1. Activate students’ prior knowledge of hydroelectric and geothermal energy resources.

Ask students to name some ways electricity can be generated. Focus on hydroelectric energy and ask:

• How does a hydroelectric power plant work?
  
• How is electricity produced at a hydroelectric plant?
  
• What are some requirements for a hydroelectric power plant?
  
• What are some advantages and limitations of generating electricity this way?

Next, draw students’ attention to geothermal energy. Explain that geothermal power plants convert heat from inside the Earth into electricity. Ask the same sorts of questions that you asked about hydroelectric power plants to draw out what students know about geothermal power plants and geothermal energy.

2. Introduce the reading to students.

Divide students into small groups. Ask students to think of a time when they had a conflict with other people over something such as sharing a computer with a sibling or deciding with their family how to spend money for a vacation. Have students share stories within their groups. Then ask each group to share their most complex conflict with the whole class. Ask students to describe what made the conflict complex. Ask:

• How many people were involved in the conflict?
  
• How did you resolve the conflict?
  
• Was the conflict easy to resolve? Why or why not?
  
• Were you satisfied with how the conflict was resolved? Why or why not?
  

Distribute a copy of the Case Study: Klamath Basin handout to each student. Have students geo-locate the Klamath River and the Klamath Basin using the MapMaker Interactive. Explain that the case study describes an agreement resolving water use problems among about forty different groups in the Klamath Basin along the Klamath River in California and Oregon. Ask students to keep in mind the personal conflicts they discussed as they read the case study to get a better idea of the complexity of the conflict in the Klamath Basin.

3. Have students independently read and discuss the Klamath Basin Case Study.

Give students time to read the case study. As a class, discuss the reading. Ask students to summarize the problem in the Klamath Basin. Then ask students to identify the major decision-makers in the process and describe the viewpoint of each of the stakeholders. Ask:

• Who will benefit most from the removal of the dams? Who will not benefit?
  
• Who is holding up the process of dam removal? Why?
  
• How does the identification of new sites for geothermal power in the area affect the situation?

4. Introduce the stakeholder task to students.

Assign each small group a stakeholder to represent. Explain that students will take on the role of a stakeholder, generate questions the stakeholder might have about the removal of the dams and the investment in geothermal power, and conduct research in order to answer the questions. Explain that students will eventually vote on whether or not they think the hydroelectric dams should be removed and must give a rationale for their vote. Distribute a copy of the Stakeholder Chart and Stakeholder Rubric to each group. Review both handouts with students and answer any questions they might have.

5. Have groups gather information about the problem from their stakeholder’s perspective.

Have students work in their groups to re-read the case study and complete the Stakeholder Chart. Have students discuss their stakeholder’s perspective within their small groups and develop a list of the stakeholder’s priorities. Then ask students to develop a list of questions their stakeholder would likely have about the proposed solution of removing the four dams. Give students time to research the problem in their groups, using the provided webpages. Have them note answers to their questions and any other information that would likely inform their stakeholder’s decision-making process. Have them add relevant notes to the Stakeholder Chart as they read additional information.

6. Have students answer the analysis questions and present their ideas to the class.

Discuss the decision-making process with students. Discuss how complex decisions that affect many people are different from personal decisions that mainly affect a single person. Explain that in this case, each stakeholder group has its own needs and wants related to the removal of the dams. These needs and wants affect each stakeholder’s decision-making process. Discuss ways to identify and evaluate important criteria and anticipate the consequences of different choices when making a decision. Have students work within their small groups to discuss and answer the analysis questions at the bottom of the Stakeholder Chart from their stakeholder’s perspective. Remind students that their stakeholder’s decision-making process would be inherently biased toward that stakeholder’s best interests. Invite students to share their completed Stakeholder Chart and their answers to the analysis questions with the class. Ask:

• Which stakeholders will be most affected by the decision to remove the dams?
  
• Are those stakeholders the ones who have the power to make the decision? Do you think this is “fair”? Why or why not?
  
• Who do you think should make the decision in situations like this?

7. Take a vote on the proposed solution.

Have students read the case study a third time, underlining any points or topics that they personally—not as their stakeholder—find important. Take a vote to see how students themselves would vote on the proposed removal of the four dams. Discuss the vote. Ask:

• Why did you vote the way you did?
  
• If you had no personal stake in the solution, what factors most influenced your decision-making?
  
• Did your feelings about the decision-making process in the case study affect your vote? Why or why not?

End the discussion by explaining that, in any decision, a person’s feelings affect his or her decision-making to some extent.

8. Have students write a rationale explaining their vote.

Distribute the Rationale Rubric and review it with students. Answer any questions they might have. Have students work independently to write one to three paragraphs explaining why they voted the way they did. Encourage them to incorporate factual information and discuss the role their feelings played in their decision-making process. Revisit and discuss the guiding question: How do the various needs and wants of stakeholders affect the complexity of energy decisions? Have students use specific examples from their research in the discussion.