How can nanotechnology improve and sustain our agricultural community?
General Information on Problem-Based Learning Unit
Types of Students
- High School: 9th- 10th grade Biology students
- Twenty to thirty students per classroom
- Mixed gender students, approximately 50% male and 50% female
- Mixed socioeconomic classes
- A variety of backgrounds and academic levels
Other courses this unit can be used in:
- Advanced Biology
- Agricultural Sciences
- Environmental Sciences
- Zoology
Structure of Unit
The following techniques will be utilized throughout the unit to keep students focused on the driving question :
- Exit tickets will be used as a daily tool to check for students' understanding.
- 3 Goals (pick three for the class period, at the end of the period- which ones did you get to and which ones didn't?)
- Gallery walks are used to guide students and student groups to their overall end product.
- A timeline will be provided to help students to complete the project in a certain time frame.
- Rubrics help communicate the expected competency of the subject matter to students.
This 2-3 week long unit will have a major focus on nano-science and technology. There will be a variety of laboratory experiments and inquiry-based activities to lead them to a better understanding of the content and a meaningful conclusion on how to apply the information to their agricultural community.
This unit will give all students 21st century skills, such as problem solving, critical thinking, collaboration, presentation, public speaking, contacting experts, using the internet efficiently and effectively.
What's the Big Deal?
This unit will allow students to understand the macro-molecules of living things, as well as, investigate the opportunities that nanotechnology can bring to agriculture. Our rural students will be engaged in the research of nanoscience to enhance the community's agricultural production. The students will present their findings and proposals to members of the community.
Justifying Our Driving Question
Our driving question is open-ended to allow students to consider multiple pathways. Some aspects of agriculture could include genetically modified organisms, mass produced farming, testing and controlling quality of soil, and small-scale gardens that contribute to our local farmer's market.
The following are examples of possible questions students can explore in this unit:
The following are examples of possible questions students can explore in this unit:
- How does nanotechnology improve the application of fertilizers on crops?
- What can be done to diminish fertilizer toxicity?
- How can nanotechnology improve/ optimize and sustain the quality of water used on crops?
- How can nanotechnology provide sustainability for crop yields?
- How could nanotechnology prevent the need for crop rotation?
- How could nanotechnology provide the construction of tools for soil monitoring?
- What are ways to increase nutritional value of various foods?
- How could nanotechnology put good fats into junk foods?
- How does the quality of our food differ from the quality of food brought in from other cities?