| DVDquest
This inquiry-based activity requires students to explore the contents of the DVD in search of a solution to a real-world problem. Students are placed in a scenario, posed a problem to solve within that scenario, and provided tips and clues to help them on their quest for a solution. Each DVD in the series has a unique DVDquest couched in the context of the issues and problems of the Explore More topic. The  printable classroom guide for the Explore More: Working Landscapes DVDquest outlines tips to help students through the process of problem solving and finding information as they address the issue presented.
The DVDquest gives students a complex real-life situation to use their best problem-solving skills. Explore More has also successfully been used to teach students how to experiment and inquire, make a decision, present an argument, and investigate an issue. For more resources, access the Explore More Guides to Critical Thinking Skills.
There are three basic components to the Explore More DVDquest.
1. View Your Quest:
Students are placed in a scenario that uses their best problem-solving skills. Here they discover their role and situation and are provided information they’ll need to focus their search for a solution.
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| Explore More: Working Landscapes DVDquest:
You have inherited 25,000 acres of land in the heart of the Loess Hills of western Iowa. Your land is rich in mineral deposits with fertile soil for farming. It has woodlands, wetlands, original prairie, and breath-taking views of the hills and the Missouri valley below. As a native of the Loess Hills area, you have always dreamed of creating a place that successfully balances social, ecological, and economic needs. Your dream is to create a healthy working landscape to serve as a living example for people across the country to model. How will you make your dream come true?
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2. Examine the Process:
Before tackling the DVDquest, students are provided with tips for problem solving. These tips take them through the problem solving process. They are encouraged to refer to these steps throughout their DVDquest to help keep them on track and on the hunt for the best possible solution. Specific tips are provided for these problem-solving steps:
Find the problem.
- What are the current problems?
- Who does it involve?
- Where is the problem?
- What is happening?
- How is it affecting people, places, processes? What stands in the way? (individuals, groups, laws, conditions, situations, resources, …)
Explore possible solutions.
- What are some possible ways to overcome these problems? Are these possible solutions realistic? Reasonable? Workable? Feasible?
- What seems to be the most appropriate strategy or alternative for solving the problem?
- How would this solution solve the problems? What are the specific details? Is each step logical? Does each step lead to solving the problem? What are the likely consequences of putting this solution into place?
Recommend a solution.
- What is the best solution to the problem? How can this solution be defended with reasoning and facts?
- What if none of the solutions work? Are all possible solutions exhausted?
- How can the problem be rephrased, revised, reshaped, or reframed? Can reframing the problem and repeating the process help you build a better case?
3. Get Started:
Students are provided a list of video clips to help them start their DVDquest. The clips lay the groundwork for more investigation and more leads to new information.
David Zahrt: Think Seven Generations Ahead
What Is a Working Landscape and What Three Elements Are in Balance?
What Is Sustainable Economic Development?
Tragedy of the Commons
A Landowner's Bundle of Rights
Randy Carpenter: What Is a Conservation Subdivision?
Tim Sproul: Rancher Success Story
Sue Jennings: Tourism’s Role
*Students are encouraged to search other places on the DVD to find additional information about the problems, issues, and consequences of their topic and to gather support for their solution. |
