I found the article, "Mapping Student Minds," by Ariel Owen a fascinating approach to teaching students how to collect, organize, process, and analyze data about nature. In business it is always difficult to determine the root cause of multiple symptoms which decrease profit and increase work loads. This article taught the kids to find the root cause for reduced water quality---deoxygenation of Pine Creek. Chemical fertilizers from farms and manure, for instance, added phosphates which fed algae which sucked up oxygen that the fish and plants needed to survive. I would have liked the students look for crawdads, fish, and frogs in a set area and analyze that data twice a year too. Animal life is essential for healthy creeks. Each animal performs a task in maintaining a healthy creek as well as the native plant life for that watershed. It all has a balance that changes with the seasons.
Data collection is a fabulous way for students to realize that just because it looks like issues are related does not mean that they really are once you analyze the data. The student's mapping of their data showed the extent of their data collection, that they had preconceived ideas of what data that they should collect, and how it related to the issue of water quality by using technology to process the data. Their thought processes were thorough for their age. I was very impressed with that approach.
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Great insights from the reading. I liked your idea about also collecting data on the animal inhabitants of the the creek. How is the water quality affecting the wildlife? I also liked your point about finding root causes of things. The children are learning before jumping to conclusions, the situation must be investigated and data collected. I think many of us look at the surface of a situation and make projections without acutally having a deeper understanding of all the factors that play a part in the outcome.
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