Teaching Sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

20 minutes – Part A: Presentation Matters
30 minutes – Part B: From Raw Data to Amazing Graphs
20 minutes – Part C: Using Digital Tools to Present Graphs
10 minutes – Part D: Reflection

Part A: Presentation Matters

In this lesson students will work with real data sets from Earthwatch and their partner universities. The steps of Part A of this lesson will help students understand the power of graphs and how biases can be woven into a data representations. This is done by looking at data during various stages of analysis and having students repeatedly reexamining the information.

This lesson relies on students manipulating data sets on Excel documents. For this reason, the lesson is best completed in a computer lab or using a class set of laptop. Depending on how many devices are available to you, you may choose to run this lesson with students in pairs or small groups.

Step 1.

If you have completed the previous lesson, Collecting Data, activate prior learning by reviewing the following questions with the class:

What is phenology?
Why is phenology important to scientists?
Why is phenology important to communities?
How does phenology link to maths?

OR

If you are teaching this lesson as a standalone, explain to the class that they will be learning about a scientific concept called phenology. Phenology is a field of science that connects the behaviours of plants and animals with environmental factors, such as climate variation. This field of science relies on a great deal of data and mathematical analysis.

Then, play the following video for the class to introduce them to phenology:

Phenology and nature's shifting rhythms - Regina Brinker (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNs3XpRmRfI)

Step 2.

Explain to the class that, during this lesson, they will be looking at phenological data in various stages of analysis. Their challenge is to figure out which stages are easiest to read, which are more difficult and why. Reassure students that some of the data sets they will be assessing may be difficult to figure out at this early stage. This is absolutely fine, so long as students try to explain what makes the data confusing and suggest how to make the data clearer.

Step 3.

Displaying the Flowering Plant Data (on the 'Raw' tab) for students. Explain that this is a real data set collected from a dry, sclerophyll forest in Upper Beaconfield, Victoria by scientist, Laura Levens. This data is yet to be organised, we call this raw data.

Invite students to consider this raw data set and write their thoughts in the Flowering Plant Data section of the table (available in the Student Worksheet). Invite students to work in pairs while answering the questions:

Which items in the data stand out and why?
Is the data easy to read? Why/why not?
How could you change the presentation of this data?
How might you visually present the data?

Invite the class to share their responses, then inform them that they will revisit their answers once they have organised the data.

Step 4.

Ask students to view to the 'Organised' tab of the Flowering Plant Data and response to the same questions. Invite the class to notice and discuss the difference in between the two data sets.

Step 5.

Explain to students that, when looking at large amounts of data, it can be difficult to understand what it is telling us. This is why data presentation is important. Ask the class if they know of any ways data can be effectively organised and communicated. Suggested answers - graphs, tables or infographics.

Explain that generally speaking, graphs are effective at communicating data when precise numeric details are not required. Graphs help demonstrate a trend or a comparison when there are relationships between data values.

Step 6.

Invite students to progress to the 'Graph' tab of the Flowering Plant Data and fill out the next row in the table on the Student Worksheet.

Now, encourage students to reflect on their answers, looking for changed between rows. Invite students to note any changes that they think are interesting by annotating the table on their worksheet. Now, hold a class discussion around the differences in their answers between the three rows. Students may note that the data became clearer and that they saw trends as they progress however they may also see that some information was progressively removed from the data sets.

Extension - Instead of using the organised data set and graph tabs, provide students with just the Raw Flowering Plant Data and work together to organise and create a graph using excel. Allow the class to suggest which items should be organised differently and why.

If you wish to extend students' data analysis skills, consider posing the following questions:

Can you identify any trends in the graph?
Does the trend differ between northern and southern states? If yes, describe the difference/s you see.
Why might the yearly first flowering date for button everlasting be changing over time?
What might the implications for other wildlife, like birds or insects?

Part B: Organising Data

Step 1.

