Noise in Baena. Didactic proposals for improving the quality of city life (página 3)

These "long" activities are dealt with under the focus of attitudes and values, which are deeply stressed. Many overall concepts on noise were worked on, as well as important procedures for Environmental Education, and many attitudes and values were also raised. Likewise, most of the didactic interventions implied an action by pupils on the environment.

As an example of an action in the environment we now present the action carried out by the pupils of 4th of E.S.O in the didactic activity on the perception and knowledge of the people from Baena about noise.

Students focused their action in the making of posters, leaflets and television advertisements on noise, with the purpose of making citizens aware of the problem generated by this pollutant.

In the posters and leaflets the following topics: were approached:

– Effects of noise on people.

– Struggle against noise.

– Sound and noise.

– Noise in society.

– Acoustic pollution.

– Noise in the home.

– How to avoid noise.

– Personal protection.

– Noise agents.

– Preventive measures.

– Noise and Municipal Ordinances.

– Noise in children`s life.

– Alternative to the sources of noise.

– Noise and the street.

– Noise and night.

– Communication and noise.

After making the posters and leaflets, they were photocopied for their later diffusion throughout the city (shops, schools, city council, youth house, unions, etc.). Ten copies of each poster were made. As there were 7 posters, we obtained a total of 70 posters. There were also 7 leaflets and 30 photocopies of each were made, thus getting as many as 210 leaflets. Once the posters and leaflets were photocopied, students in groups posted them in different places of Baena for their diffusion. The posters were placed in different clarly visible shop windows as well as in notice boards. The leaflets were spread in shops, schools, City council, Youth House, old people`s home, unions, etc.

As for the television advertisement, students had prepared in groups the performance of their corresponding advertisements (for them to do so, they had the literal content of the television advertisements that they had previously prepared). The classroom was conditioned for such an event. Before shooting an advertisement, several tests were made. Then, it was recorded and once all the ads were finished, they were edited in the local television studios. There, production would be made: the advertisements would be framed in black and the name of the authors would appear in the lower part).

Once completely finished all the advertisements in the studios of "Television Baena", they were diffused. They were each broadcast a couple of times a day, during one month. Later on, they would be broadcast rather less often.

In the television advertisements the following topics were approached:

– Difference between sound and noise.

– Effects of noise on health.

– Noise and pollution.

– Noise and communication.

– Noise and quality of life.

– Struggle against noise.

– Noise and legislation.

– Preventive measures.

– Acoustic Pollution.

– Protection against noise.

– Noise and society.

– Noise at home.

– Sources of noise.

– Noise and leisure.

– Hearing conservation programmes.

The results of these "long" interventions show this:

Regarding the influence of the didactic activities carried out in the increase of their awareness of the problem generated by noise:

1) In a scale between 0 and 10, they rate above 9 the fact that the interventions have been useful to increase their awareness of the problem generated by noise.

To illustrate this aspect, we now show Table 8, corresponding to the didactic activity of amplification of concepts about noise.

Table 8

As we observe in Table 8, this didactic intervention has been useful for all the pupils to increase greatly their awareness of the problem generated by noise, rating this fact with an average of excellent (9), being the average rating for men excellent (8.7) and excellent, equally, for women (9.4). As we can see, the didactic intervention has been useful for women to increase more their awareness of the problem generated by noise than for men.

As far as concepts are concerned:

2) In all cases, after the intervention, new categories appear, as well as new examples inside each category that didn't appear before the intervention, which is indicative that there has certainly been learning.

As an example, we now show Table 9, corresponding to the didactic activity of amplification of concepts about noise.

Table 9

In Table 9, it can be seen how, before the intervention, the answers can be classified in three categories that, from a higher to a smaller percentage, make reference to the effects of noise on the body, except in the ear, with a higher percentage in men than in women (headache; nervousness; stress; malaise), to effects on the ear, with a higher percentage in women than in men (deafness;hearing problems), as well as, to social effects, with more percentage in women that in men (lack of copncentration in the work being done; it alters human communication). After the intervention, the answers can be classified in three categories that, from a lower to a higher percentage, make reference to the effects of noise on the body, except in the ear, with a higher percentage in men than in women (stress; Nervous System; Digestive system; skin resistance Endocrine System; breathing alterations), to effects on the ear, with a higher percentage in women than in men (deafness; hearing loss), as well as to effects on health and quality of life, a category only mentioned by women (it affects the quality of life; it affects health in general). As we can observe, after the intervention, the same categories remain the most important: those which make reference to the effects of noise on the body, excepting the ear, as well as, to the effects on the ear. Also, after the intervention, a new category appears which makes reference to the effects of noise on health and quality of life, which was not taken into account before the intervention. But it is without any doubt in the category that refers to the effects on noise on the body (not in the ear) where the biggest changes appear after the intervention, with new effects, among the most important being the effects on the Nervous System, a decrease of vision, effects on the Digestive system, hypertension, skin resistance , Muscular System, Cardiovascular System, breathing alterations, mental disorders in prone people, Endocrine System, as well as effects on diverse organs and systems.

