ALX Foundations: Milestone 3 Worksheet
Instructions: Provide responses to all items in the orange boxes. The worksheet
consists of Sections A-E. Work on this worksheet one section at a time throughout
your week, and return to Canvas after each section for the next set of content and
further instructions.
SECTION A: Problem Statement
Step 1: Your GCGO
Which Grand Challenge or Great Opportunity (GCGO) do you want to play a part in addressing?
(Pick one.)
As a reminder, the GCGOs are:
● Urbanization
● Education
● Infrastructure
● Healthcare
● Climate change
● Governance
● Job creation
● Agriculture
● Natural resources
● Arts, culture, and design
● Tourism
● Empowerment of women
● Regional integration
● Wildlife conservation
GCGO:
Tourism
Step 2: Describe Your Problem
You are going to take a first pass at briefly describing your chosen problem. This can be any
problem that speaks to you, as long as it is a real-life occurrence that is clearly linked to your
chosen GCGO, that occurs in a certain place and for certain people (and/or animals), and that it
can be clearly defined.
For example, if you chose wildlife conservation as your GCGO, you might first state your chosen
problem as:
There are very few white rhinos left in Kenya and they are in danger of going extinct.
Another example, if you choose infrastructure as your GCGO:
Residents of major cities in South Africa endure prolonged periods without electricity, significantly
hampering their ability to generate income.
Note that this is just your first attempt stating the problem, and you don’t need to quantify the
problem yet. In order to get to your official problem statement (which does need to be
quantifiable) first answer the following questions. The more specific your answers, the better.
You may also ask Google, Wikipedia, , ChatGPT, and/or other reliable online sources to help you.
Please be sure to cite (give credit to) any sources that you use.
Describe your problem using What/Who/When/Where/Why/How….
1. What is the problem? What is reality like because of this problem? The tourism industry
in Nigeria is almost non-existence, and greatly affects the understanding of nigeria as a
country to other parts of the world
2. Who does this problem impact, directly and indirectly? Who contributes to the problem?
It affects the country as a whole. Tourist rarely visit the country for exploration
purposes ignoring all the beauty the country has to offer.
3. When did this problem begin? When does it occur? This problem has alays been there,
just not visible.
4. Where is this problem occurring? What is the context in which it occurs? It occurring in
the country as a whole.
5. Why is this a problem? What are the pain points or gaps? Why do you personally care
about this problem? This is a problem because it greatly undermines Nigeria as a
country that has much to offer. I personally care about this problem because as a
nigerian and historian i want to share the beauty i’ve seen here, with the world
6. How would reality be different if this problem were solved? (This can be your opinion.)
It would be really different. The mindset of people when visiting the country will change, more
people can act as tourist guides and make money through it. Many many jobs will be
available.
Step 3: Understand and Quantify Your Problem
Next, you will conduct some basic web research to better understand, define, and quantify your
problem. You will do this through a combination of Google search, Wikipedia, credible web
sources, ChatGPT or other AI research tool, and your own synthesis of information from these
sources. Be sure to give credit to your sources, and paraphrase (use your own words) rather
than quoting directly.
7. What is the historical context for this problem? What happened in the past that
contributes to the problem now? The lack of tourism in Nigeri is a mixture of many
problems, from lack of education to lack of appreciation. Also many of the people didn’t
see the benefit in it as it’s a slow business when starting with little to no profit upfront.
Which is not what is liked in a fast moving country like Nigeria.
8. What are the possible economic (money-related) reasons why this problem exists and
continues? Lack of proper education into why it’s important.
9. What are the possible political reasons why this problem exists and continues? It has a
slow profit margin especially at the beginning.
10. What cultural beliefs and/or social norms possibly contribute to this problem? The
people cannot see the benefits. Although it’s benefits are there, it’s no immediate.
11. Who are the people potentially responsible (directly or indirectly) for creating and/or
maintaining this problem? It’s always been there, it’s more of a problem with an hidden
opportunity than an original problem.
Now that you have the preliminary information you need, you’ll continue your web research to
find some numbers, or quantifiable information, to help describe your problem:
What numerical data can you find that is relevant to your problem? Be sure to use your own
words and also cite (give credit to) your sources.
Example 1:
According to Chat GPT, there are about 880 white rhinos currently living in Kenya. This population
is very small, and they are critically endangered.
Example 2:
Johannesburg has approximately 5.8 million residents (per ChatGPT) and had approximately 4.7
million international overnight visitors in 2019 (according to the South African Tourism Annual
Report for 2019/2020).
