Inquiry-based Project W200: Electoral College
Marc Dolph
John Fox
Dallas Lang
Jacob Nichols
Jason Filer
Driving Question: Should we continue to use the electoral college?
Versions:
Should we continue to use the electoral college?
Is the electoral college outdated and should we change it to fit modern times?
Is the electoral college really the best representation of what the people want?
The Best One: Is the electoral college the best representation of what the people want?
Why and How: This is the best question because this question warrants an in-depth study. Following most presidential elections, the question of the electoral colleges use is always brought up. This question is relevant to all students, as it is an important portion of their lives. Additionally, there are multiple answers to this PBL, as some may find the Electoral College useful, and others will find it unnecessary. This DQ provides chances for students to evaluate whether or not the electoral college is a useful item in politics. The students can analyze, present, and defend their solutions through the use of a powerpoint presentation. Following the presentation, the remaining students may argue their points and the class can engage in a discussion which furthers everybody's understanding of the problem.
Grabber: https://newsela.com/articles/overview-how-the-us-elects-presidents/id/21067/
This article details the process by which the United States elects its’ presidents. The instructor will provide the article to the students and go over the important information that can be taken away from it. From this information, the students can go out on their own and find out for themselves if they believe the electoral college is vital or not through an in-class activity.
Culminating Activity:
Hold a mock election where there are two fictional candidates with the students acting as the electoral college. Students will be split into two groups, boys and girls. The two groups will have a “campaign” for the candidate they want to elect. Following the “election”, students will write a short reflection on if they thought the process was fair and if they could make any changes to make it better and more fair.
Description:
The tool that we used to make this rubric was Rubistar. The criteria are the solutions, the quality of the sources, and research and statistical data. These are important because they help the teacher to grade impartially. These give a better understanding as to why they get the grade that they get and what they could have done to get a better grade.