Problem solvers

Published 9:00 pm Sunday, May 6, 2001

Snohomish students use their brainpower to tackle global issues

By Leslie Moriarty

Herald Writer

SNOHOMISH — The year is 2030 and the issue of natural habitats is looming big in the Pacific Northwest.

There’s a new, clean, inexpensive fuel that has been found off the coast of Alaska on the sea floor at Bristol Bay. Utility company Poseidon Power wants to mine the fuel in Bristol Bay. But the bay also is the summer home to gray whales.

Can the two coexist?

That’s the question posed to a group of sixth-graders from Dutch Hill Elementary School who gave their best solution and won their way to an international competition.

The students are a part of a learning program called Future Problem Solvers. The course is a part of the curriculum in many elementary schools in Snohomish County and across the country. The goal is to get students to think creatively in teams about ways to solve the problems they are given.

This year’s state winners from Dutch Hill are Dexter Callahan, Brandon Fromm, Brandy Spani, Emily Starr and alternate Kristen Johnson. Student Houston Kraft also won the state level competition for individuals. He solved the question working by himself.

Using information they had gathered all year long, the group pondered the problem for a limited amount of time and came up with an solution: Place homing devices on whales to learn where and when they migrate and avoid mining at those times and places.

Houston’s answer to the dilemma was to create an education program about the gray whales that employees of the utility company have to take and pass before they can go to work in the mining operation.

It may seem simple on the surface. But the solutions that the students come up with have to be prepared in two hours. The students are isolated in a room with just their other team members, pencils, paper, a dictionary and thesaurus.

They rely on the research they have done throughout the year on a general topic to answer the specific scenario that is thrown their way.

They have to formulate an answer or action plan, and they have to present it in the form of a persuasive skit.

In this year’s work, the students studied habitats.

"We didn’t know whether the specific questions would apply to animal or human habitats or both," said teacher Zan Peterson-Moens. "So we began by studying everything we could about habitats."

The students researched through the Internet, read articles about habitats and then had speakers come to class. They heard from representatives of the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, urban biologists, a public works director and even folks from Habitat for Humanity, a nonprofit organization that helps build homes for those in need.

Then they competed in practice rounds and qualifying rounds and made their way to the state competition. In all, about 20 percent of the students who compete in Future Problem Solving made it to the state competition.

Once they were named the top performers in Washington state, they joined an elite group of only 1 percent of the students internationally who take part and who advance to the international competition. It will be June 6-10 at the University of Georgia in Athens. Dr. E. Paul Torrance, founder of Future Problem Solvers, will be on hand to mark 25 years of the competition.

There are divisions for middle school and high school students, although the program is only offered through seventh-grade in the Snohomish School District.

With the international competition ahead, the students also face new challenges. Not only does the major topic change, but they each have to earn $700 in order to pay their way to Georgia.

Now, the topic becomes Global Interdependence, Peterson-Moens said.

"We’re just beginning to research that," she said.

But the state winners have already begun to brainstorm what it means.

"It’s how the world depends on each other in the areas of food and money," Johnson said.

"And how we can work together to keep the world’s economy going," Fromm added.

It will be hours of research and practice and then the trip to Georgia next month. In between, the students plan fund-raisers and they are raffling a quilt.

But all of them agree, the time is well spent.

"This has taught me how to think about the future and the future needs of the world," Emily Starr said.

"We learn how to work as a group and a team," Spani said.

And sometimes the work can be applied to things in their world today.

Part of studying habitats was getting to understand the need for water and water conservation.

During a qualifying round, the students faced finding a water resource to replace a contaminated reservoir. They learned conservation techniques and how not to pollute water sources. And Kraft devised a way to harvest glaciers to capture new water sources.

And they all learned ways to conserve water in their own lives, which they have applied because of potential water shortages in the Northwest this summer.

You can call Herald Writer Leslie Moriarty at 425-339-3436 or send e-mail to moriarty@heraldnet.com.