Air Pollution. Level: S4-7 Emphasis: Project learning

Transcription

1 22...Exemplar Air Pollution Level: S4-7 Emphasis: Project learning Introduction This project aims to provide learning experiences for students to connect knowledge, skills, values and attitudes, and to construct knowledge through their own choices of project titles or topics. It also provides opportunities for students to incorporate cross-curricular topics or issues in their learning processes. Objectives Skills and Processes Students should: 1. develop a deeper understanding of effects of pollutants to air quality. 2. be aware of the issues related to air pollution in Hong Kong. 3. propose strategies and measures to control the air quality. 1. Collaboration 2. Communication 3. Critical thinking 4. Information handling 5. Informed decision making 6. Problem-solving

2 Exemplar...23 Step 1: Preparation phase Brainstorm to explore the main theme. Students are encouraged to suggest ideas and at the same time comment or criticise others ideas in a constructive way. Ask students to connect ideas with lines to build a mind map. For example: Air pollution index Nitrogen Dust particles Skin cancer Asthma Lichen distribution Personal health Indicator organisms s Air Pollution Pollutants Lead oxide Carbon Sulphur Bronchitis Emphysema Plants Destruction Effects Buildings Visibility decreases Climate Temperature rises Sources Incinerators Power stations Factories Poor growth Ozone depletion Global warming Vehicles Smoking Lead students to think of any idea they are interested, and ask them to suggest questions around these ideas. For example: Is air pollution unavoidable in urban areas? What are the possible effects of pollutants on air quality? What are the possible measures in controlling air pollution? What are the roles of government and individuals in air pollution control? Is air pollution a local issue or global issue? Should smoking be banned in all restaurants? How do air pollutants affect public health? Help students decide the type of project according to the question set. It could be a survey, an information search or an investigation.

3 24...Exemplar Step 2: Planning phase Explain the requirement of the project. Help students to establish an action plan which may include financial budget, division of work and responsibility, and work schedule. Step 3: Implementation phase Allow sufficient time for students to: review articles / search for information / test hypotheses. handle information. interpret and analyse data. write the project report. prepare the presentation. Ask students to keep a log book for: keeping track of the progress. facilitating self-reflection. assessment. Give students support and advice when they get lost or when they start to lose interest. If necessary, help students to compute or to perform statistical analysis, and to determine any cause-and-effect relationship.

4 Exemplar...25 Step 4: Final phase Written report A project report should include the following: 1. Introduction 2. Hypothesis (if any) 3. Experimental method (if it involves experiments) 4. Data collecting method 5. Data analysis 6. Results 7. Conclusion 8. Suggestions 9. Comments (personal feeling and reflection) 10. References (reference books, articles, websites or organisations visited) 11. Acknowledgements 12. Appendix (record of interviews, samples of questionnaire) Oral presentation 1. Oral presentation helps assessing the efforts, collaborative work, communication skills of the students. 2. Oral presentation can be done in a variety of ways, e.g. PowerPoint presentation, role-play, dialogue, interview or speech. 3. Assessors, either teachers or students, should challenge the ideas, findings and conclusions of the projects in equal status. These would facilitate the exchange of knowledge in a non-judgmental manner, hence creating a culture of dialogue and self-learning.

5 26...Exemplar References 1. Environmental Protection Department 2. Green Power 3. The Conservancy Association 4. Friends of the Earth, Hong Kong 5. United States Environmental Protection Agency