Unit 6: Regional Case Study Community Action Plans

Amy E. Potter, Armstrong State University, amy.potter@armstrong.edu, Russanne Low, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, rusty_low@strategies.org, and Rebecca Boger, Brooklyn College, rboger@brooklyn.cuny.edu.

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Initial Publication Date: December 15, 2016 | Reviewed: July 17, 2017 (see revision history: 2 events)

Summary

Unit 6 provides an opportunity for students to present their action plans and exchange knowledge about what they have learned in their team case study work. This unit builds on food security and Earth system science covered in the first three units. It can be taught in any course discussing food security or it can be modified to fit a variety of courses of in the sciences and social sciences. The activities included in this unit are appropriate for introductory-level college students or as a basis for more in-depth class discussions on food security for upper-level students.

Geography, Soils, Geoscience, Food Production and Distribution, Human ...(more) | College Introductory

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Topics

Geography, Soils, Geoscience, Food Production and Distribution, Human Population, Sustainability, Environmental Science

Grade Level

College Introductory

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These materials have been reviewed for their alignment with the Next Generation Science Standards as detailed below.

Overview

This unit is devoted to peer presentations of the community-based action plans developed by each team. Using a rubric to organize their presentations, teams will describe the food security issue they identified in their region, identify the data they needed to address their issue, and present their action plan to the class.

Science and Engineering Practices

Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information: Gather, read, and evaluate scientific and/or technical information from multiple authoritative sources, assessing the evidence and usefulness of each source. HS-P8.3:

Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information: Communicate scientific and/or technical information or ideas (e.g. about phenomena and/or the process of development and the design and performance of a proposed process or system) in multiple formats (i.e., orally, graphically, textually, mathematically). HS-P8.5:

Engaging in Argument from Evidence: Make and defend a claim based on evidence about the natural world or the effectiveness of a design solution that reflects scientific knowledge and student-generated evidence. HS-P7.5:

Engaging in Argument from Evidence: Evaluate competing design solutions to a real-world problem based on scientific ideas and principles, empirical evidence, and/or logical arguments regarding relevant factors (e.g. economic, societal, environmental, ethical considerations). HS-P7.6:

Engaging in Argument from Evidence: Compare and evaluate competing arguments or design solutions in light of currently accepted explanations, new evidence, limitations (e.g., trade-offs), constraints, and ethical issues HS-P7.1:

Cross Cutting Concepts

Structure and Function: Investigating or designing new systems or structures requires a detailed examination of the properties of different materials, the structures of different components, and connections of components to reveal its function and/or solve a problem. HS-C6.1:

Patterns: Patterns of performance of designed systems can be analyzed and interpreted to reengineer and improve the system. HS-C1.3:

Disciplinary Core Ideas

Global Climate Change: Though the magnitudes of human impacts are greater than they have ever been, so too are human abilities to model, predict, and manage current and future impacts. HS-ESS3.D1:

Ecosystem Dynamics, Functioning, and Resilience: Moreover, anthropogenic changes (induced by human activity) in the environment—including habitat destruction, pollution, introduction of invasive species, overexploitation, and climate change—can disrupt an ecosystem and threaten the survival of some species. HS-LS2.C2:

Biodiversity and Humans: Humans depend on the living world for the resources and other benefits provided by biodiversity. But human activity is also having adverse impacts on biodiversity through overpopulation, overexploitation, habitat destruction, pollution, introduction of invasive species, and climate change. Thus sustaining biodiversity so that ecosystem functioning and productivity are maintained is essential to supporting and enhancing life on Earth. Sustaining biodiversity also aids humanity by preserving landscapes of recreational or inspirational value. HS-LS4.D1:

Performance Expectations

Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics: Evaluate the claims, evidence, and reasoning that the complex interactions in ecosystems maintain relatively consistent numbers and types of organisms in stable conditions, but changing conditions may result in a new ecosystem. HS-LS2-6:

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Learning Goals

(After students have completed Units 4, 5, and 6) they will be able to:

Brainstorm solution(s) to the wicked problem of food security using spatial tools.
Synthesize multiple data sets and types of background material.
Describe the various factors that influence food security in three different regional contexts.
Make connections between the Earth system and cultural, economic, and political processes to understand the wicked problem of food security.

Context for Use

This culminating unit is designed for a 90-minute face-to-face class and is appropriate for lower division undergraduates who are enrolled in social science, environmental science, or ecology courses.

Description and Teaching Materials

Student teams will present an action plan to the class based on the following prompt (instructors will have already provided this prompt to the students presumably during Unit 4):

Assignment Guide and Rubric for Summative Assesment (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 306kB Dec2 16)

Students are part of a special ad hoc committee that has been assigned to create a PowerPoint presentation describing the context of the Wicked Problem of food security and the potential solutions for their case study region.

PowerPoint Audience: 1) Mayor of New York City; 2) Governor of Nebraska; 3) Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM)--Council for Human and Social Development

The presentation should incorporate and consider:

Assigned readings/additional outside research (at least 3 outside sources) properly cited and attributed.
A description of a system and a model that connects the Earth system to the global food system utilizing systems terminology (see Unit 2).
Two maps based on the analyses of the ArcGIS Online Activity (see Unit 5) with an explanation of each map.
Factors influencing food security, particularly the effects of climate change, in the region (See Unit 1 and Unit 3).
At least two proposed solutions.

Teaching Notes and Tips

Unit 6 is ideally scheduled at least one week after Unit 5 to give students time to prepare their presentations and reflect on their learning.

Learn more about Gallery Walks from Pedagogy in Action http://serc.carleton.edu/sp/library/gallerywalk/index.html

Each region is unique in terms of the types of data that are available for student analysis (particularly the Caribbean). This is a good opportunity to have a discussion on data availability with your students.

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Assessment

PowerPoint:

The authentic assessment for this module includes the creation of a PowerPoint detailing food security context and solutions for an assigned region and a reflective essay. In Unit 6, students will participate in a gallery walk and showcase their different regional solutions as articulated through a PowerPoint. The evaluation rubric and student checklist can also be found in Unit 4 Assignment Guide and Rubric for Summative Assesment (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 306kB Dec2 16).

Summative Assessment:

After students have participated in the gallery walk, instructors may want to give students the following two questions as a final summative assessment. Particularly the second question allows students to reflect on what they learned about food security in other regions based on the gallery walk. Essays should be written individually.

1) Draw a diagram of the food system that resulted in the production of a chocolate bar.

a. Give an example of a real world system and describe its parts. Be sure to include economic, social, political, and environmental (Earth system) components in your model.

b. Explain how parts of the system interact. use system concepts in your explanation, and give one example of each of the following: reservoirs, fluxes, positive or negative feedback, residence time

c. Using your example system, select one component and discuss how an effect in one part of that system can be influenced by multiple causal factors.

2) Compare and contrast a food security issue in your assigned region with one identified by another team from a different region. How do changes in the Earth system potentially improve or exacerbate these issues?

References and Resources

Gallery Walks. Learn more about what a gallery walk is and how to use it in the classroom.

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Unit 6: Regional Case Study Community Action Plans

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Overview

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Cross Cutting Concepts

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Learning Goals

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Description and Teaching Materials

Teaching Notes and Tips

Assessment

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