How to run A Crossroads for the Region as Problem-Based Learning: your role, the pre-planning maps, pacing, role cards, sources, and debrief prompts. The golden rule — guide, don't tell. In PBL the students should feel they, not you, planned the investigation.
| Phase | What you do | What you resist |
|---|---|---|
| ① Surface | Teach vocabulary and facts efficiently; run the jigsaw; check acquisition of the profile & data. | Rushing to the problem before facts are secure. |
| ② Deep | Facilitate the costs–benefits concept map and source routine; model claim + evidence. | Giving your own opinion on whether the project should go ahead. |
| ③ Transfer | Read the problem well; hold the KWHL chart; answer questions with questions; point to sources. | Answering the “Need to know” questions yourself, or handing students the “right” decision. |
The Surface phase uses a four-topic jigsaw (What makes this region's culture?) — a high-leverage move (d ≈ 0.92) because every student must teach. The flow: expert groups each study one topic and take notes → students re-mix into home groups with one expert per topic → each expert teaches → an individual check for understanding holds everyone accountable.
The per-expert-group source links (articles + reference pages) live on the Surface page, one set per topic. Confirm access through your district before class.
Before teaching, brainstorm every direction the growth-vs-heritage problem could branch — so you can steer discussion and decide, in advance, which threads are productive and which are too sensitive or off-topic for your class and community.
| If students investigate… | They are working toward… |
|---|---|
| how the project would modify the land and use resources, and the consequences | §113.18(c)(5) |
| the region as a traditional economy; factors of production; economic activities & data | §113.18(c)(6), (c)(7), (c)(8) |
| how the region is governed, whether power is limited, and who decides | §113.18(c)(9), (c)(10) |
| differences within & among cultures; institutions all societies share; relationships among cultures | §113.18(c)(13), (c)(14), (c)(15) |
| the arts, religion, and philosophy that make the heritage worth protecting | §113.18(c)(16), (c)(17) |
| using and questioning sources with different points of view; data tools; claim + evidence | §113.18(c)(19), (c)(20) |
| defining the problem, weighing options, choosing & evaluating a decision | §113.18(c)(22)(B) |
Confirm access through your district's approved catalog before class. Vetted, free starting points:
Aligned to (not reproduced from) 19 TAC Ch.113 §113.18.