Endangered Species: Nuclear Plants

This term in Year 9 Science we are looking at different forms of alternative energies. This Webquest will allow you to explore information regarding nuclear energy and its place in powering our future. Nuclear power is a controversial energy source that avoids burning fossil fuels but produces radioactive waste.

All students will complete the Webquest during class time and develop a persuasive speech regarding the use of nuclear energy as an energy source. 

The Sunshine Coast Council has just put forward a proposal by the Nuclear Association of Australia suggesting that a nuclear plant be built in Coolum. The Australian Energy Council is meeting to decide whether the plant will be approved and are taking the community’s arguments into consideration.

Throughout this Webquest, you will investigate the advantages and disadvantages of nuclear power and decide your stance on its use to generate energy. Your task is to then put forth your argument about nuclear power to the Council in persuasive presentation. For your presentation, you will prepare a 5-10 minute speech either supporting or opposing the nuclear plant with an accompanying 5-10 slide Powerpoint.

Part One:

Before you can decide your stance on nuclear power, you must first understand what nuclear power is, how it has come about and how it is produced.

Explore these websites:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcOFV4y5z8c

http://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/current-and-future-generation/nuclear-power-in-the-world-today.aspx

http://www.nei.org/Knowledge-Center/How-Nuclear-Reactors-Work

http://www.world-nuclear.org/nuclear-basics.aspx

Part Two:

Now you understand what nuclear power is, you must decide whether you support or oppose its use. To do this effectively, you must analyse and evaluate both sides of the argument before you can make an informed decision.

Explore the positives:

http://www.nei.org/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVbLlnmxIbY

http://www.conserve-energy-future.com/Advantages_NuclearEnergy.php

http://ecolo.org/documents/documents_in_english/BENEFITS-of-NUCLEAR.pdf

Explore the negatives:

http://www.conserve-energy-future.com/Disadvantages_NuclearEnergy.php

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEYbgyL5n1g

http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/campaigns/nuclear/

http://www.nirs.org/nukerelapse/background/toptenreasons.htm

If you still haven’t decided your stance on nuclear energy, feel free to explore further and do your own research.

Part Three:

You are now able to begin writing your speech! You have been completing persuasive writing in English this year but, if you need help structuring your speech, here is a further website for you to explore.

http://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Persuasive-Speech

Remember your speech is to be 5-10 minutes and outline your stance on nuclear power to the Council.

Part Four:

Once you have completed your speech, create the 5-10 slide Powerpoint to accompany your speech. Don’t be scared to do further research and use pictures, graphs and quotes from your speech to create a further convincing argument.

Consult the Evaluation rubric to make sure you are meeting your assessment criteria for this task and when you are completed, email your speech and Powerpoint to Miss Trace. 

Congratulations on completing your Webquest! You now understand another one of the alternative energies that are available for use. After completing this Webquest, you should be able to confidently discuss the advantages and disadvantages of nuclear power.

You will be presenting your speech to the class next week and I look forward to seeing what arguments you have come up with through your research.

If you are interested in further information on nuclear power, try googling "Nuclear Power", "Pros and Cons of Nuclear Power" and there are also some great Youtube videos available.

References:

Anderson, L., & Krathwohl, D. (2001).A taxonomy for learning, teaching, and assessing: a revision of Bloom's taxonomy of educational objectives. New York: Longman

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2016a). Information and Communication Technology Capability. Retrieved from: http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/generalcapabilities/pdf/ICT

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2016b). Information and Communication Technology Capability learning continuum. Retrieved from: http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/generalcapabilities/information-…;

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2016c). Year 9 Curriculum. Retrieved from: http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/science/curriculum/f-10?layout=1…

Comby, B. (2014). The Benefits of Nuclear Energy. Environmentalists for Nuclear Energy. Retrieved from: http://ecolo.org/documents/documents_in_english/BENEFITS-of-NUCLEAR.pdf

Forest Lake Elementary. (2010). Rubric. Edutopia. Retrieved from: https://www.edutopia.org/pdfs/stw/edutopia-stw-s.carolina-differentiate…

