Project title
By:  Joanna Richison

Project at a Glance :

This project is for 6th grade students looking to positively impact their waste footprint. It explores the 3 R’s of waste management and provides the opportunity to partner with a local environmental action council to address problems within White Pines Middle 
School.  Additionally, this project focuses on a variety of NGSS including MS-LS2-3, MS-ESS3-4, Social Studies content expectations G5.1.1-3 and career readiness Skills 4 Success including Collaboration & Global Thinking and Ethical Citizenship. This unit is roughly 20 weeks.
       
Driving Question:

How can we reduce the waste footprint at White Pines Middle School?             

Standards:

• MS LS2-3 
• MS ESS3-3
• G5.1.1
• G5.1.2
• G5.1.3
• G6.1.1
• Collaboration & Global Thinking
• Ethical Citizenship

Team / Culture Building:

• Hopes, Fears, & Norms
• Creative DNA
• Bug List 
• Collaboration Protocol - Snowball 
• Citizenship Protocol - Shared Vision 

​Entry Event:

• Field Trip: Kent County Recycling and Education Center​

Stakeholders:

• White Pines Students & Staff
• West Michigan Environmental Action Committee
• GHAPS Students & Staff
• Local & Global Community
• Planet Earth 

Empathy Building:

• Create Empathy Maps for various stakeholders​

Inquiry / Need to Knows:

•  Use the Need to Know protocol
• Stakeholder Map 

• Create a Recycling Road Map 
• Shadowing - Qualitative and Quantitative waste auditing 
• Ask 5 Whys 
• Jigsaw

Incubation:

• Mind Mapping​

• Idea Quota 
• Brainwriting 

• Idea Quota
• Interview members of WMEAC for potential solution ideas

Checking in:

• Check in during each new protocol
• Poker Chip ​check in​

• Maitre D’

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Solution Building:

• Filtering and Objectives Protocol - Initial Narrowing of ideas 
• Use the $100 Test Protocol with WMEAC to help narrow down ideas. 

• Where is the Love Protocol + NABC Design Thinking Protocol - Deciding 
• Poster Session and Gallery Walk protocols to share ideas for feedback from stakeholders.

Critique and Revision: 

• Poster Session + Gallery Walk +  “I like, I wish, I wonder” Design Thinking Protocol 
• Poster Session + Gallery Walk + “I like, I wish, I wonder” Design Thinking Protocol 
• Create a Pitch using the Design Thinking Protocol 
• Present Pitch and get feedback from WMEAC
• Use the Start with Why Protocol to refine the pitch.​

Authentic Audience:

• WMEAC
• White Pines Stakeholders
• District Stakeholders

Final Presentation:

• Students will verbally present their final pitch to stakeholders at a time and in a space that works best for all. Presentation format will be student directed.

Click here for teacher's full plan.

Reflection and Feedback:

• Rubric Academy 2021 Solution Rubric 
• Audience Presentation Feedback Rubric
• Pre/Post knowledge of topic surveys
• Participation throughout unit
• Skills for Success Rubrics: Collaboration & Ethical Citizenship
• Observation Notebook
• Fishbowl Protocol
• PBLworks-Self-Reflection​

Check out the teachers Journey through PBL on Padlet . . .

Meet the Educator: