Research+and+Analysis

=**Crisis in the Watershed: Research and Analysis**=


 * Step 1: Understanding the watershed **

Did you know that “n o matter where you are, you are sitting, standing, or walking in a watershed”? It’s true! According to Smithsonian Environmental Research Center: “A watershed is an area of land that captures water in any form, such as rain, snow, or dew, and drains it to a particular stream, river, or lake. All land is part of the watershed for some creek, stream, river or lake.”Watersheds are both large and small, and they are more important than you may initially think. Why? Your watershed is important because it “is more than just an area of land that drains into a particular body of water. Your watershed “is also the ecological home of people, plants and animals.” Understanding what a watershed is, in general, constitutes your **first task**.

**Links and resources:** **Project links** 1) This document, "Crisis in the Watershed: Research and Analysis" can be found at: http://crisisinthewatershed.wikispaces.com/Research+and+Analysis  2) "Crisis in the Watershed: Steps Summary" can be found at: http://crisisinthewatershed.wikispaces.com/Crisis+in+the+Watershed-Steps+Summary 3) Exchanges with your international partners will use the "Crisis in the Watershed Wikispace" at: http://crisisinthewatershed.wikispaces.com/

**Resource websites** 1) SERC – It's all in the watershed: http://serc.si.edu/education/resources/watershed/ 2) Watershed Atlas: http://www.watershedatlas.org 3) Know your watershed: http://www.ctic.purdue.edu/Know%20Your%20Watershed/What%20is%20a%20Watershed?/ 4) Center for watershed protection: http://www.cwp.org/ 5) Wikipedia-Drainage Basin: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drainage_basin 6) EPA-Watershed central: http://water.epa.gov/type/watersheds/datait/watershedcentral/index.cfm 7) West Virginia DEP – organizing watershed partnerships: http://water.epa.gov/type/watersheds/datait/watershedcentral/index.cfm

When we have identified our watershed, we will create a short video clip with pictures of our watershed and audio identifying the watershed and share them with our collaborating classrooms around the globe. We will then create an introductory video for our wikispace entitled “Do you know your watershed?” The video may intrigue other classes to join in our exploration of our watersheds and the ways we can protect them.


 * Step 2: Researching your watershed **

In short, a watershed impacts every living entity. Humans impact our watersheds. How? Discovering the answer to “how” and “why” will be your **second task**. Key questions to ask during this assignment will be: In short, we will use the scientific method to discover where our watershed is, how we impact our watershed, and what we can do to protect it. As part of our research, we will seek help from an expert who can teach us how to analyze water samples from our nearby water source and truly discover what is in our water, not just what resources tell us. Students’ research work will be evaluated on the following rubric:
 * Where is my watershed?
 * How does a watershed impact every living entity in its ecological home?
 * How do humans impact the watershed?
 * How can humans protect their watershed and the species that live in it?
 * || ** Exemplary ** || ** Proficient ** || ** Adequate ** || ** Not Yet ** ||
 * ** Contributions ** || Routinely provides useful ideas when participating in the group and in classroom discussion. A definite leader who contributes a lot of effort. || Usually provides useful ideas when participating in the group and in classroom discussion. A strong group member who tries hard! || Sometimes provides useful ideas when participating in the group and in classroom discussion. A satisfactory group member who does what is required. || Rarely provides useful ideas when participating in the group and in classroom discussion. May refuse to participate. ||
 * ** Quality of Work ** || Provides work of the highest quality. || Provides high quality work. || Provides work that occasionally needs to be checked/redone by other group members to ensure quality. || Provides work that usually needs to be checked/redone by others to ensure quality. ||
 * ** Time-management ** || Routinely uses time well throughout the project to ensure things get done on time. Group does not have to adjust deadlines or work responsibilities because of this person\'s procrastination. || Usually uses time well throughout the project, but may have procrastinated on one thing. Group does not have to adjust deadlines or work responsibilities because of this person\'s procrastination. || Tends to procrastinate, but always gets things done by the deadlines. Group does not have to adjust deadlines or work responsibilities because of this person\'s procrastination. || Rarely gets things done by the deadlines AND group has to adjust deadlines or work responsibilities because of this person\'s inadequate time management. ||


 * Step 3: Presenting your watershed **

Once we have conducted research, your **third task** will be to work in groups to create a report that educates others on the answers to these questions. Your report will be shared with other students from around the globe; therefore, you will need to consider how best to teach someone unfamiliar with your home. Remember to include any pictures, graphs, charts, or other visual aids that will help your reader understand. Additionally, be sure to document your report and give credit to the sources you use in it. You may choose how you convey the information – a magazine article, a multimedia presentation, or any other medium that you feel can appropriately educate your audience about your subject. Remember, your audience will be other students; you will want to ensure the presentation is interesting and appeals to students younger and older than you. The rubric for your report is as follows:
 * || **Exemplary**  ||  **Proficient**  ||  **Adequate**  ||  **Not Yet**  ||
 * **Expository: Informative Report** || Report presents a cohesive (unified and complete) and coherent (clear and logical) informative report, sufficient in length, based on content gathered from a sufficient number of reliable resources for the selected topic.

Report flows with all ideas connected so that the reader can easily follow the writer’s points from beginning to end.

All borrowed content is correctly attributed.

Additional revisions may minimally improve some aspects of the report. || Report presents a cohesive (unified and complete) and coherent (clear and logical) informative report, sufficient in length, based on content gathered from a sufficient number of reliable resources for the selected topic. Report flows with all ideas connected so that the reader can easily follow the writer’s points from beginning to end.

Report features examples of content copied directly from sources or only minimally changed without correct punctuation or attribution.

Additional development or revision may increase the report’s accuracy in attribution or restructure passages with more of the author’s own words. || Report presents a cohesive (unified and complete) and coherent (clear and logical) informative report, sufficient in length, based on content gathered from a sufficient number of reliable resources for the selected topic. Report reads like a list of facts. Writing lacks flow and connections between ideas,

AND/OR

Report features examples of content copied directly from sources or only minimally changed without correct punctuation or attribution.

Additional development or revision could significantly improve the report’s flow and accuracy in attribution. || Report fails to present a cohesive (unified and complete) and coherent (clear and logical) informative report, sufficient in length for the selected topic,

AND/OR

Lacks material based on content gathered from a sufficient number of reliable sources for the selected topic.

Additional development or revision could significantly improve the report’s content and/or credibility (i.e., reference more sources). ||

Once our reports are complete and ready for publication, we will upload them to the Crisis in the Watershed Wikispace (http://crisisinthewatershed.wikispaces.com/) to share with other students around the world.


 * Step 4: Analyzing the watersheds of your international partners **

Our **fourth task**, then, will be to explore the reports from around the globe. We will analyze the reports from other students, determine the similarities and differences between our watershed issues and others, and ask questions where necessary. Once we feel we fully understand the issues, we will identify the situations and/or problems that are common to all areas and think critically about collaborative solutions to the common issues. We will also propose solutions for our global friends on how they can protect their watershed. All of our collaboration can be conducted on the wikispace through the discussion pages. Our collaborative work in the third task will help us better prepare for our work in the fourth task of creating a media campaign to educate others about the watershed problems. Students’ collaborative work with students from other countries will be evaluated based upon the following rubric:


 * || ** Exemplary ** || ** Proficient ** || ** Adequate ** || ** Not Yet ** ||
 * **Brainstorming - Solutions** || Students identify more than 4 reasonable, insightful possible solutions/strategies to encourage change. || Students identify at least 4 reasonable, insightful possible solutions/strategies to encourage change. || Students identify at least 3 reasonable, insightful possible solutions/strategies to encourage change. || Students identify fewer than 3 reasonable, insightful possible solutions/strategies to encourage change. ||
 * ** Problem-solving ** || Actively looks for and suggests solutions to problems. || Refines solutions suggested by others. || Does not suggest or refine solutions, but is willing to try out solutions suggested by others. || Does not try to solve problems or help others solve problems. Lets others do the work. ||
 * ** Pride ** || Work reflects this student\'s best efforts. || Work reflects a strong effort from this student. || Work reflects some effort from this student. || Work reflects very little effort on the part of this student. ||


 * Step 5: Creating a media campaign **

With feedback and suggestions from others, we will then move into our **fifth task** – the “Crisis in the Watershed Campaign”. Students will work together to create a media campaign that educates their community regarding the issues surrounding their local watershed. Within the fifth task, we will have many stages to complete:

i. Arrange for your TV or radio ad to run on a local station ii. Distribute the brochures and merchandising iii. Create a social media campaign to get people to visit your website
 * 1) The class should work together to create a media campaign aimed at raising awareness of the need to care for our watersheds. The class should think of different strategies for different audiences: children, young adults, adults, and the public in general. The class can then break into groups for each segment of the population to work on the specific campaign for their chosen audience.
 * 2) The class should collaborate to design different elements for the media campaign:
 * 3) Merchandising & logos (key chains, bracelets, visors, shirts, etc.)
 * 4) Brochures
 * 5) Banners/billboards used for advertising
 * 6) Radio and TV commercials
 * 7) Website
 * 8) The class will then compile all of elements of their media campaign and if groups have similar products or components of the campaign, the teacher will select the strongest pieces of the campaign.
 * 9) The class will then launch the media campaign. To effectively launch the campaign, the class will need to accomplish the following:
 * 10) Determine a period of time for the media campaign
 * 11) Create a plan of distribution of the different elements of the media campaign; for example:

5. Once the media campaign is complete, we will conduct research on the effectiveness of our media campaign.

Media campaigns will be evaluated based upon the following rubric:
 * || ** Exemplary ** || ** Proficient ** || ** Adequate ** || ** Not Yet ** ||
 * ** Problems ** || Students identify more than 4 reasonable, insightful barriers/problems that need to change. || Students identify at least 4 reasonable, insightful barriers/problems that need to change. || Students identify at least 3 reasonable, insightful barriers/problems that need to change. || Students identify fewer than 3 reasonable, insightful barriers/problems that need to change. ||
 * ** Solutions ** || Students identify more than 4 reasonable, insightful possible solutions/strategies to encourage change. || Students identify at least 4 reasonable, insightful possible solutions/strategies to encourage change. || Students identify at least 3 reasonable, insightful possible solutions/strategies to encourage change. || Students identify fewer than 3 reasonable, insightful possible solutions/strategies to encourage change. ||
 * ** Research/Statistical Data ** || Students include 4 or more high-quality examples or pieces of data to support their campaign. || Students include at least 3 high-quality examples or pieces of data to support their campaign. || Students include at least 2 high-quality examples or pieces of data to support their campaign. || Students include fewer than 2 high-quality examples or pieces of data to support their campaign. ||
 * ** Campaign/Product ** || Students create an original, accurate and interesting product that adequately addresses the issue. || Students create an accurate product that adequately addresses the issue. || Students create an accurate product but it does not adequately address the issue. || The product is not accurate ||
 * **Impact** || Students create a media campaign that educates their audience and prompts change in their community. || Students create a media campaign that educates their audience and prompts discussion in their community. || Students create a media campaign that minimally educates their audience. || The media campaign fails to educate their audience. ||