Week
4: Coral Reefs
Weeks 4, 5, and 6 make up the first three-week cycle of the
course. Currently, you are in the first week - Week A: Teacher
as Problem Solver.
This
week, you are the problem solver - tackling the Coral Reefs
Scenario. Experience problem based learning by thinking through
what you already believe and know (your private theories)
and then building knowledge with your teammates. Learn as
much as you can about Coral Reefs this week, so you can build Earth
Systems Science models next week, and design lessons in the third
week.
Assignments
Individual:
(by midnight
Wednesday)
- Read the
Private Theory Rubric.
- Read the
Coral Reefs Scenario.
- Think
about what you believe to be true and the reasons
for those beliefs about coral reef destruction. Submit
these private theories and prior knowledge for a grade
to your Portfolio in the Classroom.
- Post your
theories in the Classroom
Teacher as Problem Solver space.
- Review
the readings and resources below.
- Read your
teammates' postings and respond to at least one other
person's theories in the Teacher as Problem Solver
space in the Classroom.
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more detailed instructions? Click
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Team:
(by midnight Sunday)
- Review
the Knowledge-Building
Rubric.
- Brainstorm a list of questions you
think you need to answer to understand the scenario.
-
Post your questions in the
discussion space in the Teacher as Problem Solver
space in the Classroom
.
- Review
your teammates' questions.
- List the
key questions and plan how to investigate them as
a team.
- List answers
to your questions as you build knowledge together.
- By the
end of the week, develop a team problem statement
and post it in the Teacher as Problem Solver space
in the Classroom.
Submit it for a grade to your Portfolio
in the Classroom.
|
Readings
You
will want to locate other resources locally and on the Internet
to supplement these. Post the resources you find in the Resource
Space in the Classroom.
Reefs
at Risk: A Map-Based Indicator of Potential Threats to the
World's Coral Reefs published online by World Resources
Institute, 1709 New York Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20006
"Coral
Reefs in Glass Tanks." Losing Biodiversity: Global
Systems Science Student Guide. p 69.
Refer
to the Sample Week A Volcano Hypothesis
and Analyses and the Sample Week A Volcano
Questions and Problem Statement for a model.
Problem-Based
Learning Model provides an example of how to examine an
Earth Systems Science event (a volcano) within the Problem-Based
Learning approach.
Web
Sites