Wicked Problem Project

Wicked Problem - How can distance be taught to students ensuring that they understand the concept so it can be used in a real-world setting?

Wicked Problem Solution - For students to successfully grasp the concept of distance, we will teach them geocaching.  Using a mobile device with GPS capabilities, students will learn how to download latitude and longitude coordinates, search within the community, and input this information into a computer mapping application such as Google Maps or Google Earth.

Technological Content Knowledge - Distance will become a tangible variable that can be manipulated for understanding by having students explore with GPS devices and compare with maps on the Internet.

Technological Pedagogical Knowledge - By using either dedicated GPS units or mobile devices in addition to computer mapping applications, these teaching strategies will allow students to have a practical, real-world experience in calculating distance.

Pedagogical Content Knowledge - In order to help our students understand distance, I need to know what they know.  This will be accomplished by discussing physical, topographic, and road maps.  Students will be encouraged to ask questions in order to acquire the same basic understanding of maps.  I will use this information to explain the hemispheres, latitude, and longitude.  This will directly lead to understanding GPS.  By combining these elements, students will have a concrete representation as we go outside and use our GPS devices to find pre-determined locations.  

Part D - Findings and Implications

In implementing my Wicked Problem Project of relating real-world distances to a map either on a computer screen, on a wall, or in a book, I had the opportunity to take my nieces and nephew out to geocache around town. This observation allowed me to gauge whether or not they understood what I was trying to teach. Little did they know, but they were learning the whole time when they thought that they were simply searching for "treasure."
As I prepare to start the 2011 - 2012 school year in less than three weeks, I am able to reflect on what I have done and improvements I can make. After initially teaching the concept of geocaching and how it will enable students to better understand distance, I would create a series of assessments. They would begin as formative, allowing me to guide the students with verbal cues, take notes on problematic issues, and provide instant feedback. Through this approach, students will have the opportunity to experience real-time feedback while they are utilizing a GPS device to locate their goal. Therefore, if they found something to be frustrating, rather than waiting for them to have arguments or meltdowns, I could provide them helpful tips designed to keep them focused and learning before attitudes escalate.
Once they have proven that they understand how to read their device and follow its lead, I will be able to assess them through summative means. By this time, I would understand which students are more independent with the technology and which ones have difficulties. The summative assessments will be designed to take place throughout the school year and not simply once they have demonstrated learning with the GPS device. I foresee this learning experience to be something that is reviewed and utilized throughout the school year, thus tying it into other subjects such as math, reading, social studies, and even art. With the summative assessments, students working in groups would be required to find hidden locations around the school, retrieve an item or take a digital picture from that location, and move onto the next point. Once they have completed this portion of the assessment, they would utilize a computer application such as Google Maps where they could pinpoint and label the locations and upload their picture.
From my own experiences of working with this concept this summer, I know that the solution to my Wicked Problem will work because students will begin to understand the importance of understanding distances and how it can be translated into a real-world setting. Even without a handheld device at their disposal, once they have used this technology, they will be able to accurately estimate the distance to a certain location based on the information they have learned.
For example, this past week, I took my nieces and nephew to a new location this past week. We had an endpoint highlighted on our GPS device, but did not know where it was located. My eldest niece (age 12) had the device and I asked her to keep us posted with the distance to our goal. When we were within 500 feet, I asked my other niece (age 10) and my nephew (age 7) to estimate where they thought we would find our goal. Not surprisingly, they calculated with an acceptable degree of accuracy. It is my hope and anticipation that my future students will be able to understand similar concepts and scenarios and thus gain a better understanding of distance.
I know that my solution to this Wicked Problem is what I intended to address because students will be able to actively participate in their learning through hands-on experience. Their learning will not be confined to a certain space, but it will be encouraged through outdoor trial and error. Also, through thinking with this project, it is important for students to gain an understanding that goes beyond our school campus. I would like to design a check-out system so that students could take a device home, and with the guidance of an adult, they would be able to locate other hidden caches and report their findings (and frustrations) with the class. To understand distance will also give them the skills to accurately convey their knowledge by identifying various distances in other towns and cities on maps. By knowing that it is "three point four miles from our school to the fairgrounds," students will then be able to calculate the same distance between other locations such as the Roman Colosseum and another Roman tourist destination.
Also, I will know that my Wicked Problem is being solved because students will be able to give me a general location based on latitude and longitude. Through using the GPS devices, they will see that every place in the world has its own unique set of coordinates, so by understanding this, they can synthesize this information and make educated guesses as to where other coordinates are located. This, in turn, will also help students understand the eastern, western, northern, and southern hemispheres.

