This chapter serves as a capstone for the Designing
Environmental Solutions module. In the first three chapters of
the module, students learned about three different environmental
concerns and the technologies that are related to those
concerns. In this chapter, they explore local environmental
issues and apply what they have learned to develop an
environmental solution using the process of technology design.
In the Engage activity, students read about
some of the finalists in the Siemens We Can Change the
World Challenge for middle school students. They also discuss
what they know about various environmental concerns.
In the Explore activity, teams of students
decide on the local issue on which they would like to focus.
They use resources to learn more about the issue and begin
brainstorming about the solution they might design to affect the
issue.
As students work through the Explain activity,
they will create detailed plans for their design and build a
model of the solution.
During the Elaborate activity, students will
test and evaluate their solutions.
Finally, in the Evaluate activity, the teams
will complete their own applications for the Siemens We
Can Change the World Challenge, though they do not have to
submit these applications. Although they will work as a team to
create the applications, they will then revise the applications
as individuals to demonstrate what they have learned. Throughout
the activity, students will reflect on which phases of the
process of technology design they have completed.
By the end of this chapter, students should
- be able to show an understanding of a local
environmental issue
- complete the process of technology design
- present a design for an environmental solution
- describe how technology can address environmental
issues.
The context for this technology design chapter is
environmental issues. Following is some background information
about environmental education. The Belgrade Charter was the
outcome of the International Workshop on Environmental Education
held in Belgrade, Serbia, in October 1975. The charter provided
goals, objectives, and guiding principles for environmental
education (UNESCO-UNEP, 1976). It recommends as a goal “to
develop a world population that is aware of and concerned about
the environment and its associated problems, and which has the
knowledge, skills, attitudes, motivations, and commitment to
work individually and collectively toward solutions of current
problems and the prevention of new ones.” Because of this
goal, learning about environmental concerns is a good context
for students as they learn about and design technology
solutions.
In 2004, the North American Association for Environmental
Education (NAAEE) published guidelines for excellence in
environmental education (NAAEE, 2004). Although the main
learning goals for this chapter are related to technology, some
of the guidelines are used as a basis for the overall context of
the activities. The relevant guidelines are described below.
- Fairness and accuracy: Environmental education
(EE) materials should be fair and accurate in describing
environmental problems, issues, and conditions. They should
reflect the diversity of perspectives on them.
- Depth: EE materials should foster awareness of
the natural and built environment. An understanding of
environmental concepts, conditions, and issues, as well as an
awareness of the feelings, values, attitudes, and perceptions
at the heart of environmental issues are key, as appropriate
for different developmental levels.
- Emphasis on skills building: EE materials
should build lifelong skills that enable learners to address
environmental issues.
- Action orientation: EE materials should
promote civic responsibility, encouraging learners to use their
knowledge, personal skills, and assessments of environmental
problems and issues as a basis for environmental problem
solving and action.
These guidelines are built on some fundamental
underpinnings that include
Furthermore, it is important that students not feel
overwhelmed by the enormity of environmental problems. It is
easy for students to feel as though the problems are so
tremendous that they could not make a difference. Because of
this idea, students begin the chapter by reading about middle
school students who have made a difference in their own
communities. By connecting to local environmental concerns as a
basis for this chapter, students will feel that the issues are
more relevant, and they will be less likely to be overwhelmed
and more likely to develop a better understanding.
As with all technology solutions, environmental issues and
the technologies to address them are extremely complex. More
than one factor typically contributes to the problem. In fact,
the issues may sometimes include technologies as one of the
causal or contributing factors. It is important to realize that
all technologies have costs and benefits and that any solution
will likely affect the interactions within a system. Throughout
the activity, students will collaborate with a team so that they
can learn how to work with others to take action.
Before beginning this chapter, students should have the
knowledge and skills from the “Doing Technology” chapter and
Chapters 1–3 of this module. They will have an opportunity to
do some research on a local environmental issue, so you can
decide in advance if they need specific knowledge for this
research, such as an understanding of how to carry out
Internet-based research.
In the Elaborate activity, students will be testing their
designs. The activity is written in such a way that students
should understand the concept of control variables, but do not
need additional information about fair tests. Depending on your
students' understanding, you may choose to have them carry out a
more structured fair test. If you choose to do this, make sure
that students have the background knowledge they need before
beginning the activity.
Students may harbor misconceptions about the issues they
will study in this chapter. Some of the misconceptions are
listed in this section. Do not take time to go through them as a
list of lecture topics for your students, but rather use them to
inform your teaching as the misconceptions emerge.
- Environmental problems are limited to areas
such as the rain forest. Students may not recognize that
environmental concerns can be found in all areas worldwide,
including their own cities or towns. They often associate the
idea of environmental problems with the rain forest or with
exotic, endangered species that live on other continents. In
fact, environmental problems exist in nearly every ecosystem. A
number of endangered species can be found in every state in the
United States. There are other environmental issues, such as
energy conservation, invasive species, erosion, and climate
change. The causes of the environmental problems differ in
different areas.
- Individuals, especially students, cannot
change environmental problems. It is easy for students to
become disheartened by the wide range of bad news about the
environment. Individuals, including students, have the power to
make changes, particularly when they are taking action within
their local communities.
- One solution will solve an environmental
problem. One technology can be the perfect solution.
Environmental concerns are complex, caused by many factors.
This means that one solution cannot solve the problem. In
addition, all technologies have costs and benefits, so no
technology is perfect. It is important to try to design
solutions that have the most positive impact.
Most activities in this chapter require minimal
preparation, such as making copies of masters. The Engage,
Explore, and Evaluate activities require Internet access, so be
sure that computers are available on those days.
The Explore activity may require additional time,
depending on how you would like students to conduct their
research. If you want them to conduct Internet-based research,
ensure that computers with Internet access are available on the
day you will be facilitating the activity. You should also
anticipate some of the local issues and find some resources to
suggest to students if they are having trouble. If you would
prefer to provide them with printed resources, allow enough time
to collect those resources. You will need resources for a
variety of local issues, as students should have the freedom to
choose a local issue that truly concerns them as opposed to
being assigned an issue. Having the freedom to choose something
that interests them will increase student engagement and
motivation. See the Explore activity for more information.
In the Explain activity, students will be building a model
of their design. You may wish to begin collecting materials that
they could use to build their models.
The Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge is a
contest that is conducted each year. Students will use this
challenge in their work in the Engage and Evaluate sections of
the chapter. In the Evaluate activity, they will complete an
application for the challenge. They are not required to submit
the application; however, consider having students do so. If you
would like them to take part in the challenge, read additional
parts of the website. The activities in this chapter do not
fully cover all the details about the challenge, so you or your
students may need to explore additional information before
submitting an application. The overview of the challenge may be
found here.
Additional information may be found in the sections down
the left side of the web page.
