PROJECT DESIGN: OVERVIEW
Name of Project: Eco-Cinemas
Subject/Course:
Biology
Other subject areas to be included, if any:
Key Knowledge
and Understanding
(CCSS, NGSS or
other standards)
Success Skills (to be
taught and assessed)
Project Summary
(include student role,
issue, problem or
challenge, action
taken, and
purpose/beneficiary)
GTCH 3103 Project-Based Learning
Duration: 90 mins, 10:30 am-12:00 pm
Teacher(s): Mia Chu Grade Level: 9th-grade
Mr. Vrooman, *Mr. B
HS-LS2-7.
Design, evaluate, and refine a solution for reducing the impacts of human activities on the environment
and biodiversity. Clarification Statement: Examples of human activities can include urbanization, building
dams, and the dissemination of invasive species.
HS-LS4-6.
Create or revise a simulation to test a solution to mitigate adverse impacts of human activity on
biodiversity.
13 HS-ETS1-3.
Evaluate a solution to a complex real-world problem based on prioritized criteria and trade-offs that
account for a range of constraints, including cost, safety, reliability, and aesthetics, as well as possible
social, cultural, and environmental impacts.
HS-ETS1-4. Use a computer simulation to model the impact of proposed solutions to a complex
real-world problem with numerous criteria and constraints on interactions within and between systems
relevant to the problem. Big Idea: Students will be able to evaluate the impact of human behaviors on the
ecosystem in order to develop a plan for how to minimize the impacts of these behaviors
- Digital Fluency
- Research Skills
- Content Understanding
- HIPPO
- Evaluation Methods
- Constructive feedback
Project Outline WS
This linked document above is the worksheet given out to students. It includes the project description and
expectations of what each component of the project will include.
In this scenario, the students are put into groups of 3-4 and are tasked to form a production company.
Student groups will create a production company name as a result.
Classics like Wall-E and The Lorax display two different universes where humans result in the
degradation of the environment. These movies sparked conversation regarding human impact on the
environment. This is the goal!
Each production company will have to create a movie plot based on some type of environmental issue as
the main conflict. However, in each, there is seemingly always a solution.
Students will pinpoint an environmental issue of their choosing (based on independent research). They
will then create a paragraph synopsis. This synopsis will need a clear cause (a specific human activity that
has a negative impact), effect (The issue/the ecological concept/organism(s) that are affected), and a
solution! Every movie should have a happy ending and there should be some positivity.
Students will pitch the movie to stakeholders (Teacher and Community Engagement) based on how
realistic and feasible their solution would be. Create a hero’s story with a happy ending!
Components:
- The Write-Up
- Synopsis: the introduction of the environmental issue highlighted in the movie, the
1 of 19
 cause of this issue or the human activity, and the solution/happy ending
- Description and Justification of the Solution
- The Visual
- 6-panel storyboard or 8”x11” movie poster
- Film Festival Presentation

Project Driving How do human activities impact the environment? What can humans do to reduce their impact?
Question

Entry Event Hook:

(PBL launch) - Discussion regarding movies about an environmental decline from human activity
- Students will answer basic plot questions about the classic Pixar and Disney movie
Wall-E
- They will analyze the plots of various movies

Final Product(s) Individual: Specific content and competencies to be assessed:

- D1 Movie WS - Reading population graphs
- Research Worksheets - Understand the different ways humans impact
- D6 Feedback Worksheet the environment and how the nutrient cycles are
affected

Team: Specific content and competencies to be assessed:

- paragraph synopsis - How human activities can eventually lead to
- solution justification negative impacts on the environment
- 8” x 11” movie poster - Biodiversity
drawing/storyboard - How interactions and structures in an ecosystem
- ​Film Festival Presentation can be effect by human activities

Community The GW Humanitarian Mapping Society (HMS), a student organization, holds at least one Mapathon each
Engagement semester to contribute to international aid efforts. Using open-source mapping software, the society works
with partners including the Red Cross and the United States Agency for International Development
(USAID) to map areas that are identified as at risk for or have recently experienced disasters caused by
climate change and other environmental issues.

An e-board member (Levi Uy) of this club will come in and discuss ecological concepts like land use.
Levi specialized in sustainability and GIS. The key highlight of this community engagement is the
creation of a final visual product.
These are the following steps that the community engagement will model:
- Identify a problem/define purpose
- What are you trying to communicate
- Geographic extent
- How much area are you analyzing
- Audience
- Where is this map going to be published, who is going to be seen by?
- Data availability
- You can find free data by googling
- Most US states have their own open source data portal that you can retrieve data
specific to each state
- Organizations like the CDC or NOAA
- National oceanic atmospheric administration
- Or open street map

This expert will also evaluate the effectiveness of the student’s justification and movie summary.

Making Product(s) These products will be made public through a website!