Part A - Description of Need or Opportunity

            An educational need that I have come to recognize in our curriculum is that students have difficulties translating distances.  They understand and recognize distance, but to a certain degree, it is an abstract concept that does not translate well for them.  Students need to understand the concept of distance not only because of state standards, but because, regardless of what they choose to do in their lives, distance will always be a factor.  If students are given the tools and opportunities to explore and understand distance through math and social studies, in particular, their understanding will increase, leading them to possess a real-world skill that can (and will) be used throughout their lifetimes.

            My solution to this wicked problem is to provide students with a variety of tools that will enable them to calculate distance as something tangible where they can experience it first-hand.  This will be accomplished through training students to read and use a handheld GPS unit, create and participate in geo-caching activities, and using Internet-based map applications such as Google Maps.  These approaches to guiding the students in understanding distance will give them hands-on experiences that will easily interpret in a real world situation.  My proposed approach is reasonable, however, the greatest cost will be to obtain GPS units for students usage, which start in the low $100 range.  Ideally, it would be great to have one per two students, but from some of the reading I have done, by assigning students different roles, placing students in groups of four or five is workable, thus lowering the cost substantially.  Having extra units available in the event of equipment failure is something that should be considered. 

            The possible alternatives for students would be to simply learn about distance using Internet-based applications, locating familiar locations (their homes and the school), and relating distance in that regard.  In comparison, it is very low-cost, but at the same time, students are not being granted the opportunity to explore distance through a hands-on approach.

            I anticipate using this tool, geocaching and Google Maps in particular, throughout the school year, with the major emphasis being at the beginning of the year.  I believe that the students would benefit in many academic areas if the solution to my wicked problem were integrated into their classes. 

            In order to accomplish this, teachers would need training to understand the need and why this is so important.  Workshops with follow-up training would be offered to assist teachers in feeling comfortable with the purpose and technology.  Due to the proliferation of smart phones, teaching teachers would be relatively easy because most adults have access to such a device.  Not only can they serve the most basic communication functions, but also with downloaded apps, they can be utilized as GPS devices for this problem.  However, due to hectic classroom schedules, I anticipate that the majority of learning would be done in the computer lab. 

            I would like to use this solution throughout the year for third and fourth grade students.  Obviously, the first year would be a transitional year for both grades, but in the following years, the older students would simply need a refresher course to remember the finer points.  They would also be helpful in assisting the younger students to understand and thus become a source for answers.  Additionally, the older students would also be able to delve deeper into measuring, calculating, and understanding distance due to their previous exposure to the problem.  They could spend more time doing and less time learning the concepts.

            Giving students the opportunity to learn through a hands-on approach will provide them with immediate, tangible feedback that will enable them to apply their knowledge with multiple subjects.  Performing a simple search for “geocaching” in Google provides over 23 million hits!  Even though many of them are not relevant, there are certainly some notable exceptions.  Opencaching.com is a site that I would use as a resource because of its easy approach to explaining geocaching.  It also has a comprehensive list of caches you can participate in and add to.  Performing a search for “Geocaching in the classroom” also provides over half a million sites.  These are particularly interesting because they are about the benefits of using geocaching in education!  Moving at the Speed of Creativity has a great article about the basics of geocaching and how it can be used with students.  It is a few years old, but highly relevant.  BrightHub.com also states how this works in a wide array of disciplines such as the obvious of math and science, but also social studies, literature and composition studies, and even Physical Education and Art. 

            I would also use Google Maps and/or Google Earth so students could begin to make a visual connection with where we are located and where we have been.  This will enable them to create an online portfolio of locations.  Understanding the distance between these locations would then give students the basic tools for translating known distances in known locations to unknown locations.

            I plan to start the initial research into implementing this aspect into our current curriculum during this course.  This will give me the time to formulate how I want to incorporate more hands-on experiences for students.  Obviously, giving students the opportunity to work with understanding distance will come once school is in session starting in late August.  As my class assignments are still unknown, I will have to make my plans flexible and be ready for implementation.

            I will know that this project is successful because students will be able to understand distance.  Not only will they be able to identify latitude and longitude, but also they will be able to translate these concepts onto maps and locate various given points.  Additionally, teachers and students being able to demonstrate proficiency and fluency with the various technologies used will provide feedback so that changes can be quickly implemented and improvements made.