12. Approximately how many people (and/or animals) are directly impacted by this
problem? Explain. No info
13. Approximately how many people (and/or animals) are indirectly impacted by this
problem? Explain. No info
14. What other numerical data can you share that is relevant to your problem? What can
you find out about its size and scope? What can be measured? (For example, the
amount of trash produced in Nairobi each day, the number of people without access to
clean water, etc.) No info
Step 4: Describe Your Solved State
Without having to come up with how to solve the problem, describe what the desired, solved
state looks like. Please use numbers wherever possible, and make your solved state specific
and measurable.
Example 1:
There would be a population of 10,000 healthy and protected white rhinos living in the wild in
Kenya.
Example 2:
All 5.8 million residents of Johannesburg would have affordable and consistently available power
from clean energy sources, 99.5% of the time.
15. If the problem were addressed/solved, what would reality be like?
Reality will be massively different.
16. Are there other benefits that would come from your problem being solved? Name at
least one. Job creations for the locals.
Step 5: Clarify Your Problem Scope
You are more effective at solving a problem when you know where its limits are. That is, when
you know what is “in scope” and “out of scope.” For this reason, it is important to list what is out
of scope, or NOT included as part of your problem definition.
Example 1:
The scope of the problem does not cover any other animal species besides white rhinos. It does
not include white rhinos outside of Kenya.
Example 2:
The scope of the problem does not include any businesses or people outside of the
legally-defined Johannesburg city limits. It does not apply to tourists or visitors staying for less
than 1 year in Johannesburg.
17. What is NOT in scope for your problem? The scope of the problem does not cover
tourism outside of Nigeria, it doesn’t include tourism in Africa.
Step 6: Areas for Learning
What do you not know or understand that you would like to know more about? This can be
anything related directly or indirectly to your problem. Let your curiosity run wild!
Example 1:
I’d like to know where most of the demand for rhino horn is coming from. I’d like to know who are
the primary buyers and who is behind the trafficking of rhino horn. I’d like to know how long the
average rhino’s lifespan is. I’d like to know how many babies a typical female rhino has, and how
many babies typically survive into adulthood. I’d like to know more about what diseases impact
rhinos. I’d like to know more about the kinds of habitats that rhinos thrive in. I’d like to understand
what international organizations do the best job supporting wildlife conservation and what their
practices are. I’d like to know what models of community involvement have been most successful
in keeping wildlife safe and thriving. I’d like to understand how much land is available in Kenya for
rhinos to roam.
Example 2:
I’d like to better understand the utility company Eskom and its history. I’d like to understand why
Eksom has failed to plan properly to update its infrastructure. I’d like to understand the
relationship between Eksom and the South African government. I’d like to know if there are private
utility companies providing competition to Eksom. I’d like to know what the latest breakthroughs
are in solar power. I’d like to know what other possible energy sources might be made available in
Johannesburg. I’d like to know how much energy tourists and temporary visitors use. I’d like to
better understand the process of how limited energy supply gets allocated to people and
businesses. I’d like to better understand the economic impact to people and businesses of not
having power.
18. What else would you like to know or understand better? (It can be anything related to
your problem.) List 5-10 things. I’d like to know why the government do not consider
tourism to be an import part of the country’s work. I’d like to know why electricity is not
permanent in Nigeria. I’f like to know why ALL the government is corrupt and nobody is
doing anything to stop them. I’d like to know why the progress of Nigeria is not a goal
for the government.
Step 7: Problem Statement
This step is the culmination of all you have done in Part A. You will synthesize the work you have
done above to create a problem statement of 150 - 250 words. This should be in narrative form,
2-4 paragraphs, and should NOT use bullet points.
Your problem statement should:
● Provide a succinct description of the problem in the first sentence.
● Indicate specific population affected
● Explain the impact (cost, time, environmental, personal) and why the problem matters.
● Explain what reality would look like if the problem were solved. The gap that exists
between present reality and the desired outcome should be clear.
Please cite (give credit to) where your information came from directly in your statement. Avoid
word-for-word quoting and instead paraphrase (use your own words), as modeled in the
example. Also list your sources and their urls (web addresses) at the end.
Example :
Kenya’s white rhinos are in critical danger of extinction. There are currently about 880 white rhinos
in the country of Kenya, per Wikipedia. According to Chat GPT, Rhinos are considered a keystone
species, meaning they have a disproportionately large impact on their ecosystem compared to
their population size. Rhinos help shape their environment by influencing vegetation growth and
acting as seed dispersers, which creates habitat for other species (per ChatGPT).