Public
(include how the The website will be framed about a film festival.
products will be made The class will be able to determine the name of the film festival and the domain of the website!
public and who - Scinematography

GTCH 3103 Project-Based Learning 2 of 19

 students will engage - https://scinematography.weebly.com/
with during/at end of
project)

Resources Needed On-site people, classroom:

- Expert

Equipment/Technology:
- Wifi
- Youtube
- Phone/tablet/computer for each student

Materials:
- Project Outline WS
- D1 Movie WS
- D2 Research WS
- D4 Eco-Cinemas Helpful Guidelines!
- D4 Feedback WS
- D5 Case Study WS
- D6 Film Festival Reflection WS
- Eco Cinemas: Project Rubric

Community Resources:
- Day 3 HMS Day
- The community members slides and visuals

Reflection Methods - Sel-Evaluation WS

(how individual, team, - Rubrics
and/or whole class - Synopsis
will reflect during/at - Justification
end of project) - Storyboard
- Film Festival Reflection Feedback

Notes: https://drawdown.org/

PROJECT DESIGN: STUDENT LEARNING GUIDE

Project: Eco-Cinemas
Driving Question: How do human activities impact the environment? What can humans do to reduce their impact?

Final Learning Outcomes/Targets Checkpoints/Formative Instructional Strategies for All

Product(s) knowledge, understanding & Assessments Learners
Presentations, success skills needed to check for learning and ensure provided by teacher, other staff,
Performances, by students to successfully students are on track experts; includes scaffolds, materials,
Products and/or complete products lessons aligned to learning outcomes
Services and formative assessments

Movie:
Writing - Creation, Reasoning, - Intro Research Worksheet - Given a list of Research Ideas
- Synopsis Evaluation of a proposal - Quiz for Day 2 Research Activity
-
GTCH 3103 Project-Based Learning 3 of 19
 - Solution - Research Ability - Feedback based on the - Given website resources
Feasibility (Database Literacy) rubric
- Digital Literacy
- Understanding the human
activities that impact the
environment
- Film - HIPPO
Festival - Habitat destruction
Presentat - deforestation
ion - Invasive species
- import+export
- Pollution
- fossil fuels
- Population
- limited
resources
- Overharvesting
- agriculture
- food industry
- Undersatnding the larger
idea of biodiversity
- Storyboard - Visually explain and - Draft of visual is required
illustrate human impact first!
- Outreach - Rubric
- Be able to predict and
understand the ecological
process behind human
impact

GTCH 3103 Project-Based Learning 4 of 19

*Class Management Tactics:
- Teacher: 1, 2, 3, eyes on me…
- Students: 1, 2, eyes on you

PBL Day 1

Project Driving Question How do human activities impact the environment? What can humans do to reduce their impact?

Daily Goal towards Project - Model what eco-movies are

- Analyze the cause and effect of each movie’s plot
- Look at the solutions/resolution in each movie and how effective/feasible these
plots are
- Introduction of final project

Learning Objective(s) Students will explore how ecological solutions are presented in the entertainment industry
Students will evaluate ecological solutions presented in social media.
Students will define what human activities are impacting the environment.

D1 LP Presentation

Introduction - The teacher will greet students as they arrive into class. Then, the teacher will introduce
themselves and discuss the objectives for today.
3 min - Objectives:
- Explore how ecological solutions are presented in the entertainment
*5-7 mins for announcements industry
- Evaluate ecological solutions presented in social media.
- Define what human activities are impacting the environment.
- The teacher will then go through the daily agenda.

Warm-up - As a warm-up, the teacher will ask the class for a “show-of-hands” regarding who has
seen the movie, Wall-E.
8 min - Teachers will open up the class with questions about Wall-E. These are
based-line discussion questions that are posted on the board so all the students
can follow along at a similar pace.
- What happened in Wall-E?
- Why was this potted plant so important to the movie?
- Students will utilize their prior knowledge and memory of Wall-E to answer
these summative questions about the movie.
- ***If there are not enough students who know the movie, the teacher will then
refer to the movie poster to try to guide the students to guess.
- What are some things you see in the visual?
- Where is the movie seemingly taking place based on this image?

- Important concepts that could possibly be discussed:

- Population growth
- Habitat destruction
- Pollution: garbage and waste

Lorax and Discussion Student will watch two clips from the Lorax (2012)
- One will be displaying the beginning of the movie where the conflict and cause were
15 min defined: The man had already destroyed all the trees and kicked out the Lorax and his
friends.
- “The Lorax - The Last Tree Falls”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6COmPgYOdA
- The second clip captures the solution which is when the community unites to plant the
very first tree in generations.
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqvD4NC-s9E

GTCH 3103 Project-Based Learning 5 of 19

 After watching the clips, the teacher will ask the students to present their observations based on
questions that will be on the board.
- What did you think?
- What did you notice?
- What did you like or dislike?
- What confuses you?
- What questions do you still have?
- What cause and effect did you witness?
- What ecological concepts are present?
- Would this really happen in real life?
- Is this currently happening?

Students will discuss the question in their tables of 4 for 5 minutes. The teacher will then
moderate an in-class discussion based on the two clips. The teacher will guide this
student-centered and culturally-relevant discussion about Wall-E. Mostly, the students will
hopefully answer the questions regarding cause and effect. The teacher will help form this
framework, asking students…
- What happened in the first clip?
- The animals left (effect)
- Why?
- The factories (cause)
- What happened in the second clip?
- A tree was planted! (solution)

- Important concepts that could possibly be discussed:

- Habitat destruction
- Pollution:
- Air pollution from factories and fossil fuel burning
- Over-harvesting
- Waste from the fashion industry

**This act as introductory scaffolding for the format of their project (cause, effect, solution)

Exploring Eco-Movies - The teacher will then transition to a large discussion of the movies on the board. 7
movie posters will be projected on the board.
15-20 min - Wall-E
- Okja
- Princess Mononoke
- The Lorax
- The Martian
- Snowpiercer
- Avatar
- The teacher engages the students by asking
- These are the movies playing at the theater… Which movies have you seen?

D1 Movie WS
- Students will then work in their tables of 4 to fill out the WS for 5 out of the 7 movies.
- Human Impact/Conflict
- Ecological Effect
- Resolution

**This act as primary scaffolding for the format of their project (cause, effect, solution)

- Students will transition to exploring the concept of reaching an audience with a movie
about ecological concepts.
- Students will have 15 min to fill out the information for 4 movies on the D1 Movie WS
- Cause, effect, solution

Teacher will collect this at the end of the period for completion.

Discussion regarding - Students will discuss the feasibility of these movies

GTCH 3103 Project-Based Learning 6 of 19

 Eco-Movies 15 mins
Concept Brainstorm
- 5-8 mins
Final Project
- “Brainstorm project
ideas” 3min
- Outline 8 mins
Total: 79~ mins
Project Driving Question
Daily Goal towards Project
Learning Objective(s)
Review of Project
Warmup
GTCH 3103 Project-Based Learning
- Providing which movie seems the most realistic to the student
- Teacher will ask: Which movie seems the most realistic to you?
- Students will voluntarily share answers
- If students do not volunteer, a 1min think pair share will be initiated.
- Which movie is the most realistic?
- What makes this solution the most feasible… or effective?
Students will reflect on the plots of the movie and come up with a list of the human activities
that cause the environmental issue in each film.
- ex) Wall-E: waste pollution, Okja: food industry
The teacher will guide student thinking towards the concepts of HIPPO:
- Habitat destruction
- Invasive species
- Pollution
- Population
- Over-harvesting
Teacher will present the project to the class
- Will ask the class… What is the most effective way to reach an audience as a
screenwriter?
- Let’s make a movie!
- Project Outline WS
- Teacher hands out the Project Outline WS and have everyone's attention
- Establishes expectations
Teacher will give the students the option to….
- Make your own groups?
- Randomly pull sticks to select teams of 3 or 4 for the project.
- These groups will be established by the end of the period and written on a piece of
paper to be handed in to the teacher.
*Extra time in case students have misconceptions/issues/are distracted
PBL Day 2
How do human activities impact the environment? What can humans do to reduce their impact?
Research day!
- Students will explore a variety of ways humans impact the environment
Students will evaluate ecological solutions presented in social media.
Students will define what human activities are impacting the environment.
Students will explain how biodiversity and ecological concepts are affected as a result of human
behavior.
Students will reflect on their own carbon footprint and consider larger philosophical concepts
while doing so.
D2 LP Presentation
The teacher will greet students as they arrive into class. The teacher will then prompt the
students to take out the Project Outline WS. The teacher will repeat the project expectations and
- Then, the teacher will introduce themselves and discuss the objectives for today.
- Objectives:
- Evaluate ecological solutions presented in social media.
7 of 19
 10 mins - Explain how biodiversity and ecological processes are affected as a
result of human behavior.
- Reflect on their own carbon footprint
- The teacher will then go through the daily agenda.

- Warmup
- Conversation regarding carbon footprint
- What is a carbon footprint?
- What do you think your carbon footprint looks like? Why?
- The students will first discuss the questions at their tables of 4. The teacher
will give them 3 mins to do so and walk around to make sure students are
being engaged. If not, the teacher will join the table’s conversation passively
and try to increase equal engagement.
- The teacher will call on tables rather than individuals to share their answers. This is a
tactic to increase student engagement and comfort. Gives space for students to advocate
for themselves and possibly step up.

Brainstorm: Carbon Teacher will put this question on the board: What are things you can do to reduce how YOU
Footprint impact the environment personally and locally?
7 mins - This will be held as a casual discussion, where students will raise their hands to
contribute to the growing list of ideas.
- Teacher will record student responses on the board. This allows most students to follow
along with what ideas have already been generated. This style of live-recording student
responses on the board allows the students to actively evolve their thinking and helps
create inclusive and equitable learning opportunities for all students to engage and
follow along with the activity.

Carbon footprint exploration Website exploration: 12 mins

- The teacher will show the students that there is a way to calculate a carbon footprint!
21 mins Students will use this website https://www.footprintcalculator.org/ in order to do so.
- The teacher will walk around as students are filling out the survey, answering any
questions they may have about the survey and extra features on the website.

