25%
Complete

Chapter Four

Hard Stuff is Hard

Part One

Decision-making isn't easy

Read Story Instead

Prefer reading instead? Here's the text version of your lesson.

Go!

Questions & Activities

Reflect on your lesson with short activities, or by exploring referenced articles, featured podcasts, term definitions, and more!

Go!

Featured Hot Take

How do you solve complex problems and make better decisions? Well, Dr. Kerry Bowman might be able to help. He’s a world-renowned ethicist and quite possibly the most interesting man in the world. Kerry took the time to join us in conversation to discuss the art of decision-making.

We’re featuring this podcast across all five Nature Labs subjects. You might not like every course you take in school, but they are all related. By listening to this podcast, hopefully you’ll better understand why.

Reflection

  • What do you think defines good ethics?
  • Do we do a good enough job of considering ethics when we make decisions? Why or why not?
  • When we talk about ethics, do we realize different regions and different people hold different ethical values? How should we weigh different ethical standards when making decisions?
  • What are the social, cultural, economic and biological ramifications of including ethics in our decision-making processes? What are the ramifications if we don't?
  • What role should ethics play in research and storytelling?
  • How will you apply lessons learned in this story to this class and your life?
More on Kerry Bowman

Part Two

THE FOLLOWING ACTIVITIES WILL HELP YOU BETTER UNDERSTAND THE CONCEPTS YOU NEED TO LEARN IN THIS CLASS. YOUR TEACHER WILL SELECT WHICH ACTIVITIES YOU NEED TO COMPLETE BELOW.

The Art of Decision-Making

Think decisions are easy? Try your hand at reaching a consensus agreement between divergent stakeholders.

Hmmm

Problem Solving

Good stories don't start with an idea, but rather begin with a focused question that requires solving. * Recommended

Go!

Compare and Decide

There's no one right way to present research or tell a story. Compare and contrast different techniques to find what works best!

Learn more

Part Three

HOW DOES THIS CLASS RELATE TO REAL-WORLD ISSUES?

Inquiry Media

Can we save every species?

Go!

Canada at a Crossroads

NEW: Inquiry Media Series

This five-part story will be featured across each of the first five chapters of Nature Labs and will ask students to explore the question of how Canada can protect our economy and sovereignty while still addressing the other challenges of our time.

Go!

Further Exploration

Latest News

Exciting Announcement: Section1.ca!

News
Nature Labs is thrilled to announce an exciting partnership with Section1.ca’s Students in Democracy Education (S.I.D.E.) - a dynamic and forward-thinking resource that invites...
Read more

Tomorrow, We’re Still Canada

News
Well, we can't touch 'em all, Joe. And today, that one hurt. But being Canadian was never about touching them all. It’s about lacing up anyway....
Read more

Alberta Announces Province-Wide Vote on Immigration Policy

News
What’s happening Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced that the province will hold a province-wide referendum on October 19, 2026. Albertans will be asked several questions about...
Read more
Load more

Resources From the Curated Library

Meet the Vancouver scientist whose work could help fight forest fires, save old-growth

Bias: none Source: Vancouver Sun File Type: Article Overview: Meet the...

Going into Business for Wildlife Conservation

Going into Business for...

The tunnels, trails and bridges built especially for bears

Bias: none Source: BBC File Type: Article Overview: The tunnels, trails...
More From the Curated Library

Additional Resources

33%
Unit completion

Chapters

Chapter One

The System of Things

Go

Chapter Five

Here’s How

Go

Chapter Nine

Own Your Hypocrisy

Go

Chapter Two

The Context of It All

Go

Chapter Six

Your Turn

Go

Chapter Ten

Keep Going

Go

Chapter Three

We Don’t Know What We Don’t Know

Go

Chapter Seven

Dig Deeper

Go

Chapter Eleven

One Last Thing

Go

Chapter Four

Hard Stuff is Hard

You are here!

Chapter Eight

Be Better

Go

Chapter Twelve

The End (of the Beginning)

Go