When the pupils of Sidi Bouskri School in Morocco planted a grove of olive trees in their school garden, it was the start of an innovative environmental project that now supports their maths learning. As the pupils care for the trees, harvest the olives, visit the camel-driven olive press, and sell the resulting oil in their local market, they’re using maths all the way. This project is part of a Moroccan government initiative to encourage schools to become more involved with the activities of their local community and to make use of local resources in their teaching. It’s also part of the 15% of the Moroccan national curriculum that individual schools are at liberty to devise for themselves. The teachers at Sidi Bouskri School feel that this project helps link the pupils’ lives with the work they do in the classroom, develops a positive relationship between the school and it’s environment, and encourages them as teachers to explore new approaches to teaching and learning.

Video Series: Inspirations
Release Date 2007