Problem Based Learning Rubric

Teaching and Learning Events	Exemplary "4" Criteria
(1) Learning Experience Design	Ø Description of situation Ø Characteristics of learners Ø Intended learner outcomes Ø Coach's role Ø Learner's role	Ø About half a million Mozambicans are in need of food aid. About 515,000 people in poor households in 43 districts of the southern and central regions of Mozambique are facing severe food insecurity due to drought-devastated agricultural production and exhaustion of their coping abilities over the last four years. Ø The learners are sixth grade learners at Greenbrier Middle School. Most live in middle- to upper-socioeconomic environments. They thrive on opportunities to assert themselves and work collaboratively with others in a learning environment. Ø Learners will develop a sense of global awareness and compassion for others. Learners will be problem-solvers and discover what it means to reach out and help others. Ø The coach’s role is to facilitate learning and mediate the research process through the use of technology and other resources. Ø The learner’s role is to actively participate in the process of researching Mozambique—its culture, its people, and its land. Learners will work together collaboratively to gather and analyze data. Learners will construct and evaluate possible solutions to the problem in Mozambique.
(2) Mind Mapping	Ø Problem situation Ø Content Connections Ø Skills (e.g. problem solving, data gathering, question formulation, reasoning, evaluating) Ø Identification of Stakeholders Ø Impact on society	Ø In Mozambique, the malnutrition rate are high, the mortality rates are elevated, due to malaria; diarrhea and HIV/AIDS are an alarming trend. What can we do to aid in lowering these malnutrition, mortality, and illness rates? Ø Learners will understand that decimals impact their lives in a variety of ways, the role of place value of whole numbers and decimals, and different algorithms for arithmetic computations and operations with decimals. Learners will differentiate between events when an exact answer is required and when an approximation is appropriate. Ø Learners will be able to use critical thinking and problem solving skills. Learners will develop global awareness and compassion for others. Learners will learn to gather information, formulate questions and evaluate their findings. Ø Learners, coaches, parents, Mozambicans, supporters, and the community are all stakeholders. Ø The impact on the Mozambican society will be tremendous. Students’ compassion will affect those around them and their society.
(3) Preparing the Learners	Ø Team building Ø Critical thinking activities Ø Simulations	Ø “Find the Numbers” game—students must learn to work together to complete the game successfully. Ø Discuss local food aid programs such as the Golden Harvest Food Bank, the soup kitchens, etc. Watch a video displaying the effects of hunger and what happens when a community is unable to provide for itself. Ø Hold a mock dinner where some students are given a full meal, some are merely given rice, and others are given nothing. Students who are willing to share their food will find the food they give away is immediately replaced. Students should find that there is enough food for everyone, but someone has to make that first step in helping.
(4) Meeting the Problem	Ø Developing a personal, authentic stake by role playing engineers, consultants and concerned citizens Ø Providing an authentic letter or document Ø Enlisting someone asking for help Ø Video clips, newspaper articles, and public notices	Ø Students will conduct a hunger experiment. They will see how long they can/will go without eating (within a given time span). Possibly take pledges to begin the funding of the project. Ø Students will receive a letter from a child in Mozambique begging for their help. Ø A Mozambique speaker will come to the class and share information with the students and request their help. Ø Display articles from various sources showing the desperate situation in Mozambique.
(5) Identifying what we know, what we need to know, and our ideas	Ø Coach learners to probe what learners know Ø Explore issues the learners believe are critical to finding out more about the problem Ø Structure and construct information gathering events (research, interviews, surveys)	Ø Have a class discussion of what students know about the Mozambique situation. Ask them how they feel about being hungry. Encourage them to think about the lack of clean water and/or food sources. Ø Make a chart with headings of “What We Know Now”, “What We Need to Know”, and “Ideas for Solutions of Problem”. Ø In groups, students will begin using the Mozambique WebQuest to research for information. Students will gather, critique, analyze, and evaluate data. Students will discuss various avenues for finding assorted information.
(6) Defining the Problem Statement	Ø Pulls together the problem and the conditions within which it must be solved Ø Revisited as information changes learner understanding Ø Document hunches about potential causes, solutions, and consequences	Ø Given a specific timeline by which they must solve the problem, students will work together and begin creating a problem map. Students will continue working with the WebQuest to guide them through the process. Ø Students will continue to research based on their field of study and continuously add to their problem maps as they find new, pertinent information. Ø Groups will formulate questions to be solved in the format of “How can we…in such a way that…”. Students will discuss possible causes and ways to prevent these causes. Students will discuss both solutions AND the consequences of their “possible” solutions.
(7) Gathering and Sharing information	Ø Design activities for information sharing (e.g. jigsaws, newscasts, presentations) Ø Coach learners to eliminate extraneous information and focus on pertinent information Ø Design learner self and peer assessment	Ø Groups will present information they have gathered thus far to the other groups. Groups will provide feedback and ask questions they feel need to be answered about the presenting group’s particular field of study. Ø Groups will evaluate their problem maps and the information they have gathered to rule out anything that is not helpful in solving the problem. Ø Students will keep journals as cited on the WebQuest. There will be six journal entries to be completed. Coaches and learners will collaborate on the creation of learner self and peer assessment forms.
(8) Generating Possible Solutions	Ø Provide opportunities for learners to articulate a full range of possibilities Ø Forum for recommending solutions Ø Generate a decision making matrix	Ø Groups will present the information gathered to the class. Other groups will discuss possibilities of information presented and the feasibility of the plan for each group. Ø Once information has been shared, students will have a class forum to recommend solutions. Solutions will be documented for use in the next step. Ø As a group, students will generate a decision-making matrix based on the solutions provided above. Students will discuss pros, cons, and consequences/barriers for all possible solutions.
(9) Determining the Best Fit of Solutions	Ø Use the benchmarks of good thinking to evaluate the benefits and consequences of each solution Ø Consider which solutions get the learners closer to their idealized solution	Ø Students will use good thinking skills to analyze and evaluate each strategy. Students will narrow the list to 3 key strategies. Ø Students will discuss the remaining 3 strategies and choose 1 particular strategy as the final one to implement. Students will consider feasibility of the strategies in making their final decision.
(10) Presenting the Solution (Performance Assessment)	Ø Outside experts serving on a panel Ø Use of a rubric for assessment of content, presentation skills, teamwork, and fit of solution	Ø Groups will present their findings to a panel of experts consisting of a travel agent, a grocer, a representative from Mozambique (or knowledgeable American), a hunger specialist, and a fund-raising expert. Panel members will question each group and students must be able to provide accurate and relevant responses. Ø Students will be evaluated based on the rubrics given in the WebQuest.
(11) Debriefing the problem	Ø Review of effectiveness of strategies Ø Discussion of unresolved issues open to further investigation Ø Realistic impact of recommended solutions	Ø Students will discuss the effectiveness of the strategies chosen and possibilities for actual implementation of their aid relief plan. Ø Students will discuss possible factors that were not considered or are still unresolved. Students will generate avenues for resolving the “loose ends”. Ø Students will discuss actual implementation of the plan. Students will discuss avenues for aid relief in their own communities.

Adapted from: Torp, L. and Sage, S. (1998). Problems as Possibilities. Alexandria, Virginia: ASCD