Photo Exhibit on Global Warming Causes, Creating a Powerpoint Presentation - Assignment Example

 Education today has undergone various transformations from days of old. Schools at present may have similar goals of optimising students’ learning and maximising their potentials but may have differing philosophies, approaches and educational strategies in fulfilling these goals. Constructivist theory is gaining more attention, recognition and acceptance in many educational institutions. It premises on the belief that learners “construct” their own learning, and in effect, have better retention of it. “In the Constructivist theory the emphasis is placed on the learner or the student rather than the teacher or the instructor.  It is the learner who interacts with objects and events and thereby gains an understanding of the features held by such objects or events.  The learner, therefore, constructs his/her own conceptualisations and solutions to problems.  Learner autonomy and initiative is accepted and encouraged.” (Van Ryneveld, n.d., n.p.). The Teacher Resource packages presented are only a few examples of constructivist learning at work. The students direct their own learning and call on their creative and critical thinking skills to come up with dynamic ideas that invite more learning. Students are no longer seen as passive recipients of learning with teachers as dispensers of knowledge. With constructivist learning, there are endless possibilities for the active learner. Teaching Resource Package 1: Creating a Powerpoint Presentation on the Protection of Endangered Environments Under Outcome 5.11 which says; “A student analyses the impact of human resource use on the biosphere to evaluate methods of conserving, protecting and maintaining Earth’s resources”, the teaching package proposed is on disseminating essential information on saving endangered environments. Specifically, it will attempt to meet 5.11.2 (C), which states that students will be discussing “strategies used to balance human activities and needs in ecosystems with conserving, protecting and maintaining the quality and sustainability of the environment.” For this resource package, students will be doing research on the degradation of the environment in some settings that are mainly caused by human factors. It endangers the lives of plants and animals which have taken up residence there. It will investigate what humans have been doing to contribute to environmental destruction as well as what can be done to protect wildlife and prevent their deaths and possible extinction. This package aims to impart to students care and concern for the environment and hopefully develop an advocacy in protecting it from negative elements such as illegal logging or illegal planting of crops. Students will be exposed to the realities that humans do exploit the environment to their advantage, not minding that there are co-existing lives of plants and animals that are put to danger. Students will be undertaking active research on various environmental issues. Initial sessions facilitated by the teacher will show how some environments are endangered due to human factors in settings around the world. Videos related to these shall be shown as well as environmental resource speakers who shall be invited to talk to the students about how they can help in the protection of affected environments. They will be using the internet for research purposes, mainly the site of the World Wildlife Fund, which has been actively advocating for the protection of wildlife. Their output from their thorough research will be to create a powerpoint presentation that centers on one particular endangered setting. This presentation shall be presented to the whole class on a given date. Target Audience The students who shall be undertaking this research project are Yr 9 students whose age range 14 years of age, typical teenagers who are dynamic and eager to take on new adventures in learning. These young people will be given free rein on their research abilities and creation of their end product, but will always be reminded to adhere to guidelines that would lead them to achieve the desired outcomes. The resource package may run from two weeks to a month. The first five lessons shall be facilitated by the teacher to give them an idea as to the state of various environments around the world. The remaining time shall be dedicated to research in the library and gathering materials for the powerpoint presentation. Skill and Content Outcomes Stage 5 Outcomes A student: 5.13 identifies a problem and independently produces an appropriate investigation plan 5.14 undertakes first-hand investigations independently with safety and competence 5.15 gathers first-hand data accurately 5.16 accesses information from a wide variety of secondary sources 5.18 selects and uses appropriate forms of communication to present information to an audience 5.19 uses critical thinking skills in evaluating information and drawing conclusions 5.21 uses creativity and imagination in the analysis of problems and the development of possible solutions This resource package aims to develop the research skills of the students. To start with, they will learn to identify the problem and think of possible solutions (Student Outcomes 5.13/ 5.14). Although the main problem presented is the protection of endangered environments against the neglect and inconsideration of some people, they can attack the problem in more specific ways, like choosing a particular issue from a wide variety of choices from the World Wildlife Fund website. For example, a student can choose to focus on the protection of the Sumatran forests from illegal coffee plantation farmers, as they drive away the animal residents there and need to cut down trees. Animals such as the Sumatran rhinoceros in the Sumatran forests where a lot of illegal coffee plantations are established. Students will gather information from various sources like the internet, videos, library books as well as interview people actively concerned with the issue (5.15/ 5.16). The main resource of the website of the World Wildlife Fund will be greatly used, as there are many