Weigh the merits of alternative strategies for solving a specific societal problem by comparing a number of different costs and benefits, such as human, economic, and environmental.
| Course Number1111 |
Course Title222 |
| 2020910: | Astronomy Solar/Galactic Honors (Specifically in versions: 2014 - 2015, 2015 - 2022, 2022 and beyond (current)) |
| 2000330: | Biology 2 Honors (Specifically in versions: 2014 - 2015, 2015 - 2018, 2018 - 2022, 2022 and beyond (current)) |
| 2000430: | Biology Technology (Specifically in versions: 2014 - 2015, 2015 - 2022, 2022 and beyond (current)) |
| 3027010: | Biotechnology 1 (Specifically in versions: 2015 - 2022, 2022 and beyond (current)) |
| 3027020: | Biotechnology 2 (Specifically in versions: 2015 and beyond (current)) |
| 2003350: | Chemistry 1 Honors (Specifically in versions: 2014 - 2015, 2015 - 2022, 2022 and beyond (current)) |
| 2003360: | Chemistry 2 Honors (Specifically in versions: 2014 - 2015, 2015 - 2022, 2022 and beyond (current)) |
| 2001320: | Earth/Space Science Honors (Specifically in versions: 2014 - 2015, 2015 - 2022, 2022 and beyond (current)) |
| 2000380: | Ecology (Specifically in versions: 2014 - 2015, 2015 - 2022, 2022 and beyond (current)) |
| 2002480: | Forensic Science 1 (Specifically in versions: 2014 - 2015, 2015 - 2017, 2017 - 2022, 2022 and beyond (current)) |
| 2002490: | Forensic Sciences 2 (Specifically in versions: 2014 - 2015, 2015 - 2017, 2017 - 2022, 2022 and beyond (current)) |
| 2002410: | Integrated Science 1 Honors (Specifically in versions: 2014 - 2015, 2015 - 2022, 2022 and beyond (current)) |
| 2002440: | Integrated Science 3 (Specifically in versions: 2014 - 2015, 2015 - 2022, 2022 and beyond (current)) |
| 2000390: | Limnology (Specifically in versions: 2014 - 2015, 2015 - 2018 (course terminated)) |
| 2002500: | Marine Science 1 (Specifically in versions: 2014 - 2015, 2015 - 2022, 2022 and beyond (current)) |
| 2002510: | Marine Science 1 Honors (Specifically in versions: 2014 - 2015, 2015 - 2022, 2022 and beyond (current)) |
| 2002520: | Marine Science 2 (Specifically in versions: 2014 - 2015, 2015 - 2022, 2022 and beyond (current)) |
| 2002530: | Marine Science 2 Honors (Specifically in versions: 2014 - 2015, 2015 - 2022, 2022 and beyond (current)) |
| 2003400: | Nuclear Radiation (Specifically in versions: 2014 - 2015, 2015 - 2018 (course terminated)) |
| 2020710: | Nuclear Radiation Honors (Specifically in versions: 2014 - 2015, 2015 - 2022, 2022 and beyond (current)) |
| 2003310: | Physical Science (Specifically in versions: 2015 - 2022, 2022 and beyond (current)) |
| 2003320: | Physical Science Honors (Specifically in versions: 2014 - 2015, 2015 - 2022, 2022 and beyond (current)) |
| 2003410: | Physics 2 Honors (Specifically in versions: 2014 - 2015, 2015 - 2022, 2022 and beyond (current)) |
| 2003600: | Principles of Technology 1 (Specifically in versions: 2014 - 2015, 2015 - 2022, 2022 and beyond (current)) |
| 2003610: | Principles of Technology 2 (Specifically in versions: 2014 - 2015, 2015 - 2018 (course terminated)) |
| 2002540: | Solar Energy Honors (Specifically in versions: 2014 - 2015, 2015 - 2022, 2022 and beyond (current)) |
| 2002550: | Solar Energy 2 Honors (Specifically in versions: 2014 - 2015, 2015 - 2018 (course terminated)) |
| 2002330: | Space Technology and Engineering (Specifically in versions: 2014 - 2015, 2015 - 2018 (course terminated)) |
| 1800320: | Aerospace Science 3 (Specifically in versions: 2014 - 2015, 2015 - 2022, 2022 and beyond (current)) |
| 1800360: | Aerospace Science 4 (Specifically in versions: 2014 - 2015, 2015 - 2022, 2022 and beyond (current)) |
| 1700360: | Florida's Preinternational Baccalaureate Inquiry Skills (Specifically in versions: 2014 - 2015, 2015 - 2022, 2022 and beyond (current)) |
| 2000500: | Bioscience 1 Honors (Specifically in versions: 2014 - 2015, 2015 - 2022, 2022 - 2023, 2023 and beyond (current)) |
| 2000510: | Bioscience 2 Honors (Specifically in versions: 2014 - 2015, 2015 - 2022, 2022 - 2023, 2023 and beyond (current)) |
| 2000520: | Bioscience 3 Honors (Specifically in versions: 2014 - 2015, 2015 - 2022, 2022 - 2023, 2023 and beyond (current)) |
| 2002445: | Integrated Science 3 for Credit Recovery (Specifically in versions: 2014 - 2015, 2015 - 2020 (course terminated)) |
| 2003500: | Renewable Energy 1 Honors (Specifically in versions: 2014 - 2015, 2015 - 2022, 2022 - 2023, 2023 and beyond (current)) |
| 2003838: | Florida's Preinternational Baccalaureate Physics 2 (Specifically in versions: 2015 and beyond (current)) |
| 7920022: | Access Physical Science (Specifically in versions: 2016 - 2018, 2018 - 2023, 2023 and beyond (current)) |
| 2001341: | Environmental Science Honors (Specifically in versions: 2016 - 2022, 2022 and beyond (current)) |
| 2001330: | Meteorology Honors (Specifically in versions: 2016 - 2019, 2019 - 2022, 2022 and beyond (current)) |
| Name |
