I love it when I get to work with people who think in graphic organizers in their heads primarily because that is how I think as well.  When Dr. Beasley explained the overall concept of her research, she organized her thoughts in a way that made it easy to understand.

The graphic notes she presented helped us realize the breadth and depth of the larger research goal. Also, it explained how her particular study  helped further understanding of climate change, urbanization and possible bio-indicators.

Seeing these concepts presented in this way was a watershed moment for me. The bottom of the page explained the scientific approach of our study but the top half, however, is clearly rooted in social studies. It dawned on me that, in the end, the only way our findings would be relevant is if we understood the historical context of how we got to this point.

Since I will be teaching a social studies class to 7th graders this year, this outline is a perfect way to make our experiments based on the larger curriculum concepts. One of the concepts outlined in the Essential Standards for 7th grade is to explain how human modification of the environment affect modern societies and regions. This standard includes understandings of climate change and urbanization and, of course, change over time.

If I time my Student’s Discover lesson to coincide with our studies of Imperialism and the Industrial Revolution, my students will experience the spirit of the entire research project. This could be authentic problem-based learning at its finest.