Water In Our Community
​By:  Nick Tejchma

Project at a Glance :

This project will help students learn more about water conversation and how to educate the community about protecting water resources.
 
Driving Question:

How can we educate the community around water conversation and protecting water resources?           

Standards:

• 5-ESS3-1 Obtain and combine information about ways individual communities use science ideas to protect the Earth’s resources and environment.
• W.5.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.
• SL.5.4 Report on a topic or text or present an opinion, sequencing ideas logically and using appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to support main ideas or themes; speak clearly at an understandable pace.

Team / Culture Building:

• Revisit the Creative DNA protocol and Hopes, Fears, & Norms that were done earlier in the school year.  Ask students to revise both based on how things have changed throughout the year.
• Six Word Memoir protocol

Entry Event:

• Matt Bain, Aquatic Specialist & Education Coordinator with the Grand Valley Metro Water Council  visited our classroom to share what he does in the field. He also shared the importance of our community knowing more about this topic and the urgency around it which led to the introduction of the driving question.

Stakeholders:

• Community Members 
• Future stakeholders in community
• Parents
• School staff

Empathy Building:

• Empathy Maps - to start thinking about those who are unaware of water resources and how they work?  What conservation looks like? What is the impact of water conservation?​

• Stakeholder Map

Inquiry / Need to Knows:

• Create a top 10 list of need to knows from this map.

• Interviewing- we need to find out what members of our community already know before we can learn how we can educate them more. We would want to make sure and interview business partner as well to find out areas where we could help. 
• Speedboat- What is standing in the way/holding us back from being better with water resources and conservation?

Incubation:

• Start with either Rule of Thirds or Anti- Problem protcol to get students to think out of the box as they generate solution ideas.
•  Use the 100 Ideas for brainstorming.​​​

• Filter & Group​

​Checking in:

•  Checking in after each stage to make sure that we are on track, making sure we come back to the driving question  and are going in the right direction. 
• Groups will engage in a Fireside Chat to check in with each other.
• Besides reflecting on the driving question and the fireside chat groups, I will include the Talking Chip protocol as students are discussing. This will help to make sure all voices are heard.
• Gallery Walk

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Solution Building:

• After the 100 ideas protocol students will Saturate and Group ideas.  Followed by  Dot Voting to narrow down ideas.

• After narrowing a bit more, using the Poster Session will be helpful in really deciding how to develop ideas further.​

Critique and Revision: 

• Following the NUF Test, students will use the NUF Test to decide which solutions will best solve the driving question
• Before prototyping, students will get feedback from the partner on  ideas– using I like and I wonder. 

Authentic Audience:

• School Administrators
• Classmates
• Business partner

Final Presentation:​

• Showcase -Students showcased prototypes of signs that we planned to create to fellow students and administrators and recorded the presentations for families as well as Groundswell and other stakeholders.
  

Click here for teacher's full plan.

​Reflection and Feedback:
     "I really love doing PBL with my classes every year! The process can take you on some great Adventures. This year I was able to meet The Cat In The Hat at our Groundswell Showcase at GVSU!" ~ Nick Tejchma

     "I was very impressed by what the students came up with for their posters on educating our community. In addition, I thought they all did a great job presenting their material. Thank you for inviting me to be apart of their Water Conservation Project" ~ Linda, Community Member

     "I liked that we had a guest come in to teach us more about water conservation and he used a cool model to show us!"  ~ Student

Project Partner:

• Allison Palm-Belliel, MPA -Place-Based Education Specialist - Center for Educational Partnerships​ College of Education & Community Innovation

Click here for the teacher's Journey through PBL on Padlet . . .

Meet the Educator:

Nick Tejchma teaches 5th grade at White Pines Intermediate School, Grand Haven Public Schools.

     “PBL & Design Thinking gives my students the opportunity to collaborate and think authentically. I like the chance to connect with community and for my students to be a part of something that inspires them to grow."