Description |
| The Regulation of Nuclear Waste | In this lesson, students are presented with the problems facing the disposal of high-level nuclear waste produced at nuclear power plants along with the government agencies that regulate the nuclear waste. After learning about several disposal options, students research the pros and cons of one of these options and present their findings to the class. The class "votes" on which option they would choose if they were part of a government agency that regulated nuclear waste disposal and discuss current disposal options being debated among various government regulatory agencies. |
| Sea Ice Analysis | The changing climate is an important topic for both scientific analysis and worldly knowledge. This lesson uses data collected by the National Snow and Ice Data Center to create and use mathematical models as a predictive tool and do critical analysis of sea ice loss. |
| Harmful Algal Blooms |
Harmful algal blooms are the result of bacteria and phytoplankton obtaining far too many nutrients from fertilizers, sewage, and other pollutants. This lesson explains the causes and effects of these blooms in depth, and students will consider solutions for reducing blooms around Florida. This lesson involves a classroom discussion of the costs and benefits involved in reducing harmful algal blooms, and how science can be used to inform policy.
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| Empowering Zanzibar to Defeat Malaria | In this lesson, students will analyze an informational text describing how one woman, Habiba, earned the title as "Zanzibar's Malaria Hunter." Habiba is one of many surveillance officers working to track, test, treat and educate the public to prevent the spread of malaria. Surveillance officers like Habiba, are helping the PMI (US President's Malaria Initiative) and the Zanzibar Malaria Elimination Program quickly respond to cases of malaria, report the data and eradicate the disease from the archipelago. "The prevalence of malaria in Zanzibar has been reduced from 25 percent in 2005 to less than 1 percent today."
The lesson plan includes a note-taking guide, text-dependent questions, a writing prompt/scoring rubric, and answer keys. |
| Diabetes: More Than Just Sugar | This diabetes MEA provides students with the opportunity to investigate finding affordable health coverage, a problem common to many people living with diabetes. Students must rank doctors based on certain costs and the specific services they provide. The main focus of this MEA is to determine the best doctors to go to for diabetic care and treatment, weighing factors such as insurance, cost, doctor visits, location, patient ratings, number of years in business, diet, exercise, weight management, stress management, network participation, and support groups.
Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom. |
| Best Types of Grass to Grow in Florida | Based on various factors, students will decide the best types of grass (sod) to grow in Florida and the advantages and disadvantages of each. |
| 3D Printing Pizza in Space! | Students will learn how NASA's scientists are exploring the possibility of 3D printing food in space. The students will evaluate various sources of protein, taking into consideration the nutritional quality of each, along with the cost to produce them, and finally their impact on the environment.
Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. MEAs resemble engineering problems and encourage students to create solutions in the form of mathematical and scientific models. Students work in teams to apply their knowledge of science and mathematics to solve an open-ended problem, while considering constraints and tradeoffs. Students integrate their ELA skills into MEAs as they are asked to clearly document their thought process. MEAs follow a problem-based, student centered approach to learning, where students are encouraged to grapple with the problem while the teacher acts as a facilitator. To learn more about MEA’s visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx |
| Parker County Public Works Project | Have you ever considered what sort of discussion is done before deciding to build a water park or hospital in your town or county? What about the roads? The schools? This resource is a valuable tool in teaching students about the importance of developing a thought process and about the value in public works. The students will be conducting an MEA that revolves around the premise of deciding on what is the most important public works project for Parker County, FL. |
| Acting on Information About Cancer | Students assume the roles of federal legislators and explore several Cell Biology and Cancer website resources to identify reasons to support or oppose a proposed statute that would require individuals under the age of 18 to wear protective clothing when outdoors.
