
<p><img class=" alignright size-full wp-image-1523" src="http://schoolnewsnz.fastrackdev.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/SND16-wk1-Lincoln_students.jpg" alt="SND16-wk1-Lincoln students" style="margin: 5px; float: right;" width="300" height="171" />A group of first-year Lincoln University students have ended their semester by coming up with ideas on how to educate Kiwi high school pupils about pressing world issues. <!--more--> </p>
<p>The 58 students are Lincoln&#8217;s first Global Challenges Scholars, acting as ambassadors for a new nationwide programme that aims to address concerns such as climate change and resource depletion, as well as provide teaching resources to secondary schools.</p>
<p>&#8220;The students worked on an end-of-semester project after being divided into nine groups, based on issues they were interested in,&#8221; SchoolsLinc programme manager Fiona Scott, who supervises the scholars&#8217; Global Challenges activities, says.</p>
<p>&#8220;We asked them to produce a factual, informative three-minute video about a specific global challenge, without including bias or opinion. Then they had to find differing perspectives on the issue and present their findings to the rest of the scholars.&#8221;</p>
<p>The groups discussed issues including rising sea levels, obesity, climate change, food wastage, overpopulation, deforestation and water quality, taking into account different ideas on the subjects.</p>
<p>For example, the group that researched obesity presented views from such varied sources as a Lincoln University research associate professor, a Reproductive Health Centre director in the US, the Ministry of Social Development, and the Ministry of Health. They also mentioned cultural and positive perspectives on obesity.</p>
<p>&#8220;The students found that the research associate professor sees genes as playing a significant role in obesity, reproductive health studies point to a link between obesity in pregnancy and obese children, the Ministry of Social Development cites low parental income as a cause of childhood obesity, and people in some poorer countries view excess weight as a sign of good health and prosperity,&#8221; Ms Scott says.</p>
<p>&#8220;The students also discussed positive aspects to obesity, including faster healing times, less chance of injury in elderly people and more jobs in dietary, personal training and healthcare industries.&#8221;</p>
<p>Ms Scott says the group would like to see their resources used in year 9 and 10 physical education classes to bring awareness to the issue and also suggested showing presentations to school pupils during a health week.</p>
<p>&#8220;As far as all the students&#8217; presentations are concerned, we want school teachers to initially play the videos to their classes,&#8221; she says.</p>
<p>The scholars will also suggest that teachers allocate each of the different perspectives to a pupil, who can carry out further research, investigating why the person or organisation holds their particular opinion. ;Pupils could then present their findings to the class.</p>
<p>&#8220;Classes might also want to look more closely at the sources of information the scholars used to find the perspectives. This can be investigated from a bias or accuracy point-of-view, to teach younger students about the reliability and usefulness of evidence,&#8221; Ms Scott says.</p></p>

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