Philosophical discussion: 9 mins

- What types of things make up your carbon footprint?
- Students will base their responses on the website questions.
- The teacher will record student responses on the board. This allows most
students to follow along with what ideas have already been generated. This
style of live-recording student responses on the board allows the students to
actively evolve their thinking and helps create inclusive and equitable learning
opportunities for all students to engage and follow along with the activity.

- Students will be asked who would hypothetically occupy the greatest amount of
“Earths” based on the website.

- Teacher will then guide the discussion toward a philosophical route. This engages with
the ethical reasoning requirements that are included in the standards.
- The question -Will changing your behavior make a difference?- will be on the
board
- In other words, does implementing personal solutions and changes to
one’s personal routine make an actual difference.

Research activity D2 Research WS

- Research Day
20-25 mins - The teacher will continue creating a dynamic learning environment for the
student by integrating a research day (variety of environments).
- The teacher will hand out the research worksheet to the students, then do a
count-off so that each student in a production/project group is in a different
group. Students will work in groups of 4 to research and fill out the WS.
- Topics: (Topics can change based on student interests)
- Climate Change on Pollinators

GTCH 3103 Project-Based Learning 8 of 19

 - Ocean Acidification
- The Meat Industry
- Microplastics in the Ocean
- Spotted lantern fly
- Japan’s population growth
- The Great Barrier Reef

- Teacher will correlate the count-off with the topics and give each group a topic. The
student will fill out the worksheet based on the given topic.

Share the Knowledge!… D2 Research WS

8 mins After 25 minutes, the student should have completed their worksheets. The students will then
return back to their original seats and project groups. They will then conduct a sharing activity,
where each of them has to discuss what they learned from their research and what they put on
the worksheet. This allows for each project group to be exposed to different environmental
topics before choosing a subject matter for their project. After everyone has shared, raise your
hand and the teacher will allow you guys to work on the next part.

The teacher will display this rubric in the front of the classroom

- The teacher will provide students with a summary of the expectations outlined in the
rubric. The teacher will also ask the students what they think should be added to the
worksheet. The teacher will take notes based on student feedback.
- The teacher will guide students to add these two main features:
- Creativity
- Originality

Introduction of HIPPO and The teacher will end the previous activity by asking the students what topics they found the most
Final project begins: Work interesting topic was.
time - The teacher will introduce HIPPO as a way to remember the human activities that
10-15 mins impact the environment.

Meet up with your fellow screenwriters!

- Beginning research what human impact you would like to look into for the project

Report back to Ms. Chu with a project idea by the end of the day!
- This is for check-in purposes only to see if the students actually have been putting
thought into what they want to do.
- Do some research and begin synopsis writing before the break!
- Movie poster or story panel?
- Groups will start to define characters, plot, etc
- This will allow students to become more engaged with the writing and begin writing
the synopsis of their movie.

Total: 78~ mins

PBL Day 3

GTCH 3103 Project-Based Learning 9 of 19

 Project Driving Question How do human activities impact the environment? What can humans do to reduce their impact?

Daily Goal towards Project Ethical and moral development to consider during the conservation effort
Community engagement with HMS

Learning Objective(s) Students will…

- Explore what human activities result in an ecological decrease in biodiversity
- Justify the cultural, moral, and feasible components and aspects of a conservation
solution.

D3 LP Presentation

Warm-up The teacher will greet students as they arrive into class.

10-15 mins The teacher will then introduce the warm-up. This is the Last Person Standing scenario. Imagine
that the entire human race was extinct except for one Last Person. They have the ability and
desire to destroy the natural environment. No other humans are alive to endure the consequences
of his actions. The Last People will not suffer either. Would it still be morally wrong for them to
destroy the environment?
- The teacher will read out the prompt and have students discuss it in table groups.
- Originally the Last Man Standing activity, the point of this practice is for the students to
discern that it is morally unethical to destroy the environment.

- Then, the teacher will discuss the objectives for today.

- Objectives:
- Explore what human activities result in an ecological decrease in
biodiversity
- Justify the cultural, moral, and feasible components and aspects of a
conservation solution.

The teacher will then go through the daily agenda.

The teacher will then conduct a conversation framed around ethical and moral reasoning through
a conversation about Spider-man
- Who is this superhero?
- What’s the famous line that he got from his uncle?
- How can this relate back to human impact?

Philosophical, ethical, and moral understanding of how and why humans impact the
environment.
- With great power comes great responsibility!

HIPPO Teacher will refresh the students' memory on HIPPO

2 mins - Habitat destruction
- Invasive species
- Pollution
- Population
- Over-harvesting

***The teacher will make it a habit to ask the students what the letter in HIPPO means.

Community Engagement: The teacher will introduce a guest speaker today. The community members will introduce
Humanitarian Mapping themselves and the GW Chapter of the Humanitarian Mapping Society’s mission.
13 mins - Opportunity for students to hear about Mapathon and major/minor interests.

PBLGTCH: HMS Guest Script

- The guest speaker will then talk about their own products: maps
- The steps to making a map should be connected to the creation of the student’s
movie visual.