ideas there as to how students can take part in the solutions to many environmental problems. Upon gathering all the data and information they need, students will choose which ones to use and which to discard, and come up with a dynamic power point presentation which includes a lot of information, pictures, maybe videos relating to the problem, as well as possible solutions (5.18). This will entail the use of their critical thinking and analytical skills (5.19) Students need to convince their viewers of the severity of the problem and engage their support in possible projects to save endangered wild life (5.20). Thus, their communication skills shall also be engaged. Skills on ICT will be called upon, as well as their creativity in composing the sequence of the slides, animation, music and voice-overs for the audio-video presentation. Presentation skills in terms of public speaking will likewise be developed. The Teaching Resource Package This resource package is unveiled when the teacher begins a unit on the protection of the environment. Teachers may throw questions to their students that make them think of why destruction of it has made it come to such a pitiful situation. Documentary videos on some examples of these shall be shown in class to make the students aware of the realities happening outside their safe homes and schools. Teachers engage the students in critical discussions on the issues and draw out their personal opinions and insights on the matter. The website of World Wildlife Fund is a rich resource that provides a wealth of information on the state of natural environments world wide. Various well-researched articles are available and award-winning pictures are posted there. It also offers valuable information on scientific concepts relating to the environment as well as ideas on how one can support their movement to make this world a better place to live in. The students get to explore this website to choose a particular issue they would want to feature in their final output. The students will be investigating on the impact of human resource use on the biosphere to evaluate methods of conserving, protecting and maintaining Earth’s resources. Guide questions for the students will be as follows: Choose one environmental issue? What is the cause of the issue? What have people done to cause it? What are the effects on the environment? What can be done to correct the mistake, if it can still be saved? How can we contribute our part in saving the world? The students will be given a lot of library time to research on their topic. They can also look into the ABC Science website (http://www.abc.net.au/science/ for more research materials as well as other science networks on the internet. They will also be encouraged to contact resource people who are concerned with the issue at hand and interview them. Ask them first hand what the updates are on some environmental issues and what they think people could do to minimize, if not eliminate the problem Research time should yield materials such as the information to be used on the powerpoint, supporting pictures, interview video or if not available, some information taken from the transcript of the interview, and music and voice-over, if possible. The students are given freedom to create in accordance to their own styles and ideas and present this on a given date towards the end of the unit. This project may be assigned individually or in pairs. Going beyond the dissemination of information is engaging action from their viewers. The students may opt for their classmates to network with other concerned organizations and collaborate on writing to companies or individuals directly or indirectly responsible for the endangerment of the animals. An example is writing to owners of companies to dissuade them from buying illegally-grown coffee from plantations that impinge on the territory of protected parks where some endangered animals reside. Teaching Resource Package 2: Photo Exhibit on Global Warming Causes This resource package is related to the first one. It also attempts to meet Outcome 5.11, however, it will revolve around the contents mentioned in 5.11.2 (a) which states “relate pollution to contamination by unwanted substances”, contaminants being considered are air pollution, greenhouse gas production and urbanisation. This leads to the current problem of global warming, which is severely affecting ecosystems. This resource package aims to make students aware that global warming is a cause for alarm and that they should do their part in preventing more damage than there already is for planet Earth. Students will be investigating the phenomenon of global warming based on the video, “An Inconvenient Truth”. This documentary film is a fruit of much thorough research on global warming from distinguished scientists who have unveiled essential facts throughout history to cause drastic change in climate and ecosystems. Like in the first resource package, students will be launched on an intensive research project by using the internet, library books, etc. to make them more knowledgeable about common causes of global warming, specifically air pollution producing too much carbon dioxide from factories, gas fumes from cars, etc., the greenhouse gas production which prevents heat from the sun from being released back to space, and urbanisation which cuts down many trees in lieu of building more residential and commercial establishments. They will also look into the current states of some ecosystems, and the effects of global warming on them. Being more knowledgeable about the issue, students will go around taking pictures of scenes depicting the causes or effects of global warming and add texts to explain its relevance to the issue. These photographs will be put on exhibit which can be open for viewing on a specified date. Target Audience As in the first resource package, this one is intended for the use of Yr 9 students who are in the teenage years. It is hoped that this young generation will imbibe the value of environmental care, as they will inherit the earth which they will be responsible for. Their creativity and dynamism will be used