The residents in a one industry town, Libby, Montana, relied on mining an asbestos - like material called vermiculite. Hundreds of residents who worked with vermiculite over many years died from a lung disease. The same fate affected those who unwittingly came into contact with the hazardous material in the community.
Students are asked to view and analyze short, 'on- line' videos documenting the plight of the residents of Libby. The videos depict the tragedies of individual workers and other residents. They effectively raise issues of environmental protection, occupational standards and corporate legal and social responsibility.
Students are subsequently informed that 35 million Americans have potentially hazardous vermiculite insulation in their homes and attics. They are asked to work in groups and prepare community outreach campaigns, using a choice of various media (podcast, editorial, press release, visual display, fact sheet, etc.) and EPA data to inform residents of the dangers and how to manage the problem. Teachers are provided with assessment rubrics to enable them to score each group's contribution in the use of specific media.
In addition, there are various extension activities that really speak to the issues of polluted communities and sites, corporate power and social responsibility. Teachers should consider these activities as essential learning components of the resource rather than as extensions.
How to develop a community outreach campaign related to health and environment hazards especially vermiculite attic insulation.
The following tool will allow you to explore the relevant curriculum matches for this resource. To start, select a province listed below.
Principle | Rating | Explanation |
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Consideration of Alternative Perspectives | Satisfactory | Libby, Montana as a case study, could provide more varied viewpoints besides those of the president of the mining company and the workers and their families i.e. health care workers, lawyers, social workers. The case study raises all kinds of issues around health hazards and public health contamination i.e corporate social responsibility, power, superfund sites, investigative journalistc responsibility etc.. However, these issues and varied points of are explored in the extension exercises. |
Consideration of Alternative Perspectives:
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Multiple Dimensions of Problems & Solutions | Good | |
Multiple Dimensions of Problems & Solutions: Effectively addresses the environmental, economic and social dimensions of the issue(s) being explored.
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Respects Complexity | Satisfactory | The complexity of problems is respected but there is no explicit attempt to encourage a systems thinking approach. |
Respects Complexity: The complexity of the problems/issues being discussed is respected. | ||
Acting on Learning | Good | |
Acting on Learning: Learning moves from understanding issues to working towards positive change — in personal lifestyle, in school, in the community, or for the planet
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Values Education | Poor/Not considered | Poor/Not Considered |
Values Education: Students are explicitly provided with opportunities to identify, clarify and express their own beliefs/values. | ||
Empathy & Respect for Humans | Good | The films that are presented do achieve empathy and respect for the poisoned workers and other players in this sad story of health and environment contamination. |
Empathy & Respect for Humans: Empathy and respect are fostered for diverse groups of humans (including different genders, ethnic groups, sexual preferences, etc.). | ||
Personal Affinity with Earth | Poor/Not considered | Not considered. |
Personal Affinity with Earth: Encourages a personal affinity with -the natural world.
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Locally-Focused Learning | Good | |
Locally-Focused Learning: Includes learning experiences that take advantage of issues/elements within the local community.
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Past, Present & Future | Good | This resource promotes a good understanding of the past and sense of the present. However, a positive vision of the future is lacking. Only by including extension activities as core ones can the students acquire a positive vision for the future. |
Past, Present & Future: Promotes an understanding of the past, a sense of the present, and a positive vision for the future. |
Principle | Rating | Explanation |
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Open-Ended Instruction | Good | |
Open-Ended Instruction
: Lessons are structured so that multiple/complex answers are possible; students are not steered toward one 'right' answer. | ||
Integrated Learning | Very Good | |
Integrated Learning: Learning brings together content and skills from more than one subject area
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Inquiry Learning | Good | |
Inquiry Learning: Learning is directed by questions, problems, or challenges that students work to address.
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Differentiated Instruction | Satisfactory | The films and outreach projects teach to both cognitive and affective domains. There is only one central activity, a community outreach project, that is the same for all. There are no accomodations for people with learning difficulties. |
Differentiated Instruction: Activities address a range of student learning styles, abilities and readiness.
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Experiential Learning | Satisfactory | Experiential learning is largely limited to the media project. |
Experiential Learning: Authentic learning experiences are provided
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Cooperative Learning | Satisfactory | |
Cooperative Learning: Group and cooperative learning strategies are a priority.
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Assessment & Evaluation | Satisfactory | There are summative assessment tools (rubrics for scoring purposes) for teachers to use. |
Assessment & Evaluation: Tools are provided that help students and teachers to capture formative and summative information about students' learning and performance. These tools may include reflection questions, checklists, rubrics, etc. | ||
Peer Teaching | Satisfactory | |
Peer Teaching: Provides opportunities for students to actively present their knowledge and skills to peers and/or act as teachers and mentors.
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Case Studies | Good | |
Case Studies: Relevant case studies are included. Case studies are thorough descriptions of real events from real situations that students use to explore concepts in an authentic context. | ||
Locus of Control | Good | Students can choose the medium in which they wish to work and some program content. There is an opportunity to go deeper into issues by only exploring the extension activities. |
Locus of Control: Meaningful opportunities are provided for students to choose elements of program content, the medium in which they wish to work, and/or to go deeper into a chosen issue. |