Week 4 - Understanding By Design

- Ecological Footprints -

·              In this UBD lesson, we look at what understanding the students gain from the lesson, not what their new abilities are. This lesson results in students understanding that people have such a large impact on the environment. Humans change the ecological balance of the planet, and this lesson results in the students’ acquisition of this concept. Concepts are purposefully more abstract as they become more universal and applicable as facts are forgotten. However, the application of facts is not strongly emphasized in this type of lesson.

       Student Objectives

       This is much more concrete that understanding by design. Students will be able to move beyond the idea that humans have an affect, but will evaluate and quantify the information. The students will also be able to list off real life changes that can be made to reduce the human ecological impact. Student objective focus on the application of information, which is a valuable skill that is necessary through like

     I would begin the series of lessons with the Understanding by Design model. This will best allow me to communicate concepts (such as the affect of humans’ vehicles on the environment as a result of CO2 production). Then, I will use a student object model lesson to teach students to quantify data on the output of CO2 from different model cars so that they can effectively present arguments and improve problems. Then in the third lesson, I will have the student’s present arguments to the class using data on how to best improve CO2 emissions.