Actual Project/Task
Lesson Materials :
- PBL Scenario* (2 pages, including letter and island detail page)
- access to internet, calculators, newspaper, library or personal or classroom book
- Islands PBL Rubric
- Islands PBL presentation rubric (this second rubric is optional and depends on the teacher's desire to require and to grade a presentation)
Teacher-student interaction:
- Grouping: Students will be grouped by 4s
- This lesson is a multi day lesson with introduction and planning on day one, and with the work on the remaining days determined by access to computer labs, the amount of outside on-line work expected, and the number of class sessions that can be allotted to such a projet.
Students will do the following tasks during this unit:
- Teacher will introduce the Islands PBL to students and respond to initial questions.
- Students each will be given a photocopy of the initial letter from the Do The Right Thing Center of Ethical Decision-Making, a copy of the details about the islands, and a copy of the Islands PBL rubric.
- Through short discussion facilitated by the teacher, students will learn about the possible needs for contacting Dr. Learner for more information and how to do that. They also will learn about the potential uses of the internet in the project.
- Students will then be asked to:
- generate a list through brainstorming of all of the possible elements one might encounter in beginning to solve this problem.
- Develop a plan of action that includes:
- tasks for each member of the group,
- products each member is expected to bring to the group,
- questions to ask Dr. Learner and a plan for contact,
- directions for internet searches (including each group member's responsibility and focus in such searches (make the best use of the time),
- and other details the group might find relevant to address.
- Prepare the first progress report for Dr. Learner (see #7 below).
- After the initial introduction and brainstorming session, students will work independently, both through monitored lab time, small group in-class discussions, and outside of school internet access.
- Classroom debriefing sessions will also be held. These debriefing sessions will include discussion of findings from internet searches, and developing questions or issues around mathematics, science, problem-solving, and social factors of the potential solutions to the PBL.
- Groups will be expected to submit two electronic copy progress reports to Dr. Learner prior to the final project, to inform the center of progress to date.
- Progress Report 1 will be due within 24 hours of the initial class introductory session.
- Progress Report 2 will be due within 24 hours of a second in-class session, to be determined by the classroom teacher.
- Paper copies of these progress reports will be due to the classroom teacher on the same due date as the electronic submissions to Dr. Learner.
- Monitored computer lab sessions, small group sessions, and debriefing sessions would be times for the teacher to help students find direction and focus by suggestion of search keywords or questions to e-mail to Dr. Learner
- The final product will include a formal report, meeting the needs of the center as outlined in the problem details distributed on day 1.
* This PBL Problem was adapted from a problem in Building Houses, Navigating through Algebra in Grades 3-5, (Reston VA: NCTM) which was adapted from Linda Holden Charles, Algebraic Thinking: First Experiences – Collection (Mountain View, CA: Creative Publications, 1990).)
