Sustainable Resources 11 Revamped

A Sustainable Resource Plan for our Community

Graham Preston
March 4 2015

Intent
I chose to focus on a BC curriculum science course, Sustainable Resources 11. I
plan on teaching in BC after I graduate, and had been looking at BC curriculum for
this project. I discovered that BC is currently in the process of updating their
curriculum and had a few excited conversations about it with Maia, who had already
started her project. The proposed curriculum looks like it will align with much of
what I believe should be happening in education, and much of what I have been
reading about in research this year. It is available online at
https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/.
The new curriculum is a shift from knowledge-based education to what I believe is a
more holistic perspective on education. It states that, remembering pieces of
factual information is not deep understanding. Deeper learning goes beyond
passively receiving content and involves students in actively developing and
explaining their knowledge. Instead of focusing so heavily on content, it gives
much more importance to the skills and processes of using knowledge in problem
solving and issue resolution. There is a heavy focus on student centred learning, big
picture understanding, cross-curricular learning and inquiry. In science, this means
more learning how to DO/USE science and less learning ABOUT science. Some of the
goals include knowledge of the local area, and a focus on using scientific knowledge
in making social, moral and ethical decisions and actions in their own lives and
culture. Awesome!
As the drafts mention, all of this should be reflected in assessment. This means no
more 8 page multiple choice tests worth 30% of your mark! Learning should be
personalized (although basic concepts still need to be taught) and therefore
standardized knowledge-based tests no longer meet assessment needs.
Assessment should be measuring not only content, but also these skills, or core
competencies. The draft encourages student choice in assessment and learning, as
well as student involvement in setting learning goals and success criteria.
The intent of this assessment is to incorporate these newly acknowledged ideas into
the Sustainable Resources 11 course. The original assessment is actually one I like,
but I thought I could improve on it. It is from a Mrs Earland at West Vancouver
Secondary School. The format of her course was a series of assignments (Badges)
from which the students could choose a selection. The final assessment was a
portfolio of this work with a focus on demonstrating the importance of sustainability
and their personal opinions of what sustainability means based on their course
work. While I think summative requires some reflection, I wanted to incorporate a
larger focus on the scientific inquiry and critical thinking skills that are emphasized
in the new curriculum: assess the core competencies in science by doing some
science. My goal was also to maintain the element of student choice but to prompt
students towards considering how all of this applied to their lives, locally and big
picture, rather than just what sustainability means theoretically. This is
accomplished both by examining a local issue and by interacting with the
community.
The summative I developed is a small group project in which students have to
critically analyze a local resource industry of their choice and come up with a

sustainability plan. They will be expected to interview people from the community
and the final product will be presented to a community panel with people
representing as much of the spectrum as possible.

Curriculum & Expectations

A draft curriculum for Sustainable Resources 11 is not yet available, so Ive included
the current curriculum. Ive also included a copy of the Grade 9 Science curriculum
so you can see the new format of a few big ideas, and the larger focus on curricular
competencies vs content. Note that the Big Ideas take the place of the Overall
Expectations in the ON curriculum.
Based on the K-9 curriculum drafts, I would guess that the big ideas in this course
will be something similar to a general statement of the specific outcomes for each
industry, since they are the same for each one (ie A1 =B1=C1...). I haven't created
a matrix because both projects will meet all of these big ideas. However, what is
being improved on is the fact that meeting these big ideas is not the whole picture
anymore. The projects must also be compared at the level of the core
competencies, which are encompassed by communication, thinking and personal
and social skills. The new project is much more focused on these three
competencies, as well as on the specific core competencies shown on the
curriculum. If these core competencies are compared:
Competencies