GTCH 3103 Project-Based Learning 10 of 19

 - How to make a map
- Identify a problem/define purpose
- What are you trying to communicate
- Geographic extent
- How much area are you analyzing
- Audience
- Where is this map going to be published, who is going to be seen by?
- Data availability
- You can find free data by googling
- Most US states have their own open source data portal that you can
retrieve data specific to each state
- Organizations like the CDC or NOAA
- National oceanic atmospheric administration
- Or open street map

The speaker will also discuss the moral and ethical understanding that comings with mapping
- Institutional biases and prejudices
- Will emphasis the importance of HMS, as a provider of primary sources

Discussion Questions:
- How are maps important to the effort of ecological conservation?
- ***This is connected to the guest speaker’s presentation.

Mapping Human Activity The teacher will then ask if the class has any questions
15 min
The teacher will then lead the next portions of the class
take back the
- Make 2 observations about this map! Share with your group and be prepared to share
out loud.
- How do you think human activity and architecture contribute to this environmental
issue?

Map Website Exploration

6 min of free exploration

10 mins of discussion.

https://www.biointeractive.org/classroom-resources/anthropocene-human-impact-environment

Teacher will let students explore the simulation in pairs. Students will explore and make
observations about the variables. Explains some of the exaggerated natural disasters seen in
movies.

Questions:
- What type of situations can you toggle on the left?
- What are the graphs at the bottom?
- What does each mean?

GTCH 3103 Project-Based Learning 11 of 19

 - What kind of relationship do they have with the health of the environment?
- Direct? Indirect?

Time to work on the project Screenplay work!

- Groups will start researching their solution and begin refining what qualities make a
20 mins good solution

The teacher (and the community member) will walk around and interact with students
- Offer insight
- Guiding questions
- Direction

Mainly, the teacher will go to each group and have them brainstorm 2-3 aspects of a good
solution…
​A solution needs???
- Moral/ethical reasoning
- Implementation
- Feasibility
- Cost and benefit
- At least 3 MLA cited sources

Total: ~81 mins

PBL Day 4

Project Driving Question How do human activities impact the environment? What can humans do to reduce their impact?

Daily Goal towards Project Self-Evaluation day

Learning Objective(s) Students will…

- Evaluate ecological solutions for human impact on the environment
- Analyze and revise your solution based on peer feedback

D4 LP Presentation

10 min The teacher will greet students as they arrive in class. This class was held a week after Day 3
Intro+warmup because of the Thanksgiving break. Thus, the teacher will accommodate the group to class
management by moderating a discussion about “What’s one thing about your Thanksgiving
spread that is unique to your family?”
Objectives:
- Evaluate ecological solutions for human impact on the environment
- Analyze and revise your solution based on peer feedback

Refresher on HIPPO
- The teacher asks each table to give what a letter of HIPPO stands for.

Website Determination Students will help name the website that they will be posting their images and project. The
2 mins teacher will hand out a piece of paper to each student and have them decide what to call the
Website and Film Festival. Each student will submit a title. After th

Self-Evaluation of Solution D4 Eco-Cinemas Helpful Guidelines!

A Guide to Solutions - Ms. Chu
15 mins - Before students can provide feedback to other group, students need to conduct an

GTCH 3103 Project-Based Learning 12 of 19

 evaluative analysis of their own solution using Ms. Chu’s Guide to Solutions! This acts
as a sort of checklist to make sure the students are aware of and possess all the parts of
a whole, good solution.
- Cost
- Safety
- Reliability
- Aesthetics

Feedback Session D4 Feedback WS

15 mins - Once the students are completed with their self-evaluation, the teacher will pivot the
activity to a feedback session.
- Instructions (are posted on the board)
- Elect one person in your team to stay behind at the table and present a brief
summary of your movie and solution.
- Everyone else in the team will move one table down and fill out the feedback
sheet
- I’ll give you around 10-12 mins per group
- We will do this 1-2 times!
- Students will provide…
- A numerical score
- List two things they liked
- List one thing that needs improvement

- Students will rotate once or twice and return to their tables after.

Time to work on Final Project Final Project work time

20-30 min
Introduction of the Film Festival:

Total: 80~ mins

PBL Day 5

Project Driving Question How do human activities impact the environment? What can humans do to reduce their impact?

GTCH 3103 Project-Based Learning 13 of 19

 Daily Goal towards Project Revision days and website refinement

Application of content

Learning Objective(s) Students will…

- Connect how your movie manifests in the real world and the tangible repercussions that
we witness as a result
- Create an effective visual and prepare your festival presentation/movie pitch
And by the end of class, students will submit their final project!

D5 LP Presentation1

10 min intro - The teacher will greet students as they arrive into class. Then, the teacher will introduce
*announcements themselves and discuss the objectives for today.
- Objectives:
- Connect how your movie manifests in the real world and the tangible
repercussions that we witness as a result
- Create an effective visual and prepare your festival
presentation/movie pitch
- The teacher will then go through the daily agenda.