3) Likewisely, after the intervention, the percentage of people that do not know regarding the outlined question decreases significantly, which also implies there has been learning.

Regarding how they have felt and their feelings during the activity:

4) 100% state that they have felt very well, content and comfortable. Their feelings have been quite positive, they have felt satisfied, pleased with the partners and the teacher, as well as happy to learn, among others.

As for the learning of the techniques through the procedures worked in the different activities:

5) Although small difficulties were present, finally all the pupils learned the techniques corresponding to each activity.

As example that corroborates this aspect, we show in Table 10 some of the categorizations made by the pupils in the didactic activity on the perception and knowledge of the people from Baena about noise.

Table 10

As for the attitudes and values:

6) The immense majority of the pupils considers that the didactic activities carried out have been useful for them to increase the attitudes and values at stake game during its development. This aspect is confirmed by the teacher, who has kept a detailed control of the evolution of attitudes and values dealt with through direct observation and systematic observation by means of daily annotations and lists of observation like those that have been previously shown.

As an example of the work carried out about attitudes and values, we set out a role playing on the problems raised by a noisy factory located inside the city, included in the didactic activity of the visit to a noisy factory of the town. As previous considerations, they are told that this factory emits noises, with the rising nuisances to the neighborhood, that it generates a great deal of interior noise, which harms workers, and also that the manager takes no heed of the problems generated by his company both for neighbors and for workers. They are also told the functions of an insurance company and of the Administration´s business inspector.

For the development of this role playing, five volunteeers are chosen among the pupils attending. Each one embodies a person affected by the problem (company manager, workers' representative, representative of the neighbour´s association affected, representative of the insurance company, Administration´s Inspector). They discuss these problems for half an hour. Finally, they reach some conclusions. The remaining pupils listen attentively to the discussion. Later on, the pupils judge the attitudes and the positions of the people who take part in the role playing. We highlight some of the attitudes and values raised in this discussion by pupils (see Table 11).

Table 11

As far as diverse aspects worked in the didactic interventions are concerned (planning and coordination of the activity, teacher's performance, methodology employed, materials and resources, work of the students´ group, activities carried out in their group, assessment of their own work, actions carried out, etc.):

7) In a scale of ratings from 0 to 10 pupils rate between 8 and 10 these aspects dealt with in the didactic activities carried out, which shows that all these aspects have been highly valued by all the pupils.

To illustrate this aspect, we now present Tables 12 and 13, corresponding to the results of the final assessment questionnaire on the 5 didactic interventions carried out with the pupils of 4th of E.S.O at the SA.FA School in Baena, during the School Year 2005/06.

Table 12

Table 13

CONCLUSIONS

As general conclusions of our research we will point out the following ones:

1) the "short" didactic activities mobilize concepts and activate awareness towards the problem of noise, but they are not too effective in building systems of values, in elaborating procedures and in promoting attitudes.

2) the "long" interventions, by means of the employment of the constructivist method, are very effective in mobilizing procedures, attitudes and values, beyond concepts themselves, as well as in activating awareness of the problem generated by noise.

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* Francisco Javier Sánchez Sánchez-Cañete

(Córdoba) ESPAÑA

Nota biográfica: Nacido en Baena (Córdoba) España. Doctor en Ciencias Biológicas. Especialidad en Didáctica de las Ciencias Experimentales. He publicado numerosos artículos sobre el constructivismo en la enseñanza.

* Manzanares Gavilán, Mercedes.

* * Sequeiros San Román, Leandro.

* Department of Didactics of Social and Experimental Sciences of the Faculty

of Education Science. University of Córdoba.

* * Professor of Palaeontology on sabbatical leave.

Professor of Nature Philosophy. Faculty of Theology of Granada.