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Major Projects are a way for students
to apply the skills and information they learned from the variety
of lessons in a given unit. For the unit on Air Quality students
plan a conference about tobacco and health. In this way they
share what they learn with fellow students and the public. It
will take two to three weeks to implement this project. |
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Implementation: |
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The suggestion for this major project is to plan
it during the delivery of the basic background lessons and hold
it after the completion of the background lessons. The decision
about when to implement the Major Project is left up to the
teacher. |
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Description: |
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Students organize and host a local or regional conference
on teen tobacco use and health. This can be a single day or
multiple day event targeting middle and high school level students
(or youth of a targeted age group) within a given school district
or community. If promoted well enough ahead of time, and partnerships
are made with organizations like Tobacco
Freeways, other schools will be interested in attending
this event. Funding to support the conference can be obtained
from partnering organizations like Tobacco
Freeways. |
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Giving the students an authentic activity, like hosting an
environmental health conference, allows the students real life
challenges within the classroom structure. Cooperating with
others in groups provides opportunities for realizing that working
together can accomplish more than one person working alone.
The organizational pattern of committees will provide ample
tests of group endurance and group functioning with the normal
ups and downs. Knowing that this is an actual activity will
allow the students to see the immediate benefits from the knowledge
and expertise of others and gives buy in, motivation and strong
reason to study important environmental health issues. Empowering
the students to educate peers allows the students to mature
in many aspects of learning. |
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Variations on the theme: |
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This can also be a general air quality conference that addresses
both indoor & outdoor air quality issues or a conference
to address any other issue of importance to the students. |
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Possible Partners: |
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Partners are important to increase the likelihood for success
of an event like this. They can provide funding, guest speakers,
printing services, and promotional resources. Partners can include
Tobacco Freeways
or any other tobacco cessation organization, health agencies,
other schools or classes, or University departments in schools
of Medicine or Public Health. |
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Objectives: |
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Students will:
· Work cooperatively in committees to host a conference
· Apply their knowledge of how pollutants, including
nicotine, affect the quality of life whether through delivery
by second hand smoke, chewing or smoking tobacco products.
· Explore career opportunities in the environmental health
fields by teaming up with professionals to study, plan, organize,
and evaluate a health conference. |
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Lessons: |
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Lesson 1: Drafting a Conference Program
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Students will revise the school schedule to mirror a typical
conference day. Students will complete a rough draft of a program/brochure
that will include an environmental health theme and will list
the times, places, events, names of speakers, etc. Committees
can be formed around the basics needed to plan a one-day event.
Once the group has decided on the committees, each committee
will select the lead person. Those lead persons then become
the Steering Committee, a chair person is selected to lead the
steering committee. |
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Possible Committees:
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Steering Committee
(made
up of heads of the other committees)
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Publication Committee
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Publicity & Public Relation Committee
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Finance Committee
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Exhibit Committee
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Presenters Committee
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Local Arrangement Committee
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Registration Committee
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Link to Power
Point Presentation about planning a conference |
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Lesson 2: Committee Planning
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Students break into committees and discuss group and individual
responsibilities, mapping out objectives, timelines, materials/expenses,
and producing a check list. Each group leader will summarize
and present the information to the whole group. The students
will continue to meet in committees and work cooperatively to
finish their responsibilities. Students will also generate an
evaluation rubric. |
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Lesson 3: Dry Run
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The students conduct a dry-run of the conference and practice
their presentations with each other. The students will use the
evaluation rubric to provide feedback on where they need to
improve prior to the event. |
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Lesson 4: Day Before Checklist
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Students will thoroughly review their check lists and take
care of any last-minute items for the conference. |
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Lesson 5: Evaluation & Reflection
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Students evaluate themselves using the student-generated rubric.
Discuss the results of their rubric emphasizing the strengths
and weaknesses of the events on the conference day. Have the
students reflect on what they would do differently next year.
Also, have the students discuss the types of careers related
to the conference (e.g. conference organizer, caterer, health
specialist, etc.). |
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Links: |
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Link to the original Power Point presentation from the Institute
of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, Inc. Region 10: www.ewh.ieee.org/reg/10/langkawi_files/GuidetoConference.ppt |
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