Festival Guidelines
- The teacher will reinforce final project expectations
- Each submitted film needs a write-up of the synopsis, resolution, and a visual
(movie poster or preliminary 6-panel storyboard)
- All Movies will be posted on the festival’s website
scinematography.weebly.com
- Have to be submitted to the Festival Coordinator Ms. Chu by the end of today!
- Festival Presentation:
- Each person should speak for ~1-2 minutes
- Needed:
- Introduction slide (synopsis)
- Real World Relevance slide(s): Case Study (Where the issue is
found in the real world?)
- Why should people care about your movie?
- Solution slide(s) and justification
- Visual Explanation: Describe it to the class. Explain your choices in
design and aesthetics
-

15 min Case Study WS D5 Case Study WS

Instructions (on the board)
- Work with your production team to find a real-life case study that highlights a similar
or the same issue that you depict in your movie!
- Use Google to look into a real-life event or case study that is similar to your
movie plot.
- Provide a summary of the article or journal that you choose and how it relates
to your movie.
- Call Ms. Chu over when you are done and she will give you to the ok to move
on to the next step!
-
-

25-30 mins While students are working on their project, the teacher is walking around providing feedback

GTCH 3103 Project-Based Learning 14 of 19

 visual+presentation work and direction to the students.

Finalize work The final project expectations are projected on the front of the classroom during this time…
- Write-Up: This should include your synopsis, solution, and works cited page (at least 3
MLA cited works)
- Visual: Should depict the cause (human activity), effect (environmental issue), and
solution

10-15 mins Submit Submission Link for Students: “Scinematography Final Words”
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdx1S2LkZiQhylWEvTKMZybReIdbVt7nGfblJ_O
obfj_0dPTw/viewform?usp=share_link

Submission Link for Absent Students:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe_RNRyRxlRrGpX2fUbpVOTIBAPOiLXuaZJfgd
4dil4NbaQWA/viewform?usp=share_link
Each member of the group must submit a google form.

Take 8-10 mins to do this

- Due before next class aka before the film festival

Total: 75 min

PBL Day 6

Project Driving Question How do human activities impact the environment? What can humans do to reduce their impact?

Daily Goal towards Project Final presentations

Learning Objective(s) Today acts as a “treat” day for students for all their hard work.

D6 LP Presentation

Introduction The teacher will greet the class and remind students to submit their final projects to the link.
This will take about 5 minutes.
3 min

*5-7 mins for announcements

Film Festival Intro After 5 minutes, it is the official start of the film festival.
5 mins
The teacher will introduce the festival coordinators or judges: the teacher and the community
engagement member
- 2022 Festival Coordinators

Students will either volunteer or each group will flip a coin to see who determines the order of
presentations.

Presentations D6 Film Festival Reflection WS

Students will fill out a reflection and evaluation for each group on the worksheet
10-15 minutes for each group… - This will be handed in at the end of the class

50-50 mins Festival Guidelines:

- Give the presenting group your respect!
- Production companies will present for a max of ~12 mins.

GTCH 3103 Project-Based Learning 15 of 19

 - Each student will speak at least once.
- Students will take 2-3 mins after the presentation for comments and/or to finish the
worksheet reflection.

Evaluation survey Submission Link for Students: “Scinematography Final Words”

10 mins https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdx1S2LkZiQhylWEvTKMZybReIdbVt7nGfblJ_O
obfj_0dPTw/viewform?usp=share_link

Submission Link for Absent Students:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe_RNRyRxlRrGpX2fUbpVOTIBAPOiLXuaZJfgd
4dil4NbaQWA/viewform?usp=share_link

