Zoos: Fun for the whole family or ethical nightmare

A Webquest for Mrs. Neesemann’s Animal Behavior course

Bay Ridge Preparatory School

LNeesemann@bayridgeprep.com

Introduction: Zoos have long been held as an educational resource as well as source of entertainment for kids and adults alike.  Many people enjoy visiting zoos each year to observe different animals and develop an appreciation and familiarity with different animal species.  Zoos often work closely with environmental protection and conservation agencies to protect endangered species and preserve genetic diversity. On the other hand, zoos remove animals from their natural habitats.  While government agencies have laws governing basics of care and treatment, many zoos fail to meet these standards and as such, the animals live in substandard conditions.  Within the past week, several stories have come out regarding killing of animals in zoos because of crowding or lack of genetic diversity.   

The Task: Students will each be creating a 2 page position paper outlining current research as well as their personal beliefs on the ethics of zoos.  Students will cite reliable sources in their paper as well as incorporate their own opinions on those sources.  Students will then participate in a class discussion to reach a consensus regarding zoo ethics and also our potential field trip to the Bronx Zoo.  Is this a trip that is worth taking?  Do the benefits outweigh the costs (not the monetary ones) of maintaining a zoo? 

Process: In order to fully investigate the literature available as well as your own opinions, you will be using the steps of a method called the PPA.  PPA stands for Public Policy Analyst and each step is clearly defined for you.  Each step is also accompanied by a worksheet that must be completed. The steps are outlined below. Each step is a hyperlink to a website that explains that step in detail, with a worksheet that is to be completed for each step. We’ve already talked about the problem so you don’t need to complete the worksheet for that step.  You are only responsible for the worksheets for steps 2-6.   

            Step 1: Define the problem

            Step 2: Gather Evidence

                        Here are some sources to get you started, but please do original research as well. 

http://animalrights.about.com/od/animalsinentertainment/a/Arguments-For-And-Against-Zoos.htm

http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/animals/using/entertainment_1.shtml

http://www.aza.org/Ethics/

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/09/marius-giraffe-killed-copenhagen-zoo-protests

The film, Blackfish that we watched in class is another great source

Step 3: Identify the Causes

            Step 4: Evaluate the Existing Policy

            Step 5: Develop Solutions

            Step 6: Select the Best Solution (feasibility v. effectiveness)

How I will evaluate you:

	0	1	2	Student Score
PPA usage	Student did not submit the worksheets accompanying the PPA	Student submitted the worksheets but some were missing or incomplete	Student submitted all 5 worksheets and they were all completed fully
Background info	Student did not include any background information	Student included a basic level of background but did not fully explore the topic	Student expressed a good understanding of the background issues being discussed
Research	Student did not perform any research	Student performed research but not an adequate amount and did not explain it fully	Student performed an adequate amount of research and utilized it well within in the body of the paper
Personal Statement	Student did not include a section with their original opinion	Student stated their opinion but failed to elaborate on it	Student stated their own opinion, elaborated upon it and showed insight
Conclusion	Student omitted this section	Student wrote a short conclusion, but included only one section (research or opinion)	Student wrote a full conclusion that incorporated both their research and their opinion
Length, format, spelling, bibliography, etc.	Paper is missing key grammar, spelling, formatting or bibliography	Paper is lacking small grammar, spelling points or is missing a bibliography	Paper uses correct spelling and grammar and has a well formatted bibliography
Participation in class discussion	Student does not participate in class discussion and is not paying attention to classmates	Student participates in the discussion or is attentive to classmates	Student pays attention to classmates, participates in the discussion and is a part of the class consensus

Conclusion:  Once all of the papers have been completed, read, and graded by the teacher, the class will have an open forum discussion about an upcoming field trip to the Bronx Zoo.  The class will come to a consensus decision about whether or not to take the trip.  The teacher will honor the decision of the class.    

Special Thanks:  Thanks to Joe Montecalvo and the PPA steps.  Also to Tim Raphael for moral support during the creation of this WebQuest and Kerry Clair for introducing me to the issues discussed here.  And of course, thanks to Google….from whom I ‘borrowed’ the pictures. 

Common Core Standards:  (let’s pretend we’re a public school)

S2f  Demonstrates an understanding of behavior of organisms.

S4a  Demonstrates an understanding of big ideas and unifying concepts.

            S4b  Demonstrates an understanding of the designed world.

            S5a  Frames questions to distinguish cause and effect; and identifies or control variables.

S5d  Proposes, recognizes, analyzes, considers, and critiques alternative explanations and  

          distinguishes between fact and opinion.

S5e  Identifies problems, proposes and implements solutions; and evaluates the accuracy,

         design, and outcomes of investigations.

S5f  Works individually and in teams to collect and share information and ideas.

S6a  Records and stores data using a variety of formats.

S6d  Acquires information from multiple sources.

S6e  Recognizes and limits sources of bias in data.

S7a  Represents data and results in multiple ways.

S7b Argues from evidence.

S7c  Critiques published materials

S7d  Explains a scientific concept or procedure to other students.

S7e  Communicates in a form suited to the purpose and the audience.

S8b  Demonstrates scientific competence by completing fieldwork.

S8d  Demonstrates scientific competence by completing secondary research.