One of my New Year's resolutions was to do what's right, not what's expected. Since I have a class that really isn't into having school done to them, I decided to start the year off with some problem-based learning (PBL) for them. I'm a little rusty at thinking up good problems, but I figured that even if my problem was flawed, it was better than having them fill out worksheets and do cookbook labs because that's what was done in the past.
I'm breaking with the past. I'm looking forward. I'm doing right by my students, even if it means it's not in the map. Because it's breaking my heart seeing what school has done to them thus far - and they're seniors, for crying out loud.
Our next unit in this class is on freshwater - how it's allocated around the globe, surface water, groundwater, and the environmental problems associated with freshwater. According to the curriculum, I must teach them these things:
But I will teach them these things by throwing this problem at them: (You can see all the directions and the sequence of this PBL by checking out this website. By the way, this was based on a real flood that happened in a town in which I used to live.) Students will play the role of an EPA employee that has to give solutions to the immediate problem to the Mayor and to the EPA itself, along with recommendations for the prevention of future environmental hazards from flooding. They will have to create a formal proposal (the format of which is taught in the Career Writing class at our school), and they will create a professional presentation from their proposal to give to the Mayor and the EPA. (My husband doesn't know (yet) that he will be the Mayor of Engelbrechtville the day the presentations are given....) The Mayor gets to decide which proposal will work best for his town on the day of the presentations.
In the process of preparing their proposals, students will do research (especially on the economic and social impact of their solutions) on their own as well as activities to learn the objectives I posted above. Their final projects should be a synthesis and application of the science and their own research in order to come up with solutions to the problem.
I would have liked this problem to be more authentic. I would have loved for it to be a real problem and have them present to actual community members. And I know that I've missed something (I usually do, but I'm sure the students will helpfully point it out to me at some point!), but I have to realize that this is better for my students' learning and their thinking. I know it feels better than what I have been doing. It's a good start at moving forward. It feels right--and it does right by students.
If anyone has any suggestions to make this PBL better, I am open to any and all of them. Fire away in the comments.