Teaching Sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

45 minutes	Part B: GPS Problem Finders
5 minutes	Reflection

Part A: Activating Prior Knowledge

Step 1.

Differentiation:

Where students have completed the first lesson in this unit (Tuning In To Global Problem Solvers):

Remind students of the Global Problem Solvers series and invite them to access the factsheet they made about the Gulf Coast of the United States and discuss the main features and characteristics of this region. Ask them to work collaboratively to reflect on the following question: What do you remember about this region?

Where students haven’t completed the first lesson in this unit (Tuning In To Global Problem Solvers):

Distribute a copy of this factsheet (Background Information - Season 2) to pairs of students and invite them to read through the factsheet together, making a note of anything they find interesting or important.
Explain to students that in this lesson they will be exploring a problem that is based in a part of North America. This problem will be identified and discussed by the characters of an animated series called Global Problem Solvers:
“A massive hurricane has hit the Gulf Coast of the United States. Internet video star Ivy Stormcatcher enlists the help of her friends, the Global Problem Solvers, to devise a solution for students whose schools have shut down as a result. The team develops a solar-powered, emergency classroom kit that will allow a teacher to create a 'pop-up' classroom at a shelter. The Global Problem Solvers just need a few small things for the kit to be successful: drivable roads, some sunlight, and a dry, quiet space to conduct a class.”

You could share the trailer for Series 2 with students:

(Source: https://vimeo.com/273541111)

Step 2.

Distribute a copy of the Student Worksheet to each student and ask them to navigate to the following quote (also available on the Student Worksheet):

"If I were given one hour to save the planet, I would spend 59 minutes defining the problem and one minute resolving it.” - Albert Einstein

Ask students to work in pairs to reflect on this quote by asking (also available on the Student Worksheet):

Why is it so important to define the problem?

Invite students to discuss their ideas and to record their answers on the Student Worksheet.

Once complete, engage students in a class discussion around their answers. Consider the following points in your discussion:

Knowing the details of the problem helps you understand how big the problem actually is and what the immediate, long-term and wider consequences of the problem might be.
Without defining the problem you risk missing opportunities - the details may reveal a small but seemingly unimportant issue that could help or hinder you now or later.
Skipping over details at the start can lead to wasting resources later on, especially if you end up following a plan of action that doesn't actually address the problem.

Part B: GPS Problem Finders

Step 1.

You will now use the GPS series to demonstrate to students how to find out the details of a problem. Share or project the following information about Series 2 of GPS (source: https://www.gpstheseries.com/en-us/):

"A massive hurricane has hit the Gulf Coast of the United States. Internet video star Ivy Stormcatcher enlists the help of her friends, the Global Problem Solvers, to devise a solution for students whose schools have shut down as a result."

Pose the following questions to students:

What does this statement tell us about the problem? Do we have enough information to develop a solution?

Lead students to the idea that this statement doesn’t tell us much at all, and it certainly isn’t enough to begin developing a solution. So what sort of information do you need in order to understand a problem? Explain to students that a useful way of gathering information about an issue is to have a series of questions that you aim to answer. The answers should provide all the background information you need to move onto developing a solution.

Students will now work on developing a series of questions that can be used to guide them when being problem finders (finding out the details of a problem).

Step 2.

Break the class into pairs or small groups. Direct students to the section of the Student Worksheet titled ‘GPS Problem Finders’ and ask them to read through the things they should aim to find out through their problem finding:

Location of problem
People involved in the problem
Causes and consequences of the problem
Timeline/timeframe for the problem
Any wider or long-term consequences of the problem

Students should work in their pairs/groups to develop a series of questions around each of these points. Consider sharing the Generating Great Questions factsheet with students to help them identify the kinds of questions they should be creating.

Support: If students need extra support during this process, you could suggest to them that the ‘5W’s’ is a good place to start when developing questions. These are What?, Where?, When?, Why? and Who?.

Encourage students to spend some time writing down questions and then working together to refine them. By refining and rewriting them they will be more likely to get the questions they really need.

Step 3.

Once students have developed their questions, ask them to test their questions against the list of things they should be aiming to find out about the problem. They can do this using the table on the Student Worksheet. Again encourage students to refine any questions they’re unsure about. If students are having trouble, encourage them to team up with another pair to share ideas and get feedback and suggestions for improvement.

When students are happy with their questions, invite them to write them down on a piece of paper, leaving enough space between each question to record their answers.

Step 4.

You can now share the following clips from Series 2 of GPS. Explain that the two clips explain the problem and show how the GPS team work as problem finders to uncover the details of the problem.

(Source: Global Problem Solvers: The Series - Episode 2.1: The Storm, https://vimeo.com/259753313)

(Source: Global Problem Solvers: The Series - Episode 2.2: The Problem, https://vimeo.com/259753497)

Once complete, invite students to share any observations, thoughts and questions about these clips.

Step 5.

Working in their groups, students can now start answering their question, working to find out the details of the problem presented in the GPS series. You may need to return to parts of the episodes to help students understand their questions. The following timings have been suggested to help guide you, based on the key points:

Key points to find out	Suggested answers	Clip timings
Causes and consequences	The school has been closed since the storm and students are unable to go to school A storm caused flooding in Tampa One of the places that was flooded was a school Students are unable to go to school because the school is still flooded and has no electricity So many trees are down that the power company can’t get its trucks in to repair power lines	Episode 2.1 - Whole episode describes the storm Episode 2.2 - Students not able to go to school - 1:19 to 1:54 Power cut - 1:54 to 2:14
Location	Tampa, Florida, USA	Episode 2.2 - 00:15
People	Principal Diaz, teachers, students, families, power company, alligators!	Episode 2.2 - 1:24 to 1:32 2:13 to 2:48
Timeline / timeframe	It happened recently but kids won’t be returning to school anytime soon, at least not until the power comes back on Tampa will take months to rebuild	Episode 2.2 - 1:24 to 1:32 1:48 to 1:54
Wider or long-term consequences	After a storm like this schools can close and families can move	Episode 2.2 - 1:33 to 1:44

Step 6.

Using the information above, invite students to cross-reference the answers they got to address each of the questions they created. For example, you could state something like the following to students:

“For your causes and consequences questions, you might have recorded answers like these…”

Where students have found answers that are considerably different, they may need to refine their questions.

Step 7.

With their final set of questions, ask students to work independently to create a graphic that lists their set of questions. The graphic could be created by hand or using a desktop publishing program.

The aim is to produce an image that can be referred to and used in other lessons in this unit, particularly the final lesson.

Reflection

Invite students to work independently to complete a PMI based on what they looked at in this lesson (available on the Student Worksheet).

Teacher Reflection

Take this opportunity to reflect on your own teaching:

What did you learn about your teaching practice today?
What worked well?
What didn't work so well?
What would you share?
Where to next?
How are you going to get there?

Cisco GPS - Understanding the Problem

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