InTeGrate Modules and Courses >Mapping the Environment with Sensory Perception
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These materials are part of a collection of classroom-tested modules and courses developed by InTeGrate. The materials engage students in understanding the earth system as it intertwines with key societal issues. The materials are free and ready to be adapted by undergraduate educators across a range of courses including: general education or majors courses in Earth-focused disciplines such as geoscience or environmental science, social science, engineering, and other sciences, as well as courses for interdisciplinary programs.
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Mapping the Environment with Sensory Perception

Summary

This module connects students' personal sensory experiences to environmental data collected and analyzed by geoscientists, cultural impacts documented by social scientists, and the communication of environmental conditions and advocacy for remedial action crafted by rhetoricians. Sensory data (specifically smells and sounds) will be collected and used to trace the movement of contaminants through the environmental system. While geoscientists may ultimately rely upon chemical analyses of water, soil, and air samples, the initial impact of contamination is most often noted when people detect sensorial alterations of their lived spaces. Mapping sensory impacts will help students develop an understanding of how contaminants move through the natural environment; how data is collected to identify contaminants, monitor movement, and identify sources; and how individuals living in proximity to environmental hazards are directly impacted by those hazards. Students will also examine the ways in which information about environmental hazards is conveyed to different audiences and will apply their understanding by developing maps that convey the data they have collected to a specific audience.

Strengths of the Module

Students who learn with this module will:
  • Explore the implications of different data types used in environmental problem communication.
  • Evaluate the environmental impact of a human-modified site on a community using sensory data that they have collected with a data collection plan they have developed.
  • Compare and contrast different conceptual approaches (sensory and geoscientific) to mapping environmental issues.
  • Create a map to communicate the environmental impact (social and geophysical) of a human-modified site to an interdisciplinary audience.

In working with data, students will:

  • Analyze quantitative, qualitative, and survey data and compare the impact of each separately and combined.
  • Develop a sensory data collection protocol to reduce errors in the data collection process.
  • Collect and record qualitative and quantitative sensory data as part of an environmental study.
  • Map their sensory data in a way that is both accurate and communicates effectively.

A great fit for courses in:

  • Introductory geoscience
  • Environmental science
  • Environmental geology
  • Environmental studies
  • Environmental justice or social issues
  • Contaminant analysis


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These materials are part of a collection of classroom-tested modules and courses developed by InTeGrate. The materials engage students in understanding the earth system as it intertwines with key societal issues. The collection is freely available and ready to be adapted by undergraduate educators across a range of courses including: general education or majors courses in Earth-focused disciplines such as geoscience or environmental science, social science, engineering, and other sciences, as well as courses for interdisciplinary programs.
Explore the Collection »