Explain to the class that they will now be extending on what they learnt about data presentation using graphing skills. Invite students to look at the Magpie Data Set. Explain to the class that this data comes from citizen scientists using the ClimateWatch app and website between 2011-15.

If you have completed the previous lesson, activate prior knowledge of citizen science through questioning. Alternatively, explain that citizen science is where people help scientists collect data for their research. ClimateWatch use an app and website to record phenological data to see if climate change is altering plant and animal behaviour. Behaviour such as such as plant budding and bird nesting or migration are all of interest.

Source: https://www.climatewatch.org.au/

Step 2.

Write the following challenge on the board and explain that students will be working in groups to complete this task using the Magpie Data Set:

Create a graph (or multiple graphs) that shows if the first swooping day of the year is changing over time.

To do this task students will need to organise the magpie data, decide on a graph type to use, create their graph and analyse their findings.

Step 3.

Talk through each of the columns on the Magpie Data Set with the class. You can adapt the following for any fields that students need clarification on:

Catalog Number: a unique number that ClimateWatch allocates to the data so it can be found in their system
Individual Count: how many of the species displaying the behaviour were sighted
Behaviour: the phenological activity
Year, month and day are all as per a usual calendar year
Year Day: the day of the year that the behaviour was recorded, beginning January 1st (day 1)
Habitat: the environment where the siting was recorded
State Provence: Only data from Western Australia has been provided in this data set
Latitude and Longitude are location indicators of the sighting
Scientific Name: refers to the species sighted
Vernacular Name: common name of the species sighted

Now, looking at the data set and the challenge written on the board, encourage students to work in pairs and discuss what they think are the important fields (columns) and how they could be better arranged. In their own version of the Magpie Data Set students can, rearranged, sort and delete columns as they see fit. Ask for volunteers to share their thoughts, encouraging pairs to experiment with the data according to suggestions from their peers. Explain to students that they can undo or return to the original file, so they shouldn't be worried about experimenting with the data set.

Depending on the class' excel skill, you may want to run a demonstration on how to sort data prior to the above step.

Step 3.

As students discuss and rearrange their data sets, look for pairs whose work could be shared with the whole class. Ask these pairs to share with the class how they have arranged their data. Allow students enough time to experiment with the data until they are happy with a particular arrangement.

Once students have completed this activity invite them to 'save as' a versions of the data sets. Then, allow the class to circle the room and view how other groups have rearranged their data. Encourage students to discuss their decisions with each other, making changes to their work as they learn from each other.

Step 4.

Depending on the class' final versions of the data sets, you may wish to run a demonstration on how you would work with this data. As you do this, explain your reasoning and allow students to ask questions. Your final data set should look something like the following:

Explain that in the next activity students will be learning about some data visualisation methods. They will then choose one of these methods and use it to display their ClimateWatch Magpie data.

Part C: From Data to Amazing Graphs

Step 1.

Show students the Graph Factsheet. Invite them to look through the examples of a line graph, column graph, histogram, dot plot, sector graphs and stem-and-leaf plot alongside the Magpie Data Set. Encourage students to annotate the Graph Factsheet with their ideas of which graph types would be suitable to represent the Magpie Data Set.

Inform students that in the graphs they create to represent the Magpie Data Set, should have appropriate formatting and enhance the reader’s capacity to understand the information being presented. Items students may need to include when constructing graphs are titles, axis labels, scale, legends and footnotes, appropriate representation of axes, scale and error. Students need to ensure their graph is not cluttered, are easy to interpret, and appropriately represents trends in the data.

Step 2.

Have students form small groups of 3-4. Invite groups to discuss and choose the most appropriate graph from the Graph Factsheet to show any changes in magpie behaviour over time. Explain that the group's challenge is to draw their graph, then critically analyse if it is an appropriate representation of the data. The questions in the Student Worksheet will help guide student through this process.

Step 3.

Invite groups to complete the questions in the Student Worksheet and create their graphs using graph paper, rules and drawing material.

