulate planning decisions and to debate alternative solutions
• come to identify their own beliefs and perspectives on environmental issues and how they acquired them, to understand the beliefs and perspectives of others and to identify possible areas of agreement on which to base decisions
• organise projects aimed at improving the local environment and compare and evaluate ways individuals can influence decisions affecting the natural systems

Key concepts in Studies of society and environment:

By developing a sequenced curriculum centred on concepts rather than contents students have the opportunity to learn and understand the concepts over a period of time. It also means that when a student moves to a new class or school they can understand the concepts being learnt even if the content is new.

Students should understand that

• local and national patterns can provide the basis for generalisations at a global level
• values, attitudes and beliefs impact upon the views of individuals and groups concerning ecological sustainability
• post-school options are linked to the availability and use of resources and individual competencies
• understand that there are multiple perspectives on environmental issues

Students investigate

• primary industry, conducting a case study
• the impact of technology on primary industry
• conduct a case study on an environmental issue in Australia
• educational and training requirements for a career
• ecological sustainability in the local area
• environment and economics

Statements and Profiles into Practice: Improving student learning outcomes. DECS. 1994

R-10 Studies of Society and Environment: classroom guides for teachers. DECS. 1995

R-10 Science: classroom guides for teachers. DECS, 1995