Original Portfolio

New Sustainability Plan

Questioning and predicting No

Yes

Planning and conducting

No

Yes

Processing and analyzing

data and information

Minimal

Yes

Evaluating

Minimal

Yes

Communicating

Minimal

Yes

Diagnostic Assessment
Diagnostic assessment becomes more important as more value is placed on
personalized learning. In the context of the new curriculum, diagnostic assessment
will be a more holistic look at an individual: what they know, where their scientific
process skills are at, what their interests are, their opinions about their knowledge
and their perceptions of their abilities. This should be ongoing throughout the
course as new topics or tasks come up. In general the diagnostic assessment should
assess their abilities with the needs of the final project in mind.
It will be important to assess what students already know related to the Big Ideas,
taking into account all of the facets listed above. At the beginning of the course I
would give students the big ideas and have them create concept maps for each,
both facts and related skills. A question wall is something I tried last year and it was
amazing. Students can come go at any point and add to it. At the beginning of a
course students would write their initial questions about course topics to start it up.
I think it would be a good debate generator and assessment of critical thought to
have an opinion wall as well. They would be encouraged to discuss and modify as
the course goes on. A self-assessment of core competencies would give me an idea
of how they perceive their abilities. An activity called Predict, Observe, Explain is
like a mini lab where students apply some of those core competencies that would
give me a good idea of what their core competency abilities really are. It would also
tell me what level of inquiry they are at and what needs to be a focus in order for
the final project to be successful.
Skills that will be of particular importance to the final project will need to be
benchmarked early so improvements can be made where needed. Inquiry-related
skills such as developing critical and educated opinions can be assessed using case
studies. Creating opportunities for group work will give a benchmark of teamwork
abilities. Class discussions and group work observations will lead to benchmarks for
communication and negotiation skills. Short projects will provide benchmarks for
organization and time management.
Ongoing assessments such as class discussions and pre-unit show-what-you-know
activities provide an understanding of student understanding of each topic before I
begin.

Formative Assessment
The new curriculum places a strong focus on formative assessment, which I strongly
agree with. It would be especially important with this summative assessment
planned because the project has the potential to be a complete disaster. Students
need the background knowledge and skills discussed in diagnostic assessment in
order to be successful. Using the diagnostic assessments as benchmarks, formative
assessment as often as possible will let me see how students are progressing.
Question wall
As student's questions and opinions are posted I will be able to gauge their
understanding of material and some competencies as well. I can then adapt my
lessons. As well, time at the end of lessons can be used to answer some of the
questions. Students will be encouraged to research and give their answers to the
class, whether on their question or someone else's.
Class/small group discussions
A chance to facilitate student discussion, pose prompting questions, and observe.
This gives me feedback on what needs to be addressed in future classes but also
provides material for giving students feedback on communication. Time at the end
of class can also be used to have discussions based on the opinions or questions
posted.
Case studies
Could be historical or current, controversial, local, etc. Great tools for assessing
understanding of both content and competencies. Student responses to case
studies are great for assessing their ability to process information, form opinions,
and consider bias. These could even be presented by guest speakers
Quizzes, assignments, inquiry activities
An instructor this year suggested giving students as much formative feedback as
they wanted before handing things in for a final grade. She said overall it was way
less work and more effective for both her and her students. Students will be able to
resubmit until they are happy to be given a grade. Quizzes will not be given
significant weight but will give an understanding of content.
Reflections
Self-assessment and self-awareness are important skills for both life and for this
summative project in general. Group work requires honest assessment of one's
contributions and awareness of strengths, weaknesses and role in a group.
Reflections provide an opportunity for regular practice of and feedback on these
skills. They can also paint a clear picture of understanding of content. I would also
use the Kipp chart regularly (both self- and teacher-assessed) before the project so
students get feedback.
Project Logbook
I just learned about science journals or logbooks and I think they could be a huge
assest for a project like this. They provide a place for students to record all dates,
research, interviews, hypotheses, questions, schedules, etc. If properly scaffolded
they have proved to be very effective formative assessment tools since they show

an ongoing timeline of student progress. The scaffolding is key though, since

students will not intrinsically know what to include or how to organize the logbook.
The article I read also emphasized that students need to be shown how to use it,
that you are meant to look back at ideas and research. Give regular prompts for
reflection and synthesis of what it all mean so far. Regular checks of the logbook
allows for written feedback for students and understanding of their time
management.

Summative Assessment

A Sustainable Resource Plan for our Community

Sustainability refers to the conservation, protection, or regeneration of resources
over an indefinite period. Central to sustainability is the idea that todays decisions
affect the future of human health and well-being, the environment, and the
economy. Sustainability requires knowledge and understanding of past events as
well as the ability to make informed predictions of future events
Your Objective is to critically examine a local resource industry of your choice and develop a
sustainability plan. Your group will present the plan to a panel of community members.
The Details
Work in pairs or groups of three
Create a presentation that demonstrates an understanding of all the Big Ideas.
The plan should be based on research-informed ideas
Maintain logbook throughout your project
Interview a minimum of 4 people
Consider the variety of community and global values and needs

Be creative!
Success Criteria will be developed as a class. There will be self-, peer- and panel-assessment
based on these criteria. I will be a member of the panel.
People you may want to talk to:
Industry representatives
Environmental assessment officers
Local environmental groups
Community members
Municipal government
Relevant NGOs or provincial/national bodies
Notes:
Success criteria will be developed with students.
o What will be success for this project? Prompt them to include both content and
core competencies.
o How do I measure if you have met the Big Ideas? Prompt students towards
ideas like ability to answer questions posed by the panel and research
supporting ideas.

o
o

The assessment will also include the Kipp Character assessment included as
an appendix to assess personal character/contribution to group. It will be done
by self, peers and me
One group mark, individually weighted by their self and peer assessments