National Teacher Enhancement Project
Abstract:
Targeted for upper elementary and midlevel grades, this project provides students with opportunities to explore risks involved in daily activities. Students learn how to engage in risk analysis on a personal level and make decisions accordingly. This project fosters the development of critical-thinking skills and provides students with an opportunity to look at issues from multiple and empathetic perspectives. Teachers can integrate the unit into lessons in history, health, math, social science and/or science.
Introduction to Research:
This project promotes an age-appropriate understanding of risk/benefit trade-offs, offers a methodology for students to perform a rational analysis of emotionally-charged issues, and provides a cyber-based forum to discuss risk factors with students from diverse (e.g., geographic, social, grade level) groups. Students explore quality of life issues as part of the analysis of risk data in the decision-making process (e.g., is riding in a car worth the risk of injury/death from an accident?).
Learner Outcomes:
Students will know and be able to:
- Analyze risks and benefits associated with specific decisions.
- Make inferences/choices based on evidence.
- Illustrate the critical differences between basing decisions on facts versus emotions.
Research Questions:
Students form teams by selecting an activity of interest, for example in-line skating, walking to school or riding a bike without a helmet. They ask the following questions:
- How risky are these activities? Says who?
- What, if anything, can we do to lessen the risk?
- What will they cost? What are the benefits of the activities
- Are these risks worth taking? Why?
Product:
Each research team prepares three products summarizing the results of their study. The products include a risk report posted in the classroom, publication of the study on a school Website and a class presentation.
Assessment:
Assessment is embedded throughout the project. All student products are reviewed by the student authors, students at other sites and teachers. Student teams teleshare information with one another and prepare an online collective "comparative risk table" which ranks the activities from least to most risky. Feedback/discussion occurs between participating classrooms electronically. Students compare an issue of real-world importance studied at Sandia Laboratoary - California (the transportation and disposition of nuclear material) against the risks identified in the student-generated comparative risk table.