Greenpeace. (2015). End the Nuclear Age. Retrieved from: http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/campaigns/nuclear/

Kurzgesagt. (2015a). Nuclear Energy Explained- How It Works. Youtube. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcOFV4y5z8c

Kurzgesagt. (2015b). Three Reasons Why Nuclear Energy is Awesome. Youtube. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVbLlnmxIbY

Kurzgesagt. (2015c). Three Reasons Why Nuclear Energy is Terrible. Youtube. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEYbgyL5n1g

Nuclear Energy Institute. (2016a). Why Nuclear Energy. Retrieved from: http://www.nei.org/

Nuclear Energy Institute. (2016b). How Nuclear Reactors Work. Retrieved from: http://www.nei.org/Knowledge-Center/How-Nuclear-Reactors-Work

Nuclear Information and Resources Centre. (2014). Top 11 Reasons to Oppose Nuclear Power. Retrieved from: http://www.nirs.org/nukerelapse/background/toptenreasons.htm

Rinkesh. (2016a). Nuclear Energy. Conserve Energy Future. Retrieved from: http://www.conserve-energy- future.com/Advantages_NuclearEnergy.php

Rinkesh. (2016b). Nuclear Energy. Conserve Energy Future. Retrieved from: http://www.conserve-energy-future.com/Disadvantages_NuclearEnergy.php

WikiHow. (2016). How to Write a Persuasive Speech. Retrieved from: http://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Persuasive-Speech

World Nuclear Association. (2016a). Nuclear Basics. Retrieved from: http://www.world-nuclear.org/nuclear-basics.aspx

World Nuclear Association. (2016b). Nuclear Power in the World Today. Retrieved from: http://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/current-and-future-gen…

The WebQuest “Endangered Species: Nuclear Plants” is designed for a Year 9 Science class that is in the process of learning about alternative energies and in particular nuclear energy. The current Science Australian Curriculum standards outline that students in Year 9 must begin to “develop and apply their understanding of energy” while learning about chemical and physical sciences (ACARA, 2016c). The use of ICT is also a key part of the Science Inquiry Skills which are an explicit part of the Science Australian Curriculum. Specifically it outlines how students are required to use multiple digital sources to “process and analyse information”, “critically evaluate and analyse data” and then “construct evidence-based arguments” (ACARA, 2016b). The rubric used for the evalution of the Webquest was derived from example achievement requirements accessed on Edutopia (2010).

The Australian government has also highlighted the importance of integrating technologies into classrooms through implementation of documents outlining ICT general capabilities that students must be able to meet.  The Webquest facilitates students to engage with technology, allowing them to meet these capabilities which are outlined under the categories of “Investigating with ICT, Communicating with ICT and Creating with ICT” (ACARA, 2016b). Students in Year 9 must be meeting requirements between ‘Level 5’ and ‘Level 6’, many of which are addressed during the completion of the Webquest (ACARA, 2016b). The incorporation of the Webquest into the class is an effective way to confidently meet these requirements whilst also promoting students’ ability to direct their own learning and develop skills outlines in Bloom’s Taxonomy.

ACARA’s position on using technology in the classroom is further supported by the theory of Bloom’s Taxonomy, specifically relating to technology’s ability to create opportunities for students to develop higher order thinking skills. The Webquest contains many elements of Bloom’s Taxonomy as the task is structured in such a way to scaffold student's development of higher order thinking skills. Bloom’s Taxonomy is made up of six levels including remembering, understanding, applying, analysing, evaluating and creating (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001). It can be noted that these levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy align with the previously stated science curriculum requirements that the Webquest addresses. As the students were being introduced to the content on nuclear power, they were first tasked with developing their knowledge and understanding of the topic. They then explored the advantages and disadvantages of nuclear power. While deciding on their stance, they had to compare, criticise and evaluate the information presented to them to make an informed decision which began working towards developing those higher order thinking skills. Finally they were tasked with creating a persuasive presentation which meant they had to compile their arguments, design their Powerpoints and then present their speech. The Webquest allowed all levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy to be incorporated into one learning activity allowing for a complete and meaningful learning experience for the students.