Step 4.

Once complete, invite students to tape their graphs to the whiteboard, then encourage the class to view each other's work. Encourage students to take notes on the pros and cons of each type of representation, ready for further discussion.

As a class, discuss which graph best represents peak magpie swooping and why. Once you have agreed on the best graph options for this data, look at the examples of this graph type that students have created. With the whole class note where students have used correct titles, axis labelling and scale. Then discuss any trends that can be seen in the graphs and what these might mean. Explain to students that this is only an young data set and any trends that we see would have to be tracked over a longer period of time to prove behaviour changes. However, early trends are a good indicator that data should be continued to be collected.

Step 5.

Display or have students open the Temperature Phenology Graphs. Explain that this factsheet has graphs of the magpie data and a graph of the temperature in the area where the data was collected. Invite students to think, pair, share, about the connections between these two graphs. Hold a class discussion around the connections between the two graphs the class have identified.

Note: The additional tabs on this sheet contain the data used to construct these graphs.

Step 6.

Now, explain that a long-term data set of 20 years is preferable to connect phenological data with climate change. This is why Earthwatch's ClimateWatch program continues to collect data to this day and build upon its 8 year dataset (2008-2016) to help fill current data gaps. This data helps scientists working with ClimateWatch to understand how climate change is impacting nature and develop strategies to help species and the environment cope.

Invite students to compare the two graphs and decide if they can see any early trends that would warrant further data collection by ClimateWatch.

Step 7.

Hold a class discussion on students' findings and what they believe they mean.

Finally, reiterate that Earthwatch's ClimateWatch program need additional long-term data if a links between these animal behaviours and climate change is to be proven. One action students can take right now is to download the ClimateWatch app and continue to be citizen scientists.

Differentiation

Provision for Learning Support: Digitally construct the graphs with the class one by one. Step the class through how to make each type of grap and save it on a single page for further analysis.

Extension: Reiterate that data is better understood when organised and put in a visual context. However, with visual representations the audience sees an interpretation of the data, so bias can be woven into graphs. Let’s look at a number of ways that data can be misleading.

Display, have students visit or provide students with, a printout of: Three Ways Climate Deniers Cherry Pick Facts (https://www.climaterealityproject.org/blog/three-ways-climate-deniers-cherry-pick-facts-about-climate-change). Invite students to read the article, noting three sentence that they find interesting in the Student Worksheet. Once complete, ask students to turn to the person next to them and share their three sentences.

You may wish to dig deeper into misrepresenting data by inviting student to explore the following article from Skeptical Science, What has global warming done since 1998? (https://www.skepticalscience.com/global-warming-stopped-in-1998.htm)

Write the following question on the board:

What should we consider before trusting a graph?

Invite students to draw on the article they just read, form pairs and discuss this question. Challenge students to create a list of questions they should ask before trusting a data representation. Then, ask pairs to turn to another pair and share what they have come up with. Possible answers could include - what are the sources of the data? Are they reliable? Is the right data representation method used? Who is presenting the data? Do they represent a reputable source?

Close this part of the lesson by congratulating students on becoming critical consumers of data and encouraging them to ask these questions the next time they see a graph in media.

Homework Activities

If you would like to extend the learning for this lesson encourage student to complete the Homework Activities section of their Student Worksheet.

Reflection

Invite students to complete the following reflection question (available on the Student Worksheet):

Finish the following sentence: The most important aspects of data organisation are...

Teacher Reflection

Take this opportunity to reflect on your own teaching:

What did you learn about your teaching today?
What worked well?
What didn't work so well?
What would you share?
Where to next?
How are you going to get there?

Note: Cool Australia and Earthwatch have also created citizen science units of work for science and geography. To further enhance students' learning, consider teaming up with teachers in these complementary faculties to run a cross-curricular project on phenology and citizen science.

Citizen Science - Analysing Data

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