Fishing
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Approach:  One to one
Level: Year 4 and year 8
Focus: Managing resources  
Resources:
Video on laptop computer
frame 392Kb
Questions/instructions:  


This activity uses the computer.

You are going to watch a video about a fish factory. The fish factory is on a large New Zealand fishing boat.

Click on the Fishing button. Ask the following questions after the student has seen the video.
Description and voiceover of video:
[detailed shots of the processing plant on a commercial fishing vessel.]
A lot of fish can be caught from this boat. All of the processing of the fish is done in the factory on the boat.
The tails and heads are chopped off. The machines can be changed to suit the different types of fish that are caught from the boat. The fish are sliced and filleted by the machines. The skins are removed as they stick to the ice-cold rollers.
A lot of people live and work on the boat. They stay on the boat for about six weeks at a time.
These people are working together on the production line. They work in teams to keep the fish factory going day and night. They slice the fish ready for weighing and packaging. The fish is frozen and stored on the boat until it is unloaded at a port.
 
% responses
2008 ('04)
y4
y8
1. How do the machines help the people with their work?    
 
machines do parts of the processing faster than people could do them
27 (27)
43 (39)
machines do jobs that would be risky for people
(e.g. likely to cause injury, OOS
(Occupational Overuse Syndrome))
1 (4)
2 (2)
machines do tasks that are very repetitive/boring/unpleasant
9 (7)
9 (10)
machines keep going when people would get tired
3 (6)
4 (1)
machines do some tasks more consistently/accurately/hygenically than people would tend to do them
17 (14)
20 (19)
2. What are the important things that people need to do for the fish factory to work well?
 
start their shift on time/punctuality, be there for whole shift
4 (4)
8 (5)
do their own job carefully/thoroughly/safely
14 (13)
23 (24)
keep up with the required pace of work
14 (19)
20 (19)
work/relate well with other workers
32 (31)
48 (43)
maintain and repair the machines to keep them working
12 (7)
17 (14)
3. What are the advantages and the disadvantages of having a fish factory out at sea? Tell me the advantages, or good things, first.
 
immediate processing to keep fish fresh
21 (20)
46 (35)
less wasted time travelling out to and in from fishing areas
20 (27)
30 (30)
more fish can be caught
22 (33)
25 (33)
4. Now tell me the disadvantages, or not so good things, about having a fish factory out at sea.
 
workers miss friends/family
7 (4)
29 (26)
workers miss activities they would do if home
2 (0)
5 (5)
problems getting on with other workers can be serious because they are constantly together
1 (3)
2 (1)
serious equipment failure can cause greater problems/delays
10 (12)
7 (9)
Overall, student understood and explained the advantages and disadvantages:
 
very well
0 (0)
0 (0)
quite well
2 (1)
8 (9)
moderately
15 (20)
30 (34)
poorly
83 (80)
62 (57)

Total score:
5–20
13 (11)
37 (32)
4
9 (15)
15 (15)
3
16 (24)
19 (24)
2
25 (18)
17 (13)
0–1
37 (33)
12 (17)
Subgroup Analysis [Click on charts to enlarge] :
Year 4
Year 8
Commentary:
This task asked students to discuss a video they saw on a commercial fish processing boat. Substantial growth in the ability to do this was seen from year 4 to year 8 although, even at year 8, most students had difficulty with the task. Gender differences were minimal; Pakeha students were more successful on the task than Pasifika or Mäori students. Performance was similar to 2004.