EXPLORING BIODIVERSITY: A Guide for Educators Around the World

a
decision-making process as possible.
At the end, group members
should have chosen a project
that they think is both
interesting and doable.
5. Create an action plan.
Help your students get started on their
action plan by asking: What do you hope you’ll
accomplish by doing this project? Guide them
in coming up with a goal or vision for the project
and specific, concrete objectives that need
to be accomplished along the way. Have them
reflect on questions such as the following:
What is the current status of the problem?
What changed to make it become an issue? Do
other communities and/or countries experience
the same problem? What do other people think
about the problem? Are there many different
opinions? Are there any conflicts? The students
can also use the questions in
“Mapping Your Action
Project” (on page 74) to
help them plan and focus.
As the students work
on their action plan,
guide them toward
realistic objectives.
One of the most common problems for
students is thinking too big. Help them
focus and simplify the project by discussing
the responses to the questions and by
asking them to carefully consider hard
questions: How will you raise that much
money? How might you tackle a smaller, but
more manageable, piece of the problem?
6. Put the plan into action.
As students get started, explain
that their projects will work
best if they keep track of
who’s doing what, what
they’ve done, when they did it,
whom they’ve contacted, and so on.
It’s important that students evaluate the
project periodically to see if they’re on target and
to make modifications if necessary. Remind them
that it’s OK to rethink their goals and objectives
and to revise their plan of action in light of new
information or unexpected obstacles.
7. Set a date for project completion and final
reports.
Students should be asked to make formal presentations
to the rest of the class about their plans,
objectives and final results.
In the Páramo region of Colombia in South America, students worked with their
teachers, local conservationists, and community members to create a series of
20 radio programs about the local ecosystem, the species that live there, and
how local residents can help support conservation. Several local radio stations air
the programs, reaching thousands of people.
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