Oh Deer! Do We Have a Problem?

This is a project developed by Buck Institute of Education to support teachers in developing and implementing PBL (Project Based Learning). In this project studentswork in teams to research a possible deer problem from the position of a particular group in their community and/or state and make a recommendation to a Governor’s Council. Concepts and standards taught through this project include biogeochemical cycles, succession, energy transfers in ecosystems, population graphs, relationships in ecosystems. In Project Based Learning (PBL), students go through an extended process of inquiry in response to a complex question, problem, or challenge. Students gain a deeper understanding of the concepts and CLEu2019s of standard 2 (Interdependence). This project also builds workplace skills and lifelong habits of learning. This project is comprehensive and creates a need to know essential biology content.

Weblink address (URL):

Oh Deer! Do We Have a Problem?

Standards & Objectives

Learning objectives:

Objectives:

Use safe laboratory procedures
conduct and/or design investigations that incorporate the skills and attitudes and/or values of scientific inquiry (e.g., established research protocol, accurate record keeping, replication of results and peer review, objectivity, openness, skepticism, fairness, or creativity and logic)
given current science-technology-societal issues, contruct and defeend potentional solutions
relate societal, cultural and economic issues to key scientific innovations
evaluate environmental factors that affect succession, populations and communities
propose ecosystem models that incorporate interactions of biotic and abiotic environmental variables in biogeochemical cycles
interpret changes in energy as it flows through an ecosystem to illustrate conservation of energy in the energy pyramid, food web, and food chain
analyze interrelationships of organisms within an ecosystem- competition, predation, symbiosis, commensalism, mutualism, and parasitism
analyze graphs, GIS data and traditional maps reflecting changes in population to predict limiting factors in ecosystems as they determine carrying capacity

Essential and guiding questions:

Driving Question:
How can humans and animals coexsist on planet Earth?

Lesson Variations

Blooms taxonomy level:

Understanding

Helpful Hints

Materials:

Book Silent Spring by Rachel Carson, New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1962, ISBN 0-618-25305-X, (recommended but not required)
Chart paper for KWL charts
Computers with internet access, word processing programs, media presentation programs, and spreadsheet and graphing capabilities
Printers (and ink) for the computers
Projector for the presentations and the Vocabulary Review Game
Mini cam for the computer if doing a Skype interview (recommended but not required if limiting the interview to audio)
Video cameras to include videos in presentations or to record interviews (not required)
Other audio recording equipment for recording interviews

References

Contributors:

Originator:

Ayers Institute for Learning & Innovation

eduToolbox® is a resource-sharing portal developed by the Ayers Institute for Learning & Innovation with collaborative support and funding from the Tennessee Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Education's Math & Science Partnership program.