Rovereto,+review+of+Chemicals+in+the+Environment

Chemicals in the Environment (Lesson 1) [] (Lesson Plan) History of Chemicals in the Environment

This curriculum module, geared toward grade levels 6-8, was developed by Project Look Sharp, a group based in Ithaca College’s School of Humanities and Sciences.
 * What organization developed the curriculum module you are evaluating?**

The goals of Project Look Sharp are
 * What is the mission of the organization?**
 * To promote and support media literacy education at the community, state, and national levels
 * To provide teachers with ongoing pre-service and in-service training and mentoring in media education
 * To work with teachers to create new or revised teaching materials and pedagogical strategies that incorporate media literacy and enhance classroom practice
 * To develop and publish curriculum materials that infuse media literacy into core content
 * To evaluate the effectiveness of media literacy as a pedagogical approach to education
 * To develop a model for including media literacy in the school curriculum at all grade levels and in all instructional areas, and to show how media literacy can help teachers address new and existing learning standards
 * To work in collaboration with other entities at Ithaca College to promote and support media literacy integration at the College

The philosophy under which the goals of Project Look Sharp were formed is one focused on the importance of media literacy. Media literacy, for the purposes of the activities laid out on the website, tie in well with ecoliteracy.
 * What is the educational mission and philosophy of the organization?**

For the History of Chemicals in the Environment, lesson objectives include:
 * What does the curriculum module aim to teach? In other words: what are the learning outcomes supposed to be?**
 * Understanding how American views of chemicals in the environment have changed over time.
 * Applying knowledge about chemicals to the decoding of diverse media representations.
 * Learning critical thinking, information literacy and media literacy skills including understanding bias, point of view, sourcing, credibility, and key questions to ask when analyzing any media message.

This curriculum is quite thorough in what it addresses on the changing perspectives of chemistry in society. As such, the first goal is clearly accomplished. The extensive use of advertisements from different time periods allows for discussion of different messages in these representations, fulfilling the second goal. Finally, the teaching guide included with the PowerPoint directs educators to ask certain questions and initiate discussions that reveal the underlying messages in these advertisements and prevailing perspectives in different time periods. The layout and content of this lesson plan fulfill the initial goals of the module.
 * Do you think the curriculum is appropriately designed to produce the intended learning outcomes?**

This activity focuses specifically on media literacy, but this literacy can carry over into ecoliteracy as well. The subject matter of the chemical industry makes it a strong module for this cross-purposing. As it stands, the presentation can work toward teaching a broader understanding of the social and ecological complexity inherent in many scientific issues and innovations. With a bit more explanation, a discussion the effects governments and corporations have on each other, as well as the uneven distribution of risk technological innovation has created globally.
 * Does this curriculum teach the kind of literacies the EcoEd Research Group advocates?**

This module is very well done, and could be used as-is. Alternatively, it could be incorporated into other activities. These could be any of a variety of activities, including a press conference-styled activity. This PowerPoint and following lessons could be used as introductory material to teach about the analytical and inquisitive way of thinking necessary in journalism. A press conference could then be held, with the children as the journalists and one or a group of us as the PR people or other members of a chemical company.
 * What could be layered into this curriculum so that it addresses more of the learning outcomes that the EcoEd Group advocates?**