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DELIVERING THE BIKE EDUCATION PROGRAM IN AUSTRALIA

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Overview

Preparation

Before implementing the Bike Education Program in your school, it is recommended to read the Principles for School Road Safety Education (2009, Government of Western Australia). This research summary presents a set of principles for best practice in school road safety education. The Principles provide a framework of core concepts and values to guide the planning, implementation and review of road safety education programs, policies and practice in school communities.To make the program more engaging for the students consider:

• a practical component so that students have opportunities to ride bikes and be involved in maintenance activities, etc

• conducting excursions to relevant locations

• inviting guest speakers to provide knowledge and instruction in the areas of bike riding skills, bike maintenance, bike safety and road rule knowledge

• appropriate access to bicycles, particularly for students who have no access to a bike outside school.

STEP 1: WHOLE SCHOOL PLANNING

To make the implementation of this program more successful, discuss the following with your school management: Does your school:

•promote road safety education and support staffby ensuring access to a variety of resources andprofessional learning opportunities?

•actively encourage staff to model appropriate roadsafety behaviour and attitudes?

•actively encourage and promote school-communityparticipation in school and road safety programs?

•have an interested staff member or team of professionalswho are prepared to implement a bike safety program?

•know of interested community members or groupswho are prepared to assist with the implementationof the program?Does your curriculum:

•include road safety education?

•incorporate road safety education for all year levels?

•encourage students to support and influence their peerspositively as a way of improving road safety behaviour?

•use student-centred, interactive strategies to developstudent knowledge, skills and attitudes regardingroad safety?

STEP 2: RESOURCE AUDIT

You could ask your students to conduct an audit as part of the student forum. However, it will also be useful for you to have an understanding of available resources in order to develop your lesson planning.

Your audit could include:

•school resources, for example: availability of bikes;bike cage and its use; bike activities at your school;riding habits of staff and students,etc.

•community resources, for example: bike interestgroups, local councils, key agency representatives,such as RAA, Bike SA, MAC, SAPOL, Cycling SAand local bike shops

•council projects, for example: bike paths, bike hiringand bike events.The Bike Education Program resource guide (Appendix 4) can also support you in your audit.

STEP 3: LESSON PLANNING

The Bike Education Program was designed using the Learning Design ‘thinking map’ (see Appendix 1). The ‘thinking map’ is an example of a carefully planned unit, based around group project work that examines safe cycling and road rules. Relevant Australian Curriculum components have been brought together to ensure that the design of learning experiences is carefully planned, highly intentional and relevant to students’ lives and circumstances.

There are clear links between the Bike Education Program and specific learning areas in the Australian Curriculum. Whilst this resource has a focus on Year 8 Achievement Standards and Content Descriptions, it could be adapted to any year level. Similarly, whilst the pilot schools focused on two learning areas, the Bike Education Program fits with any learning area.

Year 8 lesson plans from two pilot schools focus on:

•Humanities and Social Sciences in a metroschool (Appendix 5)

•Mathematics in a rural school (Appendix 6).The Bike Education iTunes U site has examples of group project work from the two pilot schools, as well as a video of the students involved in the pilot program explaining what their projects were about and what they learnt from being involved in the program.

FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS

•As the Bike Education Program is based on groupcollaboration and project-based learning, manylessons take on an inquiry-based approach andinvolve information gathering and sharing. TheBike Education Program can be run with the usualtechnology and learning support materials that aregenerally available to teachers and students.

•The Bike Education Program can be conducted usingthe normal budget made available to a teacher. Costsfor guest speakers and excursions can be funded inthe usual manner for such arrangements, often byparents/caregivers paying for individual events.

• Time is flexible but it is suggested to deliver the program over a semester with up to four lessons per week. It can be delivered in one learning area or, with considered planning, the lessons can be shared among several learning areas.

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Overview Preparation Before implementing the Bike Education Program in your school, it is recommended to read the Principles... DELIVERING THE BIKE EDUCATION PROGRAM IN AUSTRALIA