We Can Change the World" High School Challenge (High School) - Siemens Foundation

Grant Name: We Can Change the World" High School Challenge (High School)

Funding Organization: Siemens Foundation

Grant Cycle: March 15

Website: http://www.wecanchange.com/

Eligibility: Teams may be made up of two, three, or four students, each of whom is a U.S. citizen or permanent U.S. resident of one of the 50 United States or DC enrolled in 9th through 12th grade at a public, private, parochial or home school located in one of the 50 United States or DC, under the supervision of a teacher, mentor or other adult.

Also have Elementary and Middle School challenges

How to Apply:

1. Register for the Challenge.

The Teacher/Mentor must register for the Challenge to get started.

2. Set up your team.

A Teacher/Mentor can create his/her team(s) in the Dashboard after registering. Please have your team members' information including first and last name, grade, gender, email address, and citizenship status. Note that Teachers/Mentors may have more than one team but each individual student may only be a part of one team.

3. Follow the Challenge Process and utilize free site Resources.

Use the step-by-step guide to help you through the Challenge Process steps: Identify and Research, Plan and Design, Analyze, Conclude, and Share. On the site, you will also find hundreds of free resources to help facilitate the Challenge including project ideas, videos, and lesson plans (for educators only).

4. Complete and submit your application.

Team Leads and Members: Log in and visit your Dashboard to complete your application. You are responsible for filling out the entire application. The Team Lead should review all steps (Review/Submit Application) and agree to all Challenge terms before submitting the application. Once the application has been submitted, it cannot be changed.  Note: make sure your Teacher/Mentor has updated your team profile before submission (if necessary).

Teacher/Mentors: You cannot edit the application but can view it and provide guidance.  Make sure to update your team's profile, if necessary, before the Team Lead submits the application.

All applications are due by March 15, 2012 at 11:59 pm. Early submissions are encouraged.

5. Questions?

If you have any questions or are experiencing any issues, please email wecanchange@discovery.com.

Application Materials:

• Have 1-3 Team Members + Team Lead + Teacher/Mentor on your team
• Cite your sources and your work done prior to the Challenge launch (8/24/2011)
• Add attachments (when necessary)
• Put one student on each team (mentors can have as many teams as they want)

All applications that are considered complete will move on to be judged by the following criteria:

• Identification of Sustainability-Related Issue or Problem (21.5% of total score) - How well does the entry describe the negative effects of the environmental issue or problem with global implications? Has a hypothesis been developed?
• Plan and Design (21.5% of total score) - Does the entry thoughtfully develop and clearly articulate its plan using scientific method with experimental design, project steps, timeline for completion, necessary resources, proposed method, anticipated results, and data collection? Are team members roles clearly defined?
• Data Analysis (21.5% of total score) - How well does the entry analyze quantitative and qualitative data?
• Creativity and Conclusion (21.5% of total score) - Is the solution unique? What are the global implications of the solution? How well does the entry describe the project results and challenges?
• Replication and Expansion - (14% of total score) - How did the team communicate findings? Did the team involve others in their project? How well did the team recommend how other communities might benefit from the solution?

Background: The Siemens We Can Change The World Challenge Is A K-12 Sustainability Challenge. For High School, Students Form Teams Of Two, Three, Or Four Students And Work With A Teacher/mentor To Identify An Environmental Issue With Implications Beyond Their Community, Research It, Develop A Plan, Collect Data, Analyze That Data, And Share The Results They've Found So Far. The Issue Chosen Should Have A Global Impact And Their Solution Should Be Replicable Beyond Their Local Community. Students Should Select A Topic That Falls Under At Least One Of The Following Topics: Energy, Biodiversity, Land Management, Water Conservation & Clean-up, Air & Climate

Other Important Information:

Keys to a successful project:

• Choose an issue or problem that your team is passionate about. This will help to keep your team going when things don't work out exactly as expected. Remember that your issue or problem needs to be related to energy and have a global impact.
• Choose at least one member on the team who is outgoing and not afraid to speak out. Teams should be communicating with members of the community during the project.
• Add your team on the Siemens We Change the World Challenge website early in the process so that they have access to all the resources on the site. Remember, only your teacher/mentor can officially add the team.
• Use the provided Resources to support your Challenge process.
• Although there is a Suggested Timeline, you should set your own timeline and leave room for delays to give yourself plenty of time to meet the Challenge project submission deadline of March 15, 2012. Early submissions are encouraged.
• Know up front that, depending upon the problem/issue that you choose, some of this project may require evening and weekend work. Team members need to factor this into their time commitments at the start of the project.
• Use the Self Assessments that go with each step to monitor your progress.
• As each step is completed, enter the team's progress in the application.