How can we plan environmentally healthy environments? In the Realizing New Urban Environments (ReNUE) unit, students model the ecosystem in which they live and propose ways to make it better. Students begin the project by identifying environmental problems that affect their daily lives. The ReNUE curriculum has four phases.
 | Setting the Stage: Students brainstorm about the environmental problems that large cities face, then watch a videotape about ecosystems to identify an environmental problem they would like to research. | | Research: Students are put into groups of four or five based on the problems they are interested in and assigned a city to study. For example, the air pollution group might study Mexico City. Groups carry out their research using the Internet, the local library, and experts from science and industry. At the end of this phase, students write a problem statement to summarize their problem and possible solutions. | | Modeling: Organizing and visualizing complex data on a large city can be hard for students. Model-It, a dynamic modeling program, helps them work with the data they are collecting on their city. Using the software, they symbolize the problem, and then measure and analyze the factors that contribute to it. A typical model might use graphs, tables, and simulations to show what causes the air pollution in a city, and what effects the air pollution has on the city. Modeling the environmental problem using Model-It is a central feature of the curriculum. | | Reporting: At the end of the unit, each group gives a presentation that includes information about the city, its problem, and the solutions the group proposes to solve it. Other students then question the presenters on their research and solutions. Students are assessed on the quality of their presentation as well as on their ability to defend their work.
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| Model-It is available for the Macintosh and PC platforms; click here for more system requirements. To learn more about the software and curriculum materials for this unit, contact Lou- Ellen Finn or Chandra James at 847-491-5420 | Please click on these thumbnails to see screenshots of this software: |
 | On this screen, students choose which of five categories of pollution they wish to investigate.
|  | On this screen, students create models of a kind of pollution, in this case, air pollution. Using data on factory and car emissions, they develop hypotheses on the effects of each one on the quality of air.
|  | Here, students enter values for each factor of an object in their models. For example, a student might indicate how many cars are in this particular model.
|  | As the model develops, students add more objects and determine the factors-CO2 levels, for example-associated with each object.
|  | Students can visualize the relationships they are exploring with graphs and show how they change over time. |
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