The extinction of white rhinos would have cascading effects on other plant and animal species in
their habitat. According to the Kenya Wildlife Service, rhinos’ presence in reserves and parks bring
millions of tourists each year, contributing to local economies and supporting conservation
efforts. Once a species goes extinct, it is gone forever. The extinction of rhinos would represent
the loss of millions of years of evolutionary history, and unique genetic diversity that science has
yet to fully understand and benefit from (per ChatGPT).
My problem would be considered solved when the population of wild, white rhinos in Kenya
reaches 10,000, and when all imminent threats to their population including poaching and habitat
destruction are not present. If this were the reality, it would create ecosystem balance, create
large revenues from ecotourism, preserve important cultural symbols, and allow for genetic
diversity that could benefit humanity in ways we may not yet fully understand.
Sources:
Kenya Wildlife Services Annual Report 2017, https://www.kws.go.ke/content/annual-reports
ChatGPT, https://chat.openai.com/
“White Rhinoceros”, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_rhinoceros
19. My problem is statement is:
The lack of tourism in Nigeria is a problem with hidden opportunities. If properly harnessed it
could change the country as a whole. According to the world bank, "Nigeria's Tourism
Revenue reached 2 USD billion in Dec 2018, compared with 3 USD billion in
the previous year. Nigeria's Tourism Revenue data is updated yearly,
available from Dec 1995 to Dec 2018. The data reached an all-time high of
2,615 USD million in Dec 2017 and a record low of 47 USD million in Dec
1995" - World Bank Data
Tourism in Nigeria generated approximately 6% of the annual internally
generated revenue in Nigeria. Tourism in Nigeria is one of the major
drivers of inter-cultural relations. Over the years, tourism has influenced
the influx of people visiting the country.
20. Please list all sources that you used to form your problem statement:
1 https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/6b7b11868fe344e3a195ae1f369455f5
Please go back to Canvas and continue with your learning content. You will
be prompted on when to return to complete Section B.
SECTION B: Research Questions & Hypothesis
IMPORTANT: Complete this section AFTER completing the Canvas Modules Asking Effective
Questions and Web Research.
Step 8: Research Questions
Based on what you have learned so far and on ‘Step 6: Areas for Learning’ from this worksheet,
come up with 3 research questions. Research questions should be complex enough that they
can’t be answered by a single Google search. If appropriate, form a hypothesis that your
research may confirm or reject. (As a reminder, a hypothesis is a prediction of how you think
your research will answer your research question. It is your best guess. If you truly have
absolutely no idea, state “not applicable.”)
Example Research Question #1:
What are some ways can we increase rhino populations?
Hypothesis:
Rhino populations will be increased by creating more open spaces for them to roam, increasing
their protection, increasing international interest in them, and other reasons I have yet to uncover.
Example Research Question #2:
Which organizations have been effective at wildlife conservation and what practices do they use?
Hypothesis:
Not applicable; I don’t know.
Example Research Question #3:
How many babies can a typical female white rhino have in her lifetime, and what are the reasons a
female may not have high fertility?
Hypothesis:
A typical female white rhino can have 5 babies in her lifetime, and fertility may be affected by diet,
amount of grazing territory, poaching, stress, mate availability, and other reasons I have yet ot
uncover.
21. Research question #1:
How can we encourage tourists to visit Nigeria?
Hypothesis (if applicable):
While we might be talking about how there is a lack of tourism in Nigeria, it’s useless if no
tourists want to visit Nigeria. Providing adequate needs and understanding what the tourists
wants is one way we can encourage them to visit the country. Showing them the beauty of the
country and its wonders that are only unique to the place. For them to see an amazing
experience that they’ll be able to talk about for a long time.
22. Research question #2:
What organizations are helping and improving the tourism industry in Nigeria?
Hypothesis (if applicable):
Not applicable. I don’t know.
23. Research question #3:
How do we ensure a safe and amazing travel for the tourists?
Hypothesis (if applicable):
Not applicable. I don’t know.
Please go back to Canvas and continue with your learning content. You will
be prompted on when to return to complete Section C.
PART C: Mini-Research Report
IMPORTANT: Complete this section AFTER completing the Canvas Module Web Research
Executive Summary.
In 200-300 words, provide an executive summary of your research. You should be synthesizing
information from multiple sources. Provide answers and explanations for the 3 questions you
investigated and your key research findings. This should be in a narrative format (no bullet
points), and be at least 3 paragraphs long.
Please use at least 3 different online sources such as ChatGPT, organizational websites,
wikipedia, etc.. Please cite (give credit to) where your information came from directly in your
statement. Avoid word-for-word quoting and instead paraphrase (use your own words), as
modeled in the example. Also list your sources and their urls (web addresses) at the end.