After completing this activity, students will:
- understand that science can help us improve personal and public health,
- be able to explain that good choices can reduce an individual's risk of developing cancer and can improve an individual's chance of survival if he or she does develop it,
- understand that ethics brings to public policy debates two presumptions: that we should protect individual autonomy and that we should protect individual and societal health and well-being,
- recognize that ethical values sometimes conflict in public policy debates about strategies for reducing the risk of cancer, and
- understand that it is possible for people to hold different positions on a controversial topic and still participate in a reasoned discussion about it.
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| Florida Panthers and Wildlife Corridors | Students will learn about the Florida Panther, threats to it's survival and the role of wildlife corridors as an attempt to reduce roadway fatalities. Students will participate in a game simulating panther crossings, learn about panthers from a guest speaker or teacher, and participate in a mock town hall meeting evaluating the construction of wildlife corridors. |
| Preserving Our Marine Ecosystems | The focus of this MEA is oil spills and their effect on the environment. In this activity, students from a fictitious class are studying about the effects of an oil spill on marine ecosystems and have performed an experiment in which they were asked to try to rid a teaspoon of corn oil from a baking pan filled with two liters of water as thoroughly as possible in a limited timeframe and with limited resources. By examining, analyzing, and evaluating experimental data related to resource usage, disposal, and labor costs, students must face the tradeoffs that are involved in trying to preserve an ecosystem when time, money, and resources are limited. |
| Cleaning Up Your Act | Cleaning Up Your Act Model Eliciting Activity (MEA) provides students with a real world engineering problem in which they must work as a team to design a procedure to select the best material for cleaning up an oil spill. The main focus of this MEA is to recognize the consequences of a catastrophic event, and understand the environmental and economical impact based on data analysis. Students will conduct individual and team investigations in order to arrive at a scientifically sound solution to the problem. Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom. |
| Alternative Fuel Systems | The Alternative Fuel Systems MEA provides students with an engineering problem in which they must develop a procedure to decide the appropriate course for an automobile manufacturer to take given a set of constraints. The main focus of the MEA is to apply the concepts of work and energy to a business model.
Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom. |
| Diabetic Dilemma | Students will evaluate a variety of medications and their potential benefits for a diabetic patient. Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom. |
| Technology vs. Ethics Debate | Students will debate several controversial issues such as human cloning, use of performance enhancing drugs in sports, and space exploration in order to determine which they deem more important to society: technology or ethics. After brainstorming a list of issues and cutting it down to 8, students will be given 4 to 5 days to research the issues and prepare for the debate. Students will not know which side they are debating until the debate begins. The purpose of this exercise is for students to carefully consider both sides of issues, as well as alternatives, and to understand the importance of maintaining a healthy balance between ethics and technology.
After the debate,students will write about what they have learned in terms of the issues themselves, their team's performance in the debate, and whether or not their opinion has changed on any issue due to some important point made during the debate. |
| Efficient Storage | The topic of this MEA is work and power. Students will be assigned the task of hiring employees to complete a given task. In order to make a decision as to which candidates to hire, the students initially must calculate the required work. The power each potential employee is capable of, the days they are available to work, the percentage of work-shifts they have missed over the past 12 months, and the hourly pay rate each worker commands will be provided to assist in the decision process. Full- and/or part-time positions are available. Through data analysis, the students will need to evaluate which factors are most significant in the hiring process. For instance, some groups may prioritize speed of work, while others prioritize cost or availability/dependability.
Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom. |
| Which Brand of Chocolate Chip Cookie Would You Buy? | In this activity, students will utilize measurement data provided in a chart to calculate areas, volumes, and densities of cookies. They will then analyze their data and determine how these values can be used to market a fictitious brand of chocolate chip cookie. Finally, they will integrate cost and taste into their analyses and generate a marketing campaign for a cookie brand of their choosing based upon a set sample data which has been provided to them.
Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom. |
| Corn Conundrum | The Corn Conundrum MEA provides students with an agricultural problem in which they must work as a team to develop a procedure to select the best variety of corn to grow under drier conditions predicted by models of global climate change. Students must determine the most important factors that make planting crops sustainable in restricted climate conditions for the client. The main focus of this MEA is manipulating factors relating to plant biology, including transpiration and photosynthesis.
Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom. |
| Personal DNA Testing | A lesson with multi-media components from PBS/NOVA that focuses on DNA testing, including techniques, purposes, and considerations for biotechnology and human decisions regarding health. Students will learn about single nucleotide polymorphisms, how they are used in science, and how they are being used in the medical field. Students will apply this knowledge by looking at a mock data set and probabilities to inform medical recommendations. |
| Hybrid-Electric Vehicles vs. Gasoline-Powered Vehicles | Students will be comparing hybrid-electric vehicles (HEV) versus gasoline-powered vehicles. They will research the benefits of owning a HEV while also analyzing the cost effectiveness. Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom. |
| Plants versus Pollutants Model Eliciting Activity | The Plants versus Pollutants MEA provides students with an open-ended problem in which they must work as a team to design a procedure to select the best plants to clean up certain toxins. This MEA requires students to formulate a phytoremediation-based solution to a problem involving cleaning of a contaminated land site. Students are provided the context of the problem, a request letter from a client asking them to provide a recommendation, and data relevant to the situation. Students utilize the data to create a defensible model solution to present to the client. Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom. |
| Name |
Description |
| Killing a Patient to Save His Life | This informational text resource is intended to support reading in the content area. This article explores a controversial clinical trial being conducted by the University of Pittsburgh. Scientists are exploring more efficient ways to save lives when patients enter the emergency room in critical condition. The idea involves draining the patient's blood and replacing it with freezing saltwater to induce a hypothermic state that will buy doctors more time to save human lives. This is causing an ethical debate as patients will be essentially clinically dead during this procedure. The technique is known as Emergency Preservation and Resuscitation (EPR). |
| Better Catalysts for the Petrochemical Industry | This informational text resource is intended to support reading in the content area. Zeolites are catalysts necessary for the production of gasoline from crude oil. One problem with zeolites is that their pores can be clogged by reaction products. To solve this, scientists have recently created zeolites that are have greater pore connectivity, which turns out to be a better, and also cheaper, method of producing catalysts for the petrochemical industry. |
| Tough Decisions on the Front Line of Nature Conservation | This informational text resource is intended to support reading in the content area. This article expresses its author's opinion about culling animals in zoos, which is reducing a population by selective slaughter. The argument supports the idea of culling as a way to control inbreeding and to control the breeding of animals that will not help the species stay adaptable and immune to diseases. |
| Hurricane Sandy was New York's "Self-Inflicted Calamity" | This informational text resource is intended to support reading in the content area. Hurricane Sandy was one of the biggest storms to hit New York City in recent history. Intense wind and rain caused major damage all over the city and surrounding areas. The storm exposed how over development of reclaimed land and lack of political action to protect the city has led to major flooding—and probably will again unless action is taken. |
| With Data and Resolve, Tacoma Fights Pollution | This informational text resource is intended to support reading in the content area. Rain and runoff carry pollutants from human activity to the sea in places like Tacoma, Washington. The city has devised a scientific process for identifying sources and pathways of pollution and is making headway in reducing pollutant buildup and damage. By utilizing forensic methods to find the source of pollution and fining polluters, Tacoma is winning the war. |
| The Quest for a Clean Drink | This informational text resource is intended to support reading in the content area. In America, clean water flows with the turn of a knob, but many countries do not have this luxury. This article looks at three different ways scientists have created treatment systems for drinking water in poor countries like India and Bangladesh. |
| World Cup Raises Epidemic Questions | This informational text resource is intended to support reading in the content area. Tropical areas such as Brazil can be hotspots for communicable diseases due to warm temperatures and crowded urban spaces. There is a concern that when Brazil hosts the World Cup, mosquito-borne dengue fever may spread to its visitors. The article explores methods of pathogen transfer in a variety of venues (pilgrimages, airplanes, cruise lines) and compares these to conditions at the World Cup. |
| NASA's Quest for Green Rocket Fuel Passes Big Test | This informational text resource is intended to support reading in the content area. This text introduces AF-M315E, a "green" or environmentally friendly jet fuel, to potentially be used by NASA instead of hydrazine, which is known to be both toxic to humans and volatile for control of satellites and spacecraft. |
| Cultured Beef: Do We Really Need a $380,000 Burger Grown in Petri Dishes? | This informational text resource is intended to support reading in the content area. The text describes the way scientists have created the first lab-grown meat and the possible implications of this new technology. An infographic and video are included that add significantly to the content. |
| In a Grain of Golden Rice, A World of Controversy Over GMO Foods | This informational text resource is intended to support reading in the content area. This text discusses the origins of, and controversy surrounding, Golden Rice, a genetically modified food that could potentially provide beta-carotene to millions in Africa and Asia. |
| Fancy a Balloon Ride to the Stratosphere? | The text's grade band recommendation is based on a text complexity analysis of a quantitative measure, qualitative rubric, and reader and task considerations. |