to their full advantage when they dive into the research project and see the world in a different perspective. The research is expected to make them more aware and vigilant of possible causes that can destroy the earth, specifically those that cause global warming, and capture these in pictures as evidence. The resource package may run from two weeks to a month. The first five lessons shall be facilitated by the teacher to give them an idea as to the state of various environments around the world. The remaining time shall be dedicated to research in the library and gathering materials for the powerpoint presentation. Skill and Content Outcomes Stage 5 Outcomes A student: 5.13 identifies a problem and independently produces an appropriate investigation plan 5.16 accesses information from a wide variety of secondary sources 5.17 explains trends, patterns and relationships in data and/or information from a variety of sources 5.18 selects and uses appropriate forms of communication to present information to an audience 5.19 uses critical thinking skills in evaluating information and drawing conclusions 5.20 selects and uses appropriate strategies to solve problems 5.21 uses creativity and imagination in the analysis of problems and the development of possible solutions Like the first resource package, this one covers a lot of outcomes. It identifies the problem of global warming (5.13) and gives opportunities for students to investigate the issue from a number of perspectives. It also encourages the students to do their independent research by gathering information from a variety of sources such as the internet, books, journals, apart from the main resource which is the documentary video “An Inconvenient Truth” (5.16). Upon gathering information, the students get to critically analyse their findings by examining the trends, patterns and relationships that surface (5.17). The outcome for 5.18 has been previously arranged in the design of the resource as they are to search for evidences of global warming in their surroundings, take a photograph and explain it with a text. 5.19 is practiced throughout the project as the students need to keep an analytical mind in drawing conclusions from their evidences. Their thorough research should allow them to choose appropriate strategies in trying to solve problems (5.20/ 5.21) and creatively thread these solutions to solve bigger environmental problems. The Teaching Resource Package This second resource package is very much related to the first one in that it also deals with helping students become aware of dangers that threaten their environment. It opens their eyes to climate changes that are seemingly natural. The documentary video, “An Inconvenient Truth”, details scientific findings on the effects of air pollution that thickens the shield of atmosphere that covers the earth. Greenhouse gases, as they are called, are produced by too much air pollution from fumes with too much carbon dioxide. The effect is that the heat of the sun along with its infra-red rays get trapped on earth, causing warming of the atmosphere, causing glaciers to melt and heating up the sea. This abnormal heat likewise causes abnormal climate conditions around the world, in turn, causing unexpected storms, hurricanes, flooding, and continual melting of glaciers. It can be said that urbanisation effects of building many factories for industry, manufacturing of vehicles that cause air pollution,and cutting down of trees that filter the air to give way to buildings and roads contribute to the creation of greenhouse gases. This rich resource gives way to many mini-lessons that teachers can do with their students. Thorough research will equip the students of enough knowledge to go out of their classrooms and capture pictures of what they think contribute to global warming, and eventually, destroy the environment they live in. Students can also refer to the website of Climate Positive (http://www.australianecosystems.com.au/Climate_Postive.htm) to help them understand the current state of various Australian Ecosystems. Adding this as a resource makes issues and concerns covered more relevant to them since the website focuses on Australian ecosystems and how people contribute to global warming. Coming close to home, students can now choose from around their own environments which are affected by global warming and then take pictures of those for their photo stories. Students may refer to the guide questions from the first Teacher Resource Package in conducting their research for this Photo Story Exhibit. Examples of pictures they might take are : thick fumes from factories; wilted flowers due to too much heat; pictures of animals which are affected by global warming, upsetting their rhythm. Some pictures may be taken from the internet or magazines, however it is the interpretation of pictures that matter. Pictures took or taken from magazines will now be matched with texts they write from their research and be put on display in an exhibit that will be open for viewing to the public. This photo story exhibit aims to educate the viewers on the dangers of neglect of the environment with simple things humans can do like abusing energy provided by transportation, electricity, and the like enough to cause a significant production of toxic gases released in the atmosphere. Information disseminated to the viewers aims to make them more conscientious in their use of earth’s resources. Being involved in something as significant as such special projects makes students feel that what they are learning matters to the world and they are empowered by such activities. Although they are very young, they know that they can do something worthwhile that adults get to appreciate them for it. Along with the learning they gain, they likewise gain a better self-esteem. Resources: 1, http://www.abc.net.au/science/ 2. http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/stories/s838252.htm 3. . Website for Climate Positive: 4. http://www.australianecosystems.com.au/Climate_Postive.htm 5. 5. aramount Pictures, “An Inconvenient Truth” 6. Website of World Wildlife Fund: www.worldwildlife.org 1. Read More