— Ms. Hui Yee Shan〡Principal of Ma On Shan Methodist Primary School
Life education is a core value in our school. It is our hope to create learning journeys that are not only enjoyable, but rooted in love and thoughtfulness. After participating in PMQ Seed’s Design Thinking education program we developed “The Amazing Bee Conservancy”, a school-based Design Thinking curriculum for P.4 students that is centered around the connection between humans and the natural world.
Bees in the Campus
“Are the kids actually interested in bees?” Much more than you might think! In order to help students learn about the importance of bees and the challenges they face, we invited urban beekeepers from Beetales to visit our school with a hive. At first, the crowd was excited and nervous; some students were even scared. However, as the beekeepers explained the vital role played by bees in the ecosystem, as well as how urbanization has hurt the bee population, students became highly invested in the issue.
Our program objective is for students to design prototypes for Bee Hotels—safe nests for solitary bees, a type of bee that works alone without living in colonies. While solitary bees produce no honey, they have an enormous impact on our communities and the balance within Earth’s ecosystems. Through the learning process, our students were able to fully engage with the vision of humans and bees working together in harmony.
Solitary Bees: a Survival challenge
We designed an immersive experience based on the Design Thinking concept of ‘Defining the Problem’, in which students took on the role of solitary bees and experienced firsthand their challenges in urban survival. Students navigated a simulated cityscape as they searched for food, built nests, and hid from natural predators (played by teachers). Not only were they faced with all sorts of unexpected problems, they had to work together to support the survival of the population.
“Solitary bees have such a tough life. They really need our help!” We saw our students’ thinking and attitudes undergo significant transformation as they shifted from being passive receivers to empathetic participants who were able to reflect on the challenges faced by the bees.
Honey with Rice
One day, at lunch, a class teacher found their students mixing honey with rice. What we initially thought was childish whimsy turned out to be an act of care: worried that the solitary bees were not getting enough food, the students tried to feed them honey. The Bee Hotels were not accessible during recess, however, students finally decided to put the honey in their lunch so it would not go to waste. The kindness behind this creative solution moved us deeply—such is the best demonstration of empathy.
Towards the Future
Not only did our Design Thinking curriculum introduce new knowledge, it helped kindle a sense of caring responsibility towards the natural world. Through these fun and thought-provoking activities, we saw students go from fearing bees to loving them, and from passive observing to taking action. All of this speaks to the power of education, our greatest achievement as educators.
We believe that collaboration and sharing are vital forces in education. Through sharing our valuable experience in applied Design Thinking, we hope to further inspire our colleagues who are building, together, a road of growth full of hope and possibilities. Let us go forward fearlessly!
