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What if instead of teaching children using textbooks and whiteboards they could learn in a way that related to their own lives? An innovative study flipped the way in which curriculums are designed on its head. Instead of thinking about what children needed to know, the researchers asked the children what they wanted to know about the topic of water.

“The results show that children are more motivated, more engaged and maintain a higher level of concentration if the tasks they are asked to complete are more interesting and relate to their own lives and experiences in different ways,” says Professor Patricia Thomson, who led the research project.

Professor Thomson and her team at The University of Nottingham teamed up with Papplewick Pumping Station, a Trust whose aim is to educate the community about the importance of water. Alongside local artists, the academics worked with teachers and pupils from two Nottingham primary schools, Dunkirk and Mellers, as well as two secondary schools, Bramcote and Rushcliffe to devise the curriculum. They started by simply asking the children what they were most interested in.

“Science teaching in schools is often already driven by children’s curiosity, and so we took this approach when devising the curriculum but widened it so that the pupils would learn about the science, history and geography of water,” Professor Thomson added.

“This is because children are much more likely to learn and retain information if they can bring a range of different experiences and knowledges to bear on the subject.”

The curriculum Professor Thomson and her colleagues devised was large and varied. Topics ranged from the different states that water can exist in, to how a steam engine works, and how much water is used to make a pair of jeans. Older children learnt about the effect that a lack of water has on conflicts and wars around the world.

The active and varied approach to learning promoted by the researchers had a visible effect on the pupils. The work they produced, including writings and presentations was more insightful than usual.

Teachers also remarked on how well the children could understand difficult concepts as well as think strategically about issues, such as how nation states would act to protect their water resources. As a result of this variation in learning, children were also able to remember what they had learnt 12 months later.

The project was an initial scoping study, but Professor Thomson believes the approach was so successful that she is planning on repeating the study on a larger scale and measuring the outcomes on children in a more quantitative way.

The research project and its findings on how we can best engage children and young people with such an important issue will be discussed at an event, ‘Last call at the oasis’, on 9 November, as part of the 2015 ESRC Festival of Social Science. The event features a screening of the powerful documentary, which brings into focus water sustainability issues, followed by a panel discussion led by Professor Pat Thomson, which delves deeper into the issues presented in the film.

Further information

• Professor Pat Thomson
  Email: patricia.thomson@nottingham.ac.uk
  Telephone: 0115 846 7248

Notes for editors

1. The thirteenth annual Festival of Social Science takes place from 7-14 November 2015 with over 200 free events nationwide. Run by the Economic and Social Research Council, the Festival provides an opportunity for anyone to meet with some of the country’s leading social scientists and discover, discuss and debate the role that research plays in everyday life. With a whole range of creative and engaging events there’s something for everyone including businesses, charities, schools and government agencies. A full programme is available online. You can also join the discussion on Twitter using #esrcfestival. Logos for the festival can be downloaded from our website.
2. The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) is the UK’s largest funder of research on the social and economic questions facing us today. It supports the development and training of the UK’s future social scientists and also funds major studies that provide the infrastructure for research. ESRC-funded research informs policymakers and practitioners and helps make businesses, voluntary bodies and other organisations more effective. The ESRC also works collaboratively with six other UK research councils and Innovate UK to fund cross-disciplinary research and innovation addressing major societal challenges. The ESRC is an independent organisation, established by Royal Charter in 1965, and funded mainly by the Government. In 2015 it celebrates its 50th anniversary.
3. This press release is based on findings from 'Get Wet: the Papplewick water literacies project'
4. This free event takes place from 14.00-17.00 on 9 November, at Highfield House, University Park, University of Nottingham, Nottingham.