The junior Environment Management class is working through a PBL. This stands for problem based learning. PBL is an educational method based on the model from the book, "Problems as Possibilities" by Linda Torp and Sara Sage. Students take a messy, ill-structured problem and turn it into a whopping educational experience.
We first thought of a problem/topic to act as the "springboard." Our problem focuses on energy production and consumption. We decided on a role or position we would take as a class. We looked into one of the hottest current issues that faces our nation. The United States Congress, in response to President Bush and V.P. Cheney's energy plan, has appointed a special unbiased investigative committee (that would be us) to look into and report on the nation's energy production and consumption.
The students broke down the problem into specific areas that will need to be investigated. The goal is to find out during the investigation some possible area (s) that could be a problem. Once they find that, we are going to come up with possible solutions to rectify the problem and in turn SAVE THE WORLD! Not really, but we may come up with a way to do something more efficiently and save the countrys' money, wildlife and natural resources. Students will investigate these areas:
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Environmental Impact
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Production Efficiency
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Natural Resources
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Political Aspects
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Consumption Efficiency
