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Spruce Up Rio
Spruce Up Rio
Category
Case Studies, Greater Cincinnati World Affairs Council
About This Project
OLYMPIC-LEVEL PROBLEM SOLVING
Students at Pleasant Ridge Montessori School assisted a local global advocacy group in analyzing Brazil’s ability to successfully host the 2016 Summer Olympics.
PARTNER
Greater Cincinnati
World Affairs Council
SCHOOL
Pleasant Ridge Montessori
6th grade students
APP
Spruce Up Rio
Classroom Challenge
Student investigators gathered data on Brazil’s government, economy, culture and environment to evaluate how these factors might affect and/or be affected by the 2016 Summer Olympics. They relied on science to explore Brazil’s land forms, ecosystem and biomes. They applied math concepts to understand Brazil’s economy, gross domestic product and ability to financially absorb such a large endeavor. They engaged in critical thinking skills as they layered Brazil’s government and culture onto their overall assessment.
Goal: STEM READINESS
Case-based learning with a Cincinnati-based international company resulted in:
- Integration of science and math as a gateway to understanding and resolution of global issues
- Sharpened critical thinking skills as students explored interdependent political, economic, cultural and environmental factors
- An expanded global view enhanced by one-to-one technology that facilitated in-depth research
In Their Own Words
Students at Pleasant Ridge Montessori School assisted a local global advocacy group in analyzing Brazil’s ability to successfully host the 2016 Summer Olympics.
PLAY THE GAMETry out this student-inspired game available in
IOS or
Android
Technology Support
PIE Business Partners offer an authentic challenge using STEM K-12 concepts. Each participating school receives devices for all student participants.
Using 1:1 technology, students created an app available across all global platforms, providing significant new revenue for school districts.
Program offers sustainable funding for all program technology, STEM curriculum development and educator professional development.
Program creates a web page and 30-second professional videos featuring case partners, students and educators discussing STEM experiential curriculum, teaching notes and testimonials.
Key Skills Learned
- developing organized, supported and focused communications
- summarizing
- evidence citing
- drawing conclusions
- information evaluation
- inference
- reasoning
- questioning
- analysis synthesis
- critiquing
- broader community participation
This is something that’s really going on in the world. It’s better than working on a word problem where ‘Johnny orders pizza and gives his friends five slices’ and so on. We are actually developing a problem that other students across the world will be solving. I LOVED coming to school when we did this program.
Pleasant Ridge Montessori 6TH GRADER