Example Executive Summary:
According to ChatGPT, increasing rhino populations requires multiple approaches. These
approaches include: anti-poaching measures; habitat protection and management; translocation
and reintroduction; captive breeding and reintroduction; international cooperation between
governments, conservation organizations, and communities; community engagement and
education; and demand reduction.
According to ChatGPT, the following organizations are well known for wildlife conservation and
protection: World Wildlife Fund (WWF), International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN),
Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), African Wildlife Foundation (AWF), Pathera, Conservation
International, and The Jane Goodall Institute. These organizations engage in different practices to
help wildlife. As one example, World Wildlife Fund, according to their webpage, engages in
protecting land where animals roam, educating communities on the importance of protecting
wildlife, and shutting down markets in Asia where ivory is sold.
Another example is African Wildlife Foundation. According to their website, they focus their
efforts conservation education, anti-poaching efforts, habitat restoration, and policy advocacy.
The Jane Goodall Institute is a final example. According to their website, they focus on
environmental education, and promoting sustainable livelihoods through conservation efforts.
There appears to be several ways that reputable wildlife conservation organizations go about
accomplishing their goal.
According to the International Rhino Foundation, a typical rhino pregnancy lasts around 16
months. According to the Maryland Zoo, Female white rhinos are able to start producing offspring
when they are about 6 years old. A female rhino can give birth to one calf about once every 2-3
years. According to ChatGPT, a female rhino could give birth to as many as 14 offspring in her
lifetime, but this is uncommon. Usually, conditions do not support this.
Sources:
African Wildlife Foundation, https://www.awf.org/strategic-vision-2020-2030
ChatGPT, https://chat.openai.com/
Jane Goodall Institute, https://janegoodall.org/our-impact/
International Rhino Foundation https://rhinos.org/blog/rhino-moms/
Maryland Zoo, https://www.marylandzoo.org/animal/southern-white-rhinoceros/
World Wildlife Fund, https://www.worldwildlife.org/initiatives/wildlife-conservation
24. Executive Summary:
25. Please list all sources that you used to form your executive summary:
Please go back to Canvas and continue with your learning content. Return to
Part D after you have completed your City Hub Activities.
PART D: Hub Activities Report
IMPORTANT: Complete this section AFTER completing the Canvas Lessons “
Hub Activity: Problem Statement” and “Hub Activity: Web Research.”
Hub Activity #1: Problem Statement
Please report on your process of getting peer feedback.
26. Who reviewed your problem statement (item #19)? (Give the first and last names of
your 2 peers.)
Eliza Akins & Elizabeth A
27. In brief, what feedback did they give to you?
They really liked my problem statement, and also gave me feedback on how i can improve it.
28. Was their feedback useful to you? Did it feel kind? Why or why not?
Yes it was. I was able to see some places where i could improve.
29. Who did you give feedback to? (Give the first and last names of 2 peers- they may be
the same or different peers from above.)
Elizabeth A & Eliza Akins
30. Do you feel that you gave useful and kind feedback to your peers? Why or why not?
Yes i did.
Hub Activity #2: Web Research
Please report on your process of getting peer feedback.
31. Who reviewed your executive summary (item #24)? (Give the first and last names of
your 2 peers.)
32. In brief, what feedback did they give to you?
33. Was their feedback useful to you? Did it feel kind? Why or why not?
34. Who did you give feedback to? (Give the first and last names of 2 peers- they may be
the same or different peers from above.)
35. Do you feel that you gave useful and kind feedback to your peers? Why or why not?
After you updated earlier parts of the worksheet based on your feedback,
please go back to Canvas and continue with your learning content. Return to
Part E prior to submitting your milestone.
PART E: Daily 3 Challenge Report
Please answer the following questions honestly. There are no wrong answers! This is your
opportunity for self-reflection.
36. How many days out of the past 7 did you do 20 minutes of movement?
5
37. How many days out of the past 7 did you write 3 morning pages?
7
38. Overall, how do you feel you are doing on building your Daily 3 habits? Explain.
It’s was really hard at first, but i kept pushing myself to do it. And it gets easier as the
days go. Now it’s almost second nature.
39. What is your biggest barrier to staying motivated?
Lack of immediate results.
40. If you have been practicing at least some movement and/or morning pages:
A) What effect (if any) have you noticed on your mood, focus, and productivity?
They make me feel more energetic and my mind is calm and at peace. I can think really
clearly.
B) What helps you stay motivated?
Thinking about the benefits and results.
41. If you haven’t been practicing any movement and morning pages, what would motivate
you to get started?
Maybe, get an accountability partner.
Once you have completed this worksheet, export/convert to .pdf, rename it per the
instructions, and upload to Canvas as your Milestone 3 Submission. Celebrate a job well done!
