The Octopus Project

ROV Workshop - February 12, 2000

"PBL" PROBLEM BASED LEARNING OVERVIEW

Presented by Barbara Lesure, USC CSP Leadership Cohort and teacher 32nd Street School

 
THE SCENARIO


THE OCTOPUS PROJECT SALVAGE COMPANY


 

There is a reef passage off the southern tip of the Andros Islands where 6 pinnacles of rock rise from the ocean depths like spikes.Spain's mighty galleon, the Tolossa, was sent to its watery grave there in the late 1700's.Deep-sea diving legend, Antonio Banda, and his Octopus Project Salvage Company have been called to recover the Tolossa's treasures of brass cannons and twelve tons of gold and silver.After one failed attempt, the brave Banda admits that diving to the Tolossa would kill him.He returns to his ship where he and his crew discuss alternatives.

 
Facilitators:Barbara Lesure, Ray Millette; Terry Fisher; Meressa Naftulin

 
These FACTS, IDEAS AND LEARNING NEEDS were generated by the three groups present; they are being included for information on the range of learning possible through this scenario and are NOT a part of the PBL.

 
FIRST STEP:Identifying the FACTS
FACTS (from the scenario only)
Southern tip of Andros Island
12 tons of gold and sliver and brass cannon
1 dive attempt has failed
6 pinnacles sticking up
The galleon was called the Tolossa
Sunk in the 1700's
The treasure is too deep
Treasure there since 1700's (300 yrs)
Cannons, gold silver (12 tons)
6 pinnacles of rock
Diving would kill the brave Banda
Reef passage
Octopus Project Salvage Co. has a ship and a crew
Wreck off Southern tip of Andros Is.
1 failed attempt
The ship was lost of the Southern tip of Andros Islands
Six spiky rocks rise from ocean
Tolossa lost in late 1700"s ship carried brass cannons and 12 tons of gold and silver
Banda believes diving to ship would be fatal
Banda's Octopus Project Salvage Co. was called to recover ship
Tolossa was Spanish galleon
Crew discusses alternatives




DECONSTRUCTING THE PROCESS OF FACT GENERATION:

Looking at these FACTS, the group should be able to identify "THE PROBLEM".For the teacher/facilitator this is an opportunity to refine the way the students think about a problem, and guide them through the process as they identify RELEVANT information; what pieces of information are "distracters" and what pieces of information are "contributors" to the overall objective of the scenario.

 
By careful crafting of the scenario, the teacher can satisfy his/her objective for student learning.

 
The overall PROBLEM in this case is the ship sank and they need to recover the treasures of brass cannons and tons of gold and silver.
 



SECOND STEP:Generate ideas about the nature of the problem
IDEAS
The Tolossa was returning to Spain with cargo
Probably followed a trade route following ocean currents
Why did it sink?Hit the reef; hit the pinnacles; pirates
Failed attempt due to:wrong equipment; bad weather; underwater terrain impenetrable; underwater currents
Something covering (buried) the treasure
Animals are dangerous (shark cage)
Cold water
The treasure is not there
Ship followed a trade route
The weather caused the storm
Use a decompression chamber
Use an ROV
Tie camera to dolphin.Explore area
Put camera on R.O.V. to explore area
Use sonar, satellite
Diving bell (mini-sub) to explore
Real problem might be current balloons (inflatables) to retrieve stuff
The underwater conditions
Cables dropped to treasure from surface
Undersea resting station
Use R.O.U.V.
Sonar to locate
Video camera
Submersible - one man subs
Trained dolphins
Protective gear
Crane
Cable camera


DECONSTRUCTING THE PROCESS OF IDEA/HYPOTHESIS DEVELOPMENT:

Problem-Based Learning uses elements of the "scientific process".

 
After your group has identified the problem, generating IDEAS is the next step in the process.What are the group's ideas about what is happening, has happened or can be done based on the facts they have?

 
ALL ideas are valid.They should be respected and written down - no matter how "far out" they may seem.

 
REMEMBER TO ORGANIZE THE INFORMATION - HAVE THE GROUP COMBINE LIKE ITEMS AND DELETE DUPLICATIONS

 
Hypothesis:Conjecture, notion, supposition, theory, premise, thesis.
A hypothesis starts with an idea or a question, reformulated as a statement that can be tested and either proved or disproved.Sometimes it helps to start with the phrase, I think............., or my theory is.......... when generating IDEAS.
 


 
Using some of the ideas generated on ROV day- a couple of examples of hypotheses might be:
Idea
Hypothesis
Animals are dangerous (shark cage)
Underwater animals are dangerous to divers
Probably followed a trade route following ocean currents
The trade routes used by Spanish vessels in the 1700's followed ocean currents.
Hit the reef, hit the pinnacles, pirates
The ship hit an underwater reef or rock that tore a hole in it
Sonar to locate
Sound waves would reflect to the bottom of the ocean
Real problem might be the current
Currents in that area would not allow safe passage through the reef
Use a decompression chamber
The use of a decompression chamber would allow a human to recover from a deep dive
Use an ROUV (remote operated underwater vehicle)
A mechanical tool operated from the surface could be used to retrieve valuables from the ocean floor


 