Closing: 10 mins Final Product: https://scinematography.weebly.com/

Total: 90 mins

GTCH 3103 Project-Based Learning 16 of 19

NSTA Assessment Rubric:
The PBL Unit Project is assessed using the following rubric.
UNIT ASSESSMENT
Candidate aligns the
unit’s summative
assessment with the unit
goals and lessons. The
assessment measures
the full breadth and
depth of the unit.
(NSTA 2d)
UNIT SCIENTIFIC
CONTENT
The candidate’s
scientific content
(knowledge and
practices) of the unit is
very clear and
appropriate,
student-centered, and
culturally-relevant.
Science and
engineering practices,
disciplinary core ideas,
and crosscutting
concepts are embedded
throughout the unit.
(NSTA 2a)
LESSON PLAN
ALIGNMENT
Candidate aligns all of
the unit’s lessons with
the unit goals, builds on
students’ ideas, and
fosters deep conceptual
understanding of the
unit’s target concepts
and standards.
(NSTA 1c)
LESSON PLAN
DESIGN:
INCLUSIVE
PEDAGOGY &
LEARNING
ACTIVITIES
The candidate designs
lessons within the unit
with appropriate
GTCH 3103 Project-Based Learning
NSTA Standards 2020
Standards: Standard 1: Content Knowledge
Key Elements: 1c) Demonstrate knowledge of how to implement science standards, learning
progressions, and sequencing of science content for teaching their licensure level PK-12 students.
Candidate aligns the unit’s Candidate somewhat aligns The candidate’s
summative assessment the unit’s summative summative assessment of
with the unit goals and assessment with the unit the unit does not align
lessons, and assesses the goals and lessons. The full well with the unit goals
breadth and depth of the breadth and depth of the and lessons, and assesses
unit, with full inclusion of unit is not measured in the the materials and
the material and activities. summative assessment and activities
only includes some portion idiosyncratically, or
of the material and covers new ground.
activities.
NSTA Standards 2020
Standards: Standard 2: Content Pedagogy
Key Elements: 2d) Aligning instruction and assessment strategies to support instructional decision
making that identifies and addresses student misunderstandings, prior knowledge, and naïve
conceptions.
The candidate’s scientific The candidate’s scientific The candidate’s scientific
content (knowledge and content (knowledge and content (knowledge and
practices) of the unit is practices) of the unit is practices) of the unit is
very clear and appropriate, mostly clear and not clear or appropriate.
student-centered, and appropriate, at times it is The unit lacks
culturally-relevant. Science student-centered, and has student-centered
and engineering practices, implied cultural-relevance, approaches and has no
disciplinary core ideas, and but is not explicitly clear. cultural-relevance.
crosscutting concepts are Science and engineering Science and engineering
embedded throughout the practices, disciplinary core practices, disciplinary
unit. ideas, and crosscutting core ideas, and
concepts are sprinkled crosscutting concepts are
throughout the unit. missing in the unit.
NSTA Standards 2020
Standards: Standard 2: Content Pedagogy
Key Elements: 2a) Using science standards and a variety of appropriate, student-centered, and
culturally-relevant science disciplinary-based instructional approaches that follow safety procedures
and incorporate science and engineering practices, disciplinary core ideas, and crosscutting concepts.
Candidate aligns all of the Candidate aligns the unit’s Candidate does not align
unit’s lessons with the unit lessons with the unit goals the unit’s lessons with the
goals, builds on students’ with a degree of unit goals, and/or fails to
ideas, and fosters deep inconsistency in building build on students’ ideas,
conceptual understanding on students’ ideas, and and/or fails to foster
of the unit’s target fostering deeper deeper understanding of
concepts and standards. understanding of the unit’s the unit’s target concepts.
target concepts.
NSTA Standards 2020
Standards: Standard 1: Content Knowledge
Key Elements:
1c) Demonstrate knowledge of how to implement science standards, learning progressions, and
sequencing of science content for teaching their licensure level PK-12 students.
The candidate designs The candidate designs The candidate designs
lessons within the unit with lessons within the unit with lessons that rely on a
appropriate learning mostly appropriate learning single instructional
activities and pedagogical activities and pedagogical approach and do not
approaches to create approaches to create create inclusive and
inclusive and equitable inclusive and equitable equitable learning
learning opportunities for learning opportunities for opportunities for students.
all students, as they work most students, as they work
17 of 19
learning activities and toward the larger learning toward the larger learning
pedagogical approaches goals of the unit. goals of the unit.
to create inclusive and NSTA Standards 2020
equitable learning Standards: Standard 3: Learning Environments
Key Elements:
opportunities for all 3a) Plan a variety of lesson plans based on science standards that employ strategies that demonstrate their
students, as they work knowledge and understanding of how to select appropriate teaching and motivating learning activities that
toward the larger foster an inclusive, equitable, and anti-bias environment.
learning goals of the
unit.
NSTA (3a)
LESSON PLAN Candidate plans lessons for Candidate plans lessons Candidate plans lessons
DESIGN: a variety of environments with a modest variety of with no variety of
LEARNING (laboratory, field, environments (laboratory, environments (laboratory,
EXPERIENCES community, etc.) where all field, community, etc.) field, community, etc.)
Candidate plans lessons students have opportunities where all students have OR few students have
for a variety of to engage in the scientific opportunities to engage in opportunities to engage in
environments learning process the scientific learning the scientific learning
(laboratory, field, (investigate, collaborate, process (investigate, process (investigate,
community, etc.) where communicate, etc.). collaborate, communicate, collaborate, communicate,
all students have etc.). etc.).
opportunities to engage NSTA Standards 2020
in the scientific learning Standards: Standard 3: Learning Environments
Key Elements:
process (investigate, 3b) Plan learning experiences for all students in a variety of environments (e.g., the laboratory, field, and
collaborate, community) within their fields of licensure.
communicate, etc.). 3c) Plan lessons in which all students have a variety of opportunities to investigate, collaborate,
NSTA (3b, 3c) communicate, evaluate, learn from mistakes, and defend their own explanations of: scientific phenomena,
observations, and data.
LESSON PLAN The candidate designs The candidate designs The candidate designs
DESIGN: lessons within the unit that lessons within the unit that lessons that rely on a
DIFFERENTIATION are varied in style to allow are mostly similar in style single instructional
The candidate designs for differentiated learning, and allows for minimal approach. Lessons are not
lessons within the unit where all students are differentiation in learning differentiated.
that are varied in style meaningfully engaged in experiences, where some
to allow for applying science practices students are meaningfully
differentiated learning, and developing conceptual engaged in applying
where all students are knowledge. science practices and
meaningfully engaged developing conceptual
in applying science knowledge.
practices and NSTA Standards 2020
developing conceptual Standards: Standard 2: Content Pedagogy
Key Elements:
knowledge. 2b) Incorporating appropriate differentiation strategies, wherein all students develop conceptual knowledge
NSTA (2b) and an understanding of the nature of science. Lessons should engage students in applying science practices,
clarifying relationships, and identifying natural patterns from empirical experiences.
LESSON PLAN The candidate designs The candidate designs The candidate designs
DESIGN: lessons within the unit that lessons within the unit that lessons that do not
ENGINEERING consistently implement implement engineering incorporate engineering
PRACTICES & engineering practices and practices or practices or
TECHNOLOGY science-specific science-specific science-specific
The candidate designs technologies to support the technologies to support the technologies.
lessons within the unit conceptual understanding conceptual understanding
that consistently of science and engineering. of science and engineering.
implement engineering NSTA Standards 2020
practices and Standards: Standard 2: Content Pedagogy
Key Elements:
science-specific 2c) Using engineering practices in support of science learning wherein all students design, construct, test and
technologies to support optimize possible solutions to a problem.
the conceptual 2e) Integrating science-specific technologies to support all students’ conceptual understanding of science and
understanding of engineering.
science and
engineering.
NSTA (2c, 2e)
LESSON PLAN Candidate includes at least Candidate includes at least Candidate includes
ASSESSMENT one formative or one formative or sporadic assessments in

