Problem-Base Learning Lesson Plan
This problem-based learning activity is designed for Journalism I students in high school. The lesson will be the first part of a unit of First Amendments rights, student press law and ethics.
The Problem
Bill Daly is a senior at USA High School. He is the editor of the student newspaper. One of his reporters just came to him with a story about drugs at USA High School. In the story, the reporter implicates several students of drug trafficking and even a parent of a student for supplying illegal drugs for sale. The reporter has four collaborating sources, but they are anonymous.
Bill is on a deadline and has to decide if he should print the story. He has seven days to decide what to do.
Note: The name of the high school should be changed to reflect a High School in your area. This allows students to interview administrators and ask them how they would handle this hypothetical situation.
I. Introduction of the Problem
Hunches and Hypothesis
1. Drugs are a problem at USA High School
2. There are many students buying and selling drugs on campus
3. Many students know where to buy the drugs
II. Learning Issues
1. What is the policy at USA High School- Do they follow precedence set by the Tinker v. Demoines case or the Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier case?
2. Who has managing editor and publisher power at USA High School- Does the advisor or principal have the final say?
3. What does the Student Press Law center say about a case like this?
4. What is the appropriate use of sources- Investigate anonymous and named sources and their validity?
5. Investigate power of the press issues.
6. Investigate journalism ethics and civic responsibility.
7. Investigate the student journalist protection laws.
III. Information Search
A. Interview USA High School journalism advisor and principal.
B. Research Tinker v. Desmoines and Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier.
C. Visit the Student Press Law Center website.
D. Interview a lawyer with past experience in student press law.
E. Research similar cases in Indiana through past newspaper articles.
IV. Inquiry and Investigation
Sources
A. Student Press Law Center - http://www.splc.org/
B. USA High School Journalism Advisor and Principal
C. Student Press Rights
D. National Scholastic Press Association - http://www.studentpress.org/nspa/
V. Organization
1. Critical Thinking Standards – See Worksheet
2. Information and Learning Issues
A. What new learning issues arise? How can they be resolved? Students are presented with a problem (case, research paper, and videotape, for example). Students (in-groups) organize their ideas and previous knowledge related to the problem, and attempt to define the broad nature of the problem.
B. Throughout discussion, students pose questions, called "learning issues," on aspects of the problem that they do not understand. The group records these learning issues. Students are continually encouraged to define what they know - and more importantly - what they don't know.
C. Students rank, in order of importance, the learning issues generated in the session. They decide which questions will be followed up by the whole group, and which issues can be assigned to individuals, who later teach the rest of the group. Students and instructor also discuss what resources will be needed in order to research the learning issues, and where they could be found.
D. When students reconvene, they explore the previous learning issues, integrating their new knowledge into the context of the problem. Students are also encouraged to summarize their knowledge and connect new concepts to old ones. They continue to define new learning issues as they progress through the problem. Students soon see that learning is an ongoing process, and that there will always be (even for the teacher) learning issues to be explored.
3. What hypothesis seems to be the most sound?
A. Print the story
B. Do not print the story
C. Rewrite the story
4. The problem to be resolved is whether or not Bill Daly should print the article as it stands without named sources.
5. Solution Building
A. Students craft solutions in groups ( preferably three or four per group)
B. Solution Criteria – See PBL solution criteria checklist
C. The problem should be resolved through researching student press law, interviews with the school principal and advisor on school policy, and researching precedent cases.
D. The solutions will provide several different opinions on how to resolve the issue based on the information gathered. Possible solutions could be to print the story as it is, to not print the story at all, or to rewrite the story using named sources or a different angle to provide the same or reasonable impact.
6. Ethical issues that may arise
A. Validity of anonymous sources
B. First Amendment rights for the student press
C. Censorship
D. A journalists responsibility to report the news
E. The difference between fact and opinion
F. Credibility of sources
G. Ethical reporting
VI. Debriefing
A. The teacher supports the transfer of learning through content matter
1. Student press rights and responsibilities
2. Libel, invasion of privacy and obscenity
3. Publications policy
B. Students Learn
1. Tinker v. Desmoines (prior review)
2. Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier (student press rights)
3. Viable sources
4. High school press policy
5. Censorship
6. Libel, invasion of privacy and obscenity
D. Alternative Outcome Criteria
1. If the sources were not anonymous
2. If the school policy had been different
3. If the Hazelwood decision did not apply
4. If you were the principal of the school in the scenarioVII.VII. Assessment
Possible Assessment
1. Concept maps - Much of the learning that goes on during problem based learning is more than just a compilation of facts. As such, written examinations may not be an adequate measure of student growth. Requiring students to generate concept maps, in which they depict their knowledge through the creation of identified nodes and links, may present another option to determine their cognitive
2. Peer assessment - Because life outside the classroom usually requires working with others, peer assessment is a viable option to measure student growth. Providing students with an evaluation rubric often helps guide the peer evaluation process. This process also emphasizes the cooperative nature of the PBL environment.
3. Self-assessment - An important element of problem based learning is to help students identify gaps in their knowledge base in order for more meaningful learning to result. Self-assessment allows students to think more carefully about what they know what they do not know, and what they need to know to accomplish certain tasks.
4. Facilitators/tutor assessment - The feedback provided by tutors should encourage the students to explore different ideas. It is important that facilitators not dominate the group, facilitate learning and exploration. Tutor assessment may consist of how successful individuals interacted with their group and their cognitive growth.
5. Oral Presentations - Because so much of work life revolves around presenting ideas and results to peers, oral presentation in problem based learning provide students an opportunity to practice their communication skills. Presenting findings to their group, the class, or even a real-life audience can help strengthen these skills.
6. Reports - Written communication is another skill important for students. Requiring written reports allows students to practice this form of communication.