THIRD STEP:Identify the learning needs to better address the problem and test results
LEARNING NEEDS
Depth of ocean in this area
Ocean topography; currents
How widely scattered is treasure
Salvage laws
Cost of salvage
Approximate weight
Weather pattern
Type of equipment; source; manpower
Ships sizes
Interview Banda.What evidence that this is the Tolossa
Design and records from Spain about the Tolossa
Is the treasure there?
Read the log of other ships in the area at the time of sinking
Find out what was used
What's a reef passage?
Does passage do...
What is shape of the coral reef passage?
What was Bs problem??Was it currents?
What kind of marine life is in the area?
What method should be used to retrieve the treasure?
What is the condition of Tolossa? buried, crashed...
How deep is treasure and what are underwater conditions?
Is treasure in international waters?
What is best weather time to do search? eco. log survey or ecosystem?
What relates to a safe dive?Equip, cost, etc.
Who will own the treasure once retrieved?
What is the long-term effect of bringing up?
How is gold and silver buried?Coins, jewelry, etc.
Is the treasure actually there.
Where is the proof?
How is the ocean able to preserve leather, wood, etc. so well?
How deep is it?
Water pressure
How far apart are pinnacles?
Visibility
Is ship intact?
How to retrieve 12 tons of metal?
Is metal coin in, bars or other?
How do we know it's there?
Where are Andros Is?
Weather/ocean currents
Why did Banda fear doing the dive?
Why did he fail?
What is shape made of?
What's a reef passage?
How high are pinnacles?


DECONSTRUCTING THE PROCESS OF LEARNING NEED IDENTIFICATION:

LEARNING NEEDS are what we need to find out in order to prove/disprove or substantiate our argument.
 

They are based on the ideas/hypotheses that are generated; generally stated as questions, they can also be an identification of "things we need to find out".


 
LEARNING NEEDS can be satisfied through a variety of sources: resources (i.e., books, Internet); consult experts; plan and carry out an investigation.

 
REMEMBER TO ORGANIZE THE INFORMATION - Have the group combine like items and delete duplications.Have members take responsibility for the learning needs they will pursue with the knowledge that they will report their new information back to the group.(They all get tested on the same material so they need to make sure every member fulfills their responsibility)

 
THE PROCESS IS CYCLICAL IN NATURE.The knowledge gained from the Learning Needs is tied back to the Ideas/Hypotheses which are refined to fit the new information, and a new set of learning needs is generated.
 


 

One group identified some areas of science inherent in the scenario and some student activities.
Science - identified:
Earth science 
Spain 
Sonar map/Navy 
Physics; imaging sonar 

Weather conditions 

Meteorology records
Some Student Activities:
Visit coral reef on line, video, Nat. Geo 
Map our site 
Make a diorama of area 
Use Foss kit landforms 

Research sailing ships of 1700 and why they sank 

Examine buoyancy and density
 


 

Our objective for this day was to include a hands-on ROV workshop.  Two types of ROV'S were built by teachers.One model was very simple for young children and the other was quite challenging.

 
ALSO INCLUDED IN THE AFTERNOON WAS THE "SCIENCE" TO SUPPORT THE ROV-BUILDING ACTIVITY" WORKSHOP TOPICS INCLUDED:

Contour Mapping

Sink and Float

Buoyancy

Electrical Circuits

Models and Designs

Density

Salt Water/Fresh Water


 

EVALUATION AND RAFFLE OF ROV KITS AND VARIOUS INSTRUCTIONAL ITEMS

THE PROCESS

Small groups if possible - 5 to 7 people - some elementary teachers have found it easier to work with the entire class.

 
1.    SCENARIO - which includes an ill-structured problem
    A.    May have one or multiple parts
    B.    Scenario is read out loud by members of the group

 
2.    FACTS - Have the group identify what they already know from the problem presented (a group member is assigned to act as a scribe and may participate in the generation of facts, ideas and learning needs.)

 
REMEMBER TO IDENTIFY "THE PROBLEM"


3.    IDEAS - Formulating hypotheses based on that knowledge.(A hypothesis is an idea or question that has been reworded into a form that can be tested by an experiment - not all ideas would make a good hypothesis, but further knowledge can be gained through the learning needs.)

 
4.    Identify LEARNING NEEDS - stated as questions
    A.    Resources
    B.    Plan and carry out investigations
    C.    Consult experts

 
REMEMBER TO ORGANIZE THE INFORMATION - COMBINE LIKE ITEMS AND DELETE DUPLICATIONS

 
5.    Revisit hypotheses with new knowledge gained from investigation- -generate new ideas/hypotheses - RECYCLE THROUGH PROCESS


6.    Complete the process for each part of the scenario

 
Note:
The "scientific method" process is to: Identify a problem or question; formulate a testable hypothesis; design an experiment to test the hypothesis; perform that experiment several times with proper variable manipulation; collect and analyze data; refine or formulate a new hypothesis based on the data analysis result, then develop the new experimental protocol as needed. 

The skills inherent in this process:Having a clear idea of what you want to accomplish; establishing what data is relevant and how best to collect it; how to analyze it; how to determine variables that are meaningful; comparing, questioning, reasoning, testing, and evaluating are vital critical thinking skills that will help students to make use of the content knowledge, that they acquire through this process, in meaningful ways and will be cyclical in nature so that each step leads to increasing levels of knowledge and a thirst for more.