Driving Question
What recommendations would you make (to the school board and community) regarding the use of biofuels vs. diesel for our school bus transportation?
Focus on Teacher
Detailed description of the context and learners:
Description of the driving question including a detailed explanation of how the driving question is ill-structured, authentic, meaningful, interdisciplinary, and appropriate:
Relates to the curriculum and specific examples of how you will keep the students focused on the question:
Ways to bring them back to driving question:
Focus on Students
How the driving question is open-ended, allowing for different investigative questions:
Focus on Content
How the unit is focused on biofuels:
How the unit is grounded in real life and work beyond school:
Detailed description of the context and learners:
- This is being designed for an Algebra 1 class that contains 30 freshman, 20 boys and 10 girls, in a rural setting.
Description of the driving question including a detailed explanation of how the driving question is ill-structured, authentic, meaningful, interdisciplinary, and appropriate:
- Ill-structured: The question allows the students to interpret the question in different ways which could lead them to different, but viable conclusions. Some possible outcomes might be that students find the use of diesel to be best, to maintain the use of diesel until second generation biofuels are available, or that the switch to biofuels immediately would be best. As part of the project, the students would present their findings to the school board.
- Authentic and Meaningful: We will have a letter from the superintendent/school board regarding this project asking students to research this project and present their findings at a school board meeting.
- Interdisciplinary: This project includes connections to many disciplines. Students will need to use biology concepts to understand the premise of the project. The mathematical aspect of the project relates to mileage which includes ratios of fuel efficiencies, and predictions of economic benefits through graphical representation. Students must effectively convey their findings through an oral presentation, which is an aspect of speech and communication.
- Appropriate: This is appropriate for 9th grade Algebra I students because it focuses on the standards.
Relates to the curriculum and specific examples of how you will keep the students focused on the question:
- Because of the nature of the project, the potential standards that may be addressed over the course of the unit are found here.
- If students are investigating the cost of biofuels vs diesel, they must come up with an equation and types of functions that models this relationship (HSF-IF.B.4) and must also predict future costs (HSF-LE.B.5, HSF-LE.A.3). If students decide to pursue the question of carbon emission variance they will meet the same three standards. Fuel efficiency will also utilize the same three standards, in addition to (HSF-IF.B.6, 6.RP.A.3). If students begin to look at comparing miles per gallon as well as cost to find a maximal mixture of diesel and biofuel, the students will meet all of the above mentioned standards. They will also meet them if they begin looking at transportation costs.
Ways to bring them back to driving question:
- Asking them if they considered how to present the material to the school board
- Making sure they’ve considered both options (diesel and biofuel)
- Making sure they are focusing on the school’s buses and not other forms of transportation
- Asking them to make sure about the specifics of the bus transportation
- Keep the driving question posted at the front of the room or at a highly visible place
- Provide resources for the students that will give them background information along the way
Focus on Students
How the driving question is open-ended, allowing for different investigative questions:
- Students could think about cost (biofuel costs vs diesel costs)
- Carbon emission differences between the two options
- Fuel efficiency, so the best mile per gallons
- Students could look at a mixture of biofuel and diesel that would maximize the mpg but lessen the cost per gallon
Focus on Content
How the unit is focused on biofuels:
- Students are considering the advantages or disadvantages of switching to biofuels. That is the focus of the project
- Comparison of fuel efficiency of biofuels vs diesel
- Students could look at carbon emissions from biofuel
- The advantages of mixing diesel and biofuels.
How the unit is grounded in real life and work beyond school:
- Students have to apply how it is related to their community and school, present their findings to the school board
- They will be given a letter from the superintendent
- They will be giving a presentation to the school board
- They are considering options of the buses that they/their friends ride on
- Positive impact on the school and educational opportunities