Viva Las Vegas The Power Plant Energy Project Developed by: Project STEP Fellows Project STEP Fellows Matthew Barber Nicholas Harth Developed for: Heather Woodyard Hughes Center

Viva Las Vegas The Power Plant Energy Project Executed by: Hughes Center Nicholas Harth Matthew Barber Amelia High School Andrew Spurgeon

Presentation Outline I. The Dual Missions II. The Planning III. The Execution IV. The Results V. The Reflection

The Dual Mission - From Project STEP: -Authentic Learning -Relating Learning to Community

The Dual Mission - From Mrs. Woodyard: -Design culmination activity for chapter “Energy and Your Community,” from the textbook, EARTHCOMM. - Develop something related to electrical power plants.

The Planning- objectives Students will be able to… 1.) evaluate a power plant technology and its effects on a community. 2.) demonstrate their ability to research, analyze, and evaluate a topic in a written report and a presentation.

The Planning- the activity 1. The premise: -Each group represents a team from a different power plant manufacturing company. -Groups must work to convince the Las Vegas City Council to purchase their style of power plant for Las Vegas.

The Planning- the activity 2. The assignments: - Group responsibility list. - Group materials list. - Individual research notes. - Written report. - Presentation. - Visual Aid. - Evaluation.

Details of Assignments 1. Power plant research paper

Power Plant Research Paper Group Portion: - Introduction - Conclusion - Rebuttals Individual Portion:

PPRP- Rebuttals In their rebuttals, they presented at least one argument against each of the other power plant designs. The rebuttals were on a separate page, after the conclusion. Each group member wrote at least one rebuttal

Power Plant Research Paper Group Portion: - Introduction - Conclusion - Rebuttals - Transitions between paragraphs Individual Portion: - Body paragraphs - Citations

PPRP- Citations Citations- They were required to provide a “Works Cited” page, and note, within the text of their paper, which information came from which source.

Details of Assignments 1. Power plant research paper 2. Responsibility List

Responsibility List -This is a list of exactly what everyone was going to be doing on this project. It must include: 1. Which body paragraphs and rebuttals each person will write. 2. What each person will generally plan to do to make the Visual Aid and Presentation. 3. Everyone’s signature.

Details of Assignments 1. Power plant research paper 2. Responsibility List 3. Materials List

Materials List -Each group will present a list of materials they plan to use in their presentation. -No group may spend more than $10, though most were able to spend almost nothing.

Details of Assignments 1. Power plant research paper 2. Responsibility List 3. Materials List 4. Research Notes

Research Notes - Each individual maintained a list of notes as they research their topic. - These notes had to include citation information. - The notes demonstrated that they had found useful information in their research.

Details of Assignments 1. Power plant research paper 2. Responsibility List 3. Materials List 4. Research Notes 5. Visual Aid

Visual Aid -This was usually a poster, but it did not have to be. -It was graded on: 1. Originality 2. Pertinence 3. Readability 4. Neatness 5. Explanation in presentation

Details of Assignments 1. Power plant research paper 2. Responsibility List 3. Materials List 4. Research Notes 5. Visual Aid 6. Presentation

Presentation - 10 minute oral presentation - They attempted to convince the City Council members to invest in their type of power plant and included: - How the plant works. - Costs and benefits to community. - Why it is the best choice for Vegas.

Details of Assignments 1. Power plant research paper 2. Responsibility List 3. Materials List 4. Research Notes 5. Visual Aid 6. Presentation 7. Evaluation

Evaluation They evaluated: 1. Themselves 2. Their group 3. The activity itself As well as, a simple survey about themselves, their technology usage, and their academic habits.

The Planning- the activity 3. Schedule: - 2 days for research - 2 days for writing - 1 day for revising - 2 days for presentation planning - 2 days to tie things up and practice - 2 days to present

The Planning- the activity 4. Expectations: -Rubrics for: 1. Group presentation 2. Visual aid 3. Group portion of report 4. Individual portion of report

The Planning- the activity 5. Our presentation to the students: -Mr. Harth’s video introduction to Vegas. -Mr. Barber’s PowerPoint presentation introducing the project.

The Execution

The Execution - Hughes class periods per class section. - Visitations by: -Dr. Davis -Mr. Zhou -Mr. Spurgeon -Ms. Kinne -Dr. Kukreti

The Execution - Hughes Changes Made- -Responsibility and materials lists combined. -Just one rebuttal per person

The Execution - Hughes Assessment- - For presentation and visual aid, three teachers graded; average was taken. - For presentation and visual aid, three teachers graded; average was taken. - Marks were applied directly to a copy of that assignment’s rubric. This was done immediately after each presentation.

The Execution - Hughes

Assessment- - Nick and Matt each graded half the papers. - Marks were applied directly to a copy of the rubric. We then checked each other’s judgment.

The Execution - Amelia Mr. Spurgeon will now discuss how this module was executed at Amelia.

The Results - Hughes First Hour- - Average = 83.6% - High = 92% - Low = 69% Second Hour- Average = 83.8% High = 93.5% Low = 58%

The Results - Hughes From Evaluations of 45 students agreed or highly agreed that they had learned more than they had at first expected of 45 students agreed or highly agreed that they did better than students at other schools would have done.

The Results - Hughes Student votes chose which power plant Las Vegas will build. - First Hour: - Solar - Second Hour: - Wind

The Results - Amelia Mr. Spurgeon will now discuss the results of this module at Amelia.

The Reflection - Overall, we were pleased with the results. - Good consistency between classes. - Good consistency between graders. HOWEVER…

The Reflection - Hughes - Greater focus on information. -Refine the web search process. -A more formal lesson on web searches. -A more focused research process. -Have them answer specific questions. -No printing of webpages.

The Reflection - Amelia - More class time for reports and presentations. - Eliminate weekend between practice and actual presentation. - Bigger classes. - Possible reduction of peer-given points.

The Reflection- school differences Our Observations/Perceptions Hughes - More critical thinking questions asked at end of presentations. - Some problems with formal “business English.” - Making up answers on the fly. - Better response with the report. Amelia - Overall better research. - Translates into greater and higher quality information in presentations. - Generally, lower academic motivation.

Reflection – school differences Based on results from survey - Hughes students felt they learned more than they expected to more greatly than did students at Amelia. - For every category of computer use except “doing homework at home,” Amelia students claim to use computers more. - Students at Amelia tend to view a “C” as good grade more than those at Hughes.

Reflection – school differences Based on results from survey - Students at Hughes claim to get good grades more so than students at Amelia. - Students at Hughes agree that they want to get good grades to a greater extent than do students at Amelia (both, however, do agree). - The students at Hughes report higher values for parental involvement than those at Amelia.

Grant Requirements - Authentic learning- -This is designed as a self-guided, problem- based, cooperative activity. - Relating to the lives of the students- -The problem is based on how to meet the needs of a growing population. This is relevant to all students, especially those living in cities.

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