InTeGrate Modules and Courses >Mapping the Environment with Sensory Perception > Student Materials
InTeGrate's Earth-focused Modules and Courses for the Undergraduate Classroom
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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.
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For the Instructor

These student materials complement the Mapping the Environment with Sensory Perception Instructor Materials. If you would like your students to have access to the student materials, we suggest you either point them at the Student Version which omits the framing pages with information designed for faculty (and this box). Or you can download these pages in several formats that you can include in your course website or local Learning Managment System. Learn more about using, modifying, and sharing InTeGrate teaching materials.

Student Materials

In the next three weeks, you will be learning about how people collect data, how data is categorized, and how the ways in which we collect data vary depending on the situation and the needs of researchers and participants. You will examine what it means to convey different kinds of information to other people. Think of yourselves as great detectives like Sherlock Holmes, someone who uses all of his senses to ask questions and solve problems. You set a goal to understand something that has happened or is likely to happen. Then, you proceed to observe and collect data, asking yourself how to go about answering the questions you posed and considering what kinds of thinking you will need to do to test your hypothesis. Next, you take a step back and learn how to analyze and evaluate your data sets carefully, recombining them, changing your perspective, considering alternative possibilities, being imaginative with that data in order to see a greater variety of options and synthesize those options with an open mind. Ultimately, you will learn to look at and analyze different kinds of data and use your senses to map a specific setting with the understanding that different types of maps tell different kinds of stories.

Unit 1: Data Set Analysis

In this unit, you will be introduced to different data types used in the geosciences and other disciplines to understand environmental problems. Your instructor will explain the difference between qualitative and quantitative data. You will then be given data sets related to water in Phoenix, Arizona. You will work in pairs to categorize different data sets as qualitative or quantitative and to reflect on your responses to different types of data. The unit will end with a discussion about the potential uses of these various data sets in decision-making around water in Phoenix, Arizona.

Data Sets Handout (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 323kB Jul14 24)

Unit 2: Sensory Logs and Holistic Reflection

In this unit, you will keep a log of immediate, personal sensory experiences by pausing once each hour over a period of ten hours and recording the sights, sounds, scents, tastes, and tactile experiences you are sensing at that moment. In class, you will exchange logs with another student, respond and discuss, and then form larger groups to discuss disparate ways of paying attention to sensory experiences that will be shared with the class. The unit concludes with a reflection paper wherein you discuss qualitative and quantitative data and your experience collecting sensory data and the response to your discussion in class.

Summative Assessment #1: Sensory Log Reflection & Rubric (Microsoft Word 46kB May16 16)

Unit 3: Sensory Data Collection

In the first part of this unit, you will develop protocols for the collection of sensory data. The data collected will consist of scents and/or sounds. Protocols are careful procedures you follow in order to ensure consistency of data between collection points and between data collectors. You will work in a group to develop a draft protocol, exchange drafts with another group for a critique, revise the protocol, exchange the protocol with another group and instruct the members in its use (while they instruct you in the use of theirs), collect sensory data using the protocol you have received and prepare a critique based on your experience, and then share critiques and develop a final version of your protocol.

Assessment Rubric for Protocols (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 53kB Feb12 16)

In the second part of this unit, you will plan and execute the field collection of sensory data (scents and/or sounds) using your data collection protocols. In class, your group will develop a field investigation plan, display it for other students to examine and comment on, and then revise it. Outside of class, your group will use the data collection protocol and field plan as you collect sensory data in the field from location you have selected. The data will be used in Unit 5 to develop a sensory map.

Sample field plan & field plan assessment rubric (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 67kB Jun16 15)

Unit 4: Case Study Analysis

In this unit, you will evaluate the data used in different environmental case studies to determine the distinction between qualitative and quantitative data analysis, collection, and inquiry. You will begin by reading a small set of data taken from a larger case; you will then discuss your data with other students in an "expert" group in which each member has read some portion of the case file. The "expert" group will then present an overview of their case to the entire class. The class will then discuss the impact of different types of data on different audiences and develop a consensus on the types of data best suited for presentation to specific audiences. The unit concludes with a reflection paper completed outside of class as homework.

Case Studies:

Summative Assessment #2: Case Study Reflection & Rubric (Microsoft Word 54kB May16 16)

Unit 5: Sensory Map Development

In this unit, you will work in your group to use the sensory data (scents and/or sounds) you collected in the field to create maps of the sensory environment. After your group has developed a draft version of your map, you will display it for other students to view and provide feedback. Your group will then revise the map and prepare a final version. The unit concludes with a reflection paper completed outside of class as homework.

Summative Assessment #3: Sensory Mapping Reflection & Rubric (Microsoft Word 174kB May16 16)

Summative Assessment #4: Sensory Map & Rubrics (Microsoft Word 49kB May16 16)


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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 »