PBL Integration with Solve in time Pt. 2

Using PBL for Current Events

Here’s Looking at You Social Studies Teachers!

Greta Thunberg strikes outside the Swedish parliament. Photograph: Michael Campanella/The Guardian

Ever start class off with a statement like this, “I originally planned on doing something entirely different for today, but change of plans.” If you’re a teacher, of course you have! Sometimes there are events of such social significance that they cannot be ignored. Social Studies teachers are in the best position, in my opinion, to call an audible on your regularly scheduled class activity and create a problem-solving activity based on such current events.

Did you miss this free PBL prep poster from Getting Started with PBL Part 1? Download it here.

What is the (Current) Problem?

 As a classroom teacher, I may have had lesson plans preset for the entire calendar year, but every now and then, some major event has such disruptive force that it would be borderline irresponsible to continue as planned without addressing the topic. I can recall several of these instances- 911, Columbine, Trayvon Martin, Hurricane Katrina, to name a few. These stop everything moments are often so disruptive that the entire day is dedicated to discussion and journaling, and rather than teaching the standard lesson of the day, teachers become onsite trauma counselors. Only after many days have passed do teachers typically broach the question of whether or not the topic should be incorporated into formal lessons and activities.The fact is, when the timing seems appropriate, any of those events can easily be transformed into a PBL activity by simply categorizing them. 911 was an instance of Global Terrorism, Columbine was an issue of Gun Violence, Katrina is an example of a Natural  Disaster, and the death of Trayvon Martin (and the subsequent exoneration of the murderer) could be categorized as Legal Injustice. Most recently, Greta happened. A brave young girl, Greta Thunberg started publicly speaking out against the policy-makers that were ignoring the problem of climate change. Her words and her face were published everywhere. Kids started seeing that their voice could be heard. She even won Time’s Person of the Year. Yes, kids can be (and are) amazing.

Thanks to a Swedish, 16-year-old young woman, climate change is back in the headlines in a major way. Though the vast majority of the scientific community is in agreement that climate change is wreaking havoc on our planet, there continues to be a major political divide over the issue. Enter the opportunity of educators to recruit the most brilliant and unbridled minds to enter the discussion- their students!  

WHEN Did You Notice the Problem?

Climate Change is a hot topic right now, but as a kid that grew up in Southern California in the 80s, I remember when aerosol sprays were banned and Global Warming was the stated reason why. The problem was that I didn’t fully understand what global warming was or how CO2  gasses affected our atmosphere. Whatever I did learn came from the local news stories, and family members complaining about the inferiority of non-aerosol hair products! This one real-world environmental problem could have easily been transformed into a comprehensive cross-curricular lesson plan, but sadly, it was never introduced in our classroom discussions or research. What a missed opportunity to learn more about the subject in science, consumer laws in social studies, financially in math, or how to write a research paper in Language Arts! Fast forward to the early 2000’s and Al Gore brought more attention to the subject with his documentary, An Inconvenient Truth. The conversation shifted some then, as it seemed to be more real. The weather was acting odd (remember El Niño?), and truth be told, I was simply older and more interested in global matters. For the most part, the counter-arguments were pretty much the same, “scientists are just left-winged scare-mongers” or, “I’ll be dead and gone in 100 years, why should I care?” 

Mind map of Pollution problems using the Simple Mind app

HOW Might You Solve it?

  1. Start with empathy. One way to build their empathy in students is by exposing them to the harmful effects to people, wildlife, and their ecosystems. As discussed in Part 1, this can be done by taking trips to museums and nature parks, bringing in guest speakers either live or via video conference, or by taking them on virtual field trips across the globe using apps like Google Earth or Expeditions.
  2. Provide Choice. After exposing students to several causes and effects of the problem, one of the easiest ways to ensure relevancy of a topic is to allow student agency in what specific aspect of a problem they are most interested in exploring. Above is an example of a mind map that starts with the central topic of pollution and branches out to several other sub-topics that can be explored.
  3. Create Competition. Nothing seems to get students excited (about anything) more than a little team competition. Think about penny drives, can drives, running for a cause, etc. Galvanizing students to work together in smaller teams and try and outdo classmates in doing good for others is a healthy way to build students’ capacity for empathy. As an example, special thanks to Tony Vincent for sharing this challenge from National Geographic for Tackling Plastic! Registration is currently closed, but as you can see on National Geographic’s site, this is an annual competition that teachers can use to help build awareness around global issues and teach valuable research skills such as making the connection between plastics and climate change.

 

How can you incorporate real-world problem solving in other content areas? Stay on the lookout for Part 3 of content-area PBL coming soon.

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