GTCH 3103 Project-Based Learning 18 of 19

Candidate includes at
least one formative or
summative assessment
of student progress
toward the targeted
learning objectives in
each lesson. All of the
assessments in each
lesson assess all
students fairly and
equitably.
NSTA (2d, 3c)
LESSON PLAN
SAFETY
Candidate demonstrates
awareness of safety
issues (supervision,
overcrowding, access to
lab safety equipment,
etc.) and necessary
safety considerations
(i.e. working with living
organisms) as it relates
to lesson plan
development and
implementation. Safety
statements (both
physical safety and
emotional safety)
specific to the activities
of each lesson are
included, to allow for
all students to safely
and meaningfully
engage in the learning
experiences.
NSTA (4a, 4b, 4c)
GTCH 3103 Project-Based Learning
summative assessment of summative assessment of lessons or the assessments
student progress toward the student progress toward the do not gauge student
targeted learning targeted learning objectives progress toward the
objectives in each lesson. in some lessons in the unit. targeted learning
All of the assessments in Some of the assessments objectives. Few or none
each lesson assess all assess all students fairly of the assessments assess
students fairly and and equitably. all students fairly and
equitably. equitably.
NSTA Standards 2020
Standards: Standard 2: Content Pedagogy; Standard 3: Learning Environments
Key Elements:
2d) Aligning instruction and assessment strategies to support instructional decision making that identifies and
addresses student misunderstandings, prior knowledge, and naïve conceptions.
3c) Plan lessons in which all students have a variety of opportunities to investigate, collaborate,
communicate, evaluate, learn from mistakes, and defend their own explanations of: scientific phenomena,
observations, and data.
Candidate demonstrates Candidate demonstrates Candidate doesn’t clearly
awareness of safety issues modest awareness of safety state awareness of safety
(supervision, issues (supervision, issues (supervision,
overcrowding, access to overcrowding, access to lab overcrowding, access to
lab safety equipment, etc.) safety equipment, etc.) or lab safety equipment, etc.)
and necessary safety necessary safety or necessary safety
considerations (i.e. considerations (i.e. working considerations (i.e.
working with living with living organisms) as it working with living
organisms) as it relates to relates to lesson plan organisms) within the
lesson plan development development and lesson plan. Safety
and implementation. Safety implementation. Safety statements (physical
statements (both physical statements (both physical safety or emotional
safety and emotional safety and emotional safety) specific to the
safety) specific to the safety) specific to the activities of each lesson
activities of each lesson are activities of most lessons are not included.
included, to allow for all are included.
students to safely and
meaningfully engage in the
learning experiences.
NSTA Standards 2020
Standards: Standard 4: Safety
Key Elements:
4a) Implement activities appropriate for the abilities of all students that demonstrate safe techniques for the
procurement, preparation, use, storage, dispensing, supervision, and disposal of all
chemicals/materials/equipment used within their fields of licensure.
4b) Demonstrate an ability to: recognize hazardous situations including overcrowding; implement emergency
procedures; maintain safety equipment; provide adequate student instruction and supervision; and follow
policies and procedures that comply with established state and national guidelines, appropriate legal state and
national safety standards (e.g., OSHA, NFPA, EPA), and best professional practices (e.g., NSTA, NSELA).
4c) Demonstrate ethical decision-making with respect to safe and humane treatment of all living organisms in
and out of the classroom, and comply with the legal restrictions and best professional practices on the
collection, care, and use of living organisms as relevant to their fields of licensure.
19 of 19