THERE'S STILL TIME: K-8 teachers submit your applications by March 15, 2010.

Siemens We Can Change The World Challenge

Step 1: Choose It!

The most important (and perhaps most challenging!) step in the Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge is for student teams to choose a topic on which to focus. Students may feel overwhelmed with the number of possible topics, uninformed about those that impact them, and confused about where to start. In addition to choosing an environmental topic that affects the local community, student teams should choose an issue that can be impacted using science as well as something that is important or meaningful to them. This section gives you tips for helping student teams successfully complete this step.

Suggested Timeline:

One week

Step 1 Checklist:

Is your topic:

  • A current environmental issue or problem?
  • An issue that affects your local community?
  • Important to all team members?
  • Able to be improved or influenced by students using science?

Sample Topics:

Suggested Steps:

The following sequence is designed to help you introduce and guide students through Step One of the Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge. The sequence is designed to be flexible and can be easily adjusted to your schedule and the class time available.

Session 1: The Brainstorm

Note: If you have not done so already, review and introduce students to the materials in the About the Challenge and the Getting Started sections of the site. Materials include information about the Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge, current national and global environmental issues, the importance of getting involved and strategies for working in teams.

  • Introduce the concept of students creating environmental change by viewing the video, “Working Together to Help the Environment: The Case of Covington High School”, Enviro-Tacklebox: Module Three: Topics and Issues in Environmental Science: Student Solutions, which shows how a team of students selected stream restoration as a way to help and educate their local community.
  • As a class or in teams, have students brainstorm global or national environmental topics/issues that they have heard or read about. As they brainstorm, list these topics and issues on the board or have students record their answers.
  • If students are struggling to identify issues, encourage them to go online and visit local news websites and other current news sources. Many news sites are searchable by keyword.
    Examples of Environmental Issues
    • Erosion
    • Global warming
    • Air pollution
    • Water pollution
    • Energy conservation
    • Recycling
    • Endangered species
    • Climate change
    • Natural resources conservation
    • Loss of species diversity (biodiversity within a community)
    • Fresh water shortages
    • Shrinking wetlands
    • Toxic chemicals
  • Once several topics have been suggested, have students define or explain each one. Why is it an environmental issue? What is the danger or impact of not fixing or improving it? What could be done to help fix or improve it? What is already being done?
  • Once you have reviewed the list of issues, have students begin to narrow their focus by:
    • Placing a check mark next to the issues on the list that impact your community.
    • Crossing off issues that are not a problem in your local community.
    • Circling those about which they are unsure.

Session Two: In My Backyard

  • Begin this session by reviewing the list of issues that was developed in Session One. For those that have check marks next to them, have students share information about how and where the issue is a problem in your community.
  • Challenge student teams to learn more about if and how the remaining issues impact the community.
  • If students are struggling to identify issues, encourage them to go online and visit:
    • Local news websites and other current news sources. Most news sites are searchable by keyword.
    • The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency central site links to its regional websites as well. Regional sites provide information on specific environmental problems and solutions. http://www.epa.gov/
    • All states have a state agency (sometimes called a Department of Natural Resources) that is a principal player in environmental controls and education in the state. A central site that lists all the state agencies is: http://www4.ncsu.edu/~leung/agusa.html
    • State Cooperative Extension Services are usually active in local environmental issues and solutions, especially those affecting agriculture. This central site provides access to each state’s website. http://www.csrees.usda.gov/Extension/ Often, the faculty is willing to speak directly with students.
  • Have student teams report back to the class about what they’ve learned.

Session Three: The Decision

  • Based on their discussions and research, have student teams create a list of the local environmental issues that are interesting to them and that they would most like to impact. Encourage all team members to share ideas, offer opinions and respect the opinions of others. Students should consider why the issues are important, how they affect students and their families directly, how they affect others in the community, and what could be done to improve or fix them.
  • Based on these discussions, challenge each team to narrow their list to two or three choices.
  • Have students review the Step 1 Checklist and ensure that the remaining topics meet the criteria. Eliminate those that don’t.
  • Finally, challenge each team to choose the one issue they’d most like to change or impact.

Tips:

  • Learn more about what’s happening in the local community by reading the newspaper, watching televised news, visiting local websites and researching environmental news sites
  • Hold a class discussion about the issues that matter most to the class.
  • Talk with parents, teachers, classmates, mentors, local leaders and others about environmental issues and problems.
  • Brainstorm as many environmental issues as possible. Try to think beyond the obvious!
  • From that list, check the ones that impact your local environment (you may need to do more research) and star the ones that team members find interesting. If possible focus on the ones with both stars and checks.
  • Have group members conduct additional research on the final contenders.
  • Keep a running list of ideas and eliminate those that the group decides do not meet the criteria on the Step 1 Checklist.

Resources:

 

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