Where Are the Plastics Near Me? (Mapping the Data)
Distribution of deer sampled for chronic wasting disease in New York, 2002-2008. This is an example of field data plotting with data linked to spatial areas on a map, no different in concept from plotting the locations of plastic debris that are sampled by students in this activity. Student maps will be even more useful because they are interactive.Copyright New York State Department of Environmental Conservation via usa.gov {PD} http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/33220.html
In a student-led and fairly independent fashion, data collected in the associated field trip activity are organized by student groups to create useful and informative Google Earth maps. Each team creates a map, uses that map to analyze the results, adjusts the map to include the analysis results, and then writes a brief summary of findings. Primarily, questions of fate-and-transport of plastics are are explored. If data was gathered in the field trip but the teacher does not desire to do the mapping activity, then alternative data presentation and analysis methods are suggested.
Water resources, environmental and civil engineers are often presented with volumes of field information that must be organized without creating error, presented well and analyzed. This activity asks students to do all these tasks as they design a presentation scheme that best fits what they discover in their data. They experience the iterative nature of design—the cycle of analysis, presentation and evaluation.
After this activity, students should be able to:
- Sort through a sizeable amount of data to determine what is significant.
- Organize field-based information.
- Mix field information with external sources of information.
- Present scientific and engineering findings visually and with text.
- Understand the iterative design process involved in data analysis and presentation.