Introduction
This WebQuest will be used to wrap up our unit on Ecosystems. As concerned citizens of our local community you are tasked with the job of presenting our local council with an information session on one of our many ecosystems, the human impacts on it and recommendations on changes we can make to reduce our human impact on this ecosystem.
Task
In groups of 2-3 you are to create a multi-modal presentation aimed at a panel of council members. You are to include a concise but detailed outline of your chosen local ecosystem, what effects human impact is having on the ecosystem and realistic suggestions on steps the council could take to reduce the human impact.
Topic: Choice of local ecosystem
Length: 5 mins
Type: Multi-modal (style to be approved by teacher in advance)
Process
1. Explore these two pages summarising some of Australias ecosystems, keep in mind you will need to present a similar but condensed summary of your chosen ecosystem and what it is composed of.
(May need to register using your school) https://www.sciencebydoing.edu.au/curriculum/student/ecosystems-and-change/digital/part5/activity1
2. What impact would no biodiversity have on an ecosystem? Discuss this with the other members of your group and create a mind map to be submitted to your teacher.
3. Explore the energy flow through an ecosystem, using this link.
https://www.sciencebydoing.edu.au/curriculum/student/ecosystems-and-change/digital/part5/activity5
4. Use the following link to calculate your footprint- make sure you enter your name and school to register. Compare your score with others in the class, the school and across other schools. What do these results tell you about your own impact? What could you do better?
https://calc.zerofootprint.net/#
5. Use the link below and watch the four videos, as an example of the kinds of human impacts, positive and negative, you can discuss in your presentations.
https://www.sciencebydoing.edu.au/curriculum/student/ecosystems-and-change/digital/part6/activity3
Awesome work! Now it's time to start work on your assignments.
1. Start by setting up an online platform where you can all share your work, such as google docs.
https://docs.google.com
2. From here you can do your own research, collect information and prepare your presentation for the council. Remember to be critical of the sources you are using. Make sure to discuss the mode of your presentation with your teacher. Good luck!
Evaluation
| A | B | C | D | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Science Knowledge and Understanding |
Comprehensively and accurately describes a variety of elements of the local ecosystem, the energy flow in the environment and the human impacts. |
Accurately describes key elements of the local ecosystem, the energy flow in the environment and the human impacts. Displays some evidence of connections between human actions and the affects on local environment. |
Explains elements of the local ecosystem, the energy flow in the environment and the human impacts. Briefly discusses how human actions impacts the local environment. |
Explains some elements of the ecosystem and energy flow in the environment. Makes broad connections to human actions and its impact on the environment. |
Restates information regarding ecosystems and the energy flow in the environment. |
| Processing and Analysing Information | Compares and contrasts a variety of sources, to produce insightful theories, explanations and solutions on how an ecosystem is affected by human impact. |
Interprets a wide range of sources to produce specific theories, explanations and solutions on how an ecosystem is affected by human impact. |
Uses some sources to produce general theories, explanations and solutions on how an ecosystem is affected by human impact. |
Uses limited sources to produce related but incorrect theories, explanations and solutions on how an ecosystem is affected by human impact. |
Unrelated theories and explanations are presented, disconnected to sources. |
|
Communication |
Effective use of accurate scientific language, science conventions and providing evidence based arguments. |
Consistent use of accurate scientific language, science conventions and providing evidence based arguments. |
Frequent use of scientific language, science conventions and providing evidence based arguments. |
Some use of scientific language, science conventions and providing evidence based arguments. | Use of scientific language, science conventions that is disconnected or unrelated. |
Conclusion
In conclusion we have now used the information we have learnt over this unit on Human Impacts on the Ecosystem and presented it in a way that is useful to our local community and to do good in our environment.
Credits
Krathwohl, D. (2002). A revision of Bloom's taxonomy: An overview. Theory into Practice.
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), (n.d), Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Capability, retrieved from: http://v7-5.australiancurriculum.edu.au/GeneralCapabilities/Pdf/ICT
Milson, A. & Downey, P. (2001) WebQuest: Using Internet Resources for Cooperative Inquiry, Social Education 65(3) pp. 144-146, retrieved from: https://uta-ir.tdl.org/uta-ir/bitstream/handle/10106/11730/WebQuest%20using%20internet%20resources.pdf?sequence=1
Teacher Page
Rationale
Employing the use of WebQuest in the classroom, encourages students to use not only technology but also the internet to drive their learning. It is an effective way to implement the use of ICT in the classroom, as it is inquiry based and student led. The Australian Curriculum outline the important of ICT as a general capability and the use of WebQuest is a great way to introduce research as a learning tool. Milson and Downey (2001) mentions that WebQuest removes the hassle and time of searching for information. This is often the biggest downfall of research through the internet is filtering through massive amounts of information and WebQuest is a great way to eliminate that issue while still introducing new skills.
Another benefit of using WebQuest in this way, is the extended learning through targeting higher order thinking skills. Throughout of the WebQuest students are required to use lower order thinking, remembering and understanding, while they watch the videos or view the PowerPoint. However, through resources such as the Zero Footprint Calculator, students are asked to analyse and compare their results with other classmate or other schools. This gives students the chance the access the higher order thinking as they start to analyse and evaluate what these results mean and what impact they are having themselves. By asking students to create their own presentations with solutions and recommendations, the highest level of blooms taxonomy is employed, and students are now using information to think for themselves and create new solutions (Krathwohl, 2002).
Furthermore, the content of this assessment was designed to address many areas of the Australian Curriculum for Year 9 Science. The content was focused around the science understanding descriptor for ecosystems (ACSSU176), however throughout the WebQuest and research phase of the assignments students are asked to draw conclusions from the evidence they have found (ACSIS170) and are asked to communicate their findings in a professional manner (ACSIS174). Also targeted in this WebQuest task is the cross-curriculum priority of sustainability (ACARA, n.d).