This picture shows healthy trees, healthy land, and clean air. The trees give oxygen to the air. The air becomes more healthy also. Diana Moure, student Picture Human Impact THISTaking Seriously by Patricia Patrick and Tammy Patrick Human impact is one of the most important topics in environmental education today, and one of the largest links to environmental degradation. Unfortunately, middle school students often view human impact as an abstract idea over which they have no control and do not see themselves as contributing to the Earth s environmental decline. How better to uncover students ideas concerning human impact in their local community than to have them take photographs? Our goal was to develop an environmental science lesson that provides richer connections among art (photography), science (human impact), writing (critical/editorial), technology (digital storytelling), and community involvement (art show). With this objective in mind, we developed a program called Picture THIS: Taking Human Impact Seriously, which asks middle school students to take photographs documenting human impact. Ansel Adams and the concept of human impact The first day of the project we introduced students to the life and photography of Ansel Adams using Ansel Adams: A Documentary Film (available at www.pbs.com, $20). Adams, famous for the words 28 SCIENCE SCOPE
Farm, Farm workers, Mt. Williamson in background, Manzanar Relocation Center, California (Ansel Adams, 1943) and photographs he used to depict the environment, believed that humans and nature had to coexist. He used photography to record the wild, untouched parts of the American West. After watching the film we discussed Adams s work with the Sierra Club, his love for the environment and photography, and his concern about the interactions between humans and Earth. To motivate students to discuss Adams, we hid questions under students desks using sticky-notes. We asked the following questions: What was your favorite part of the movie? What did you learn about Ansel Adams? Why do you think Ansel Adams s photographs are important? What happened to Ansel Adams as a child that changed his life? What was Ansel Adams s view of the environment? In addition to the film, we prepared a PowerPoint of Adams s biography and photographs, including images of Adams as a young man taking photographs in Yosemite National Park, as an older adult at Big Sur, and 15 of his black-and-white photos. We used photographs we found on the internet to create our PowerPoint. Copyright was not viod because we did not sell the PowerPoint and we referenced the photographs. Some of Adams s photographs that we used were taken from a long distance, which allowed students to appreciate the size of the mountains in Yosemite National Park. Students were drawn to the vastness of the landscapes Adams photographed. While students viewed the photographs, we asked them if they noticed that some of his photos looked like other objects. We asked them to come up to the whiteboard, circle the areas in the photograph, and describe how the photograph appeared to be another object. For example, one of his sand dune photographs looks like an airplane, and in his photo entitled Roots, Foster Gardens, roots appear to be snakes. By taking a close look at Adams photographs, students were able to think more cognitively about how Adams took each photo. M a r c h 2010 29
Prior to showing the PowerPoint, we provided students with a handout of hints for taking photographs (Figure 1). We asked students to view each photograph in the PowerPoint and think about how Adams may have utilized the hints. What did they see in each photograph? How did Adams set up the photograph? What was Adams thinking when he took the photograph? Where was he standing in relation to what was photographed? These questions gave students ideas about how to take their own photographs. FIGURE 1 Helpful tips for taking photographs Your subject does not necessarily have to be on the same level as you. You can take a picture by laying or squatting on the ground for lower views or get up high and take a picture by looking over your subject. Use a plain background. A plain background shows off the subject you are photographing. When looking through the viewfinder, force yourself to study the area surrounding your subject. Do not place part of the background in your photograph if it isn t important to the subject. Adams used photography to try to capture the beauty he saw in nature and communicate his environmental concerns. We asked students to think of a beautiful place. We asked them to describe the place, why they thought it was beautiful, and how they would feel if it were destroyed. After this exercise, we asked students to reflect on the documentary film and to explain how Adams was representing his environmental concerns through his photography. The 15 black-and-white photographs we chose for the PowerPoint included depictions of the environment that were natural, and some that were influenced by humans, i.e., human impact. For example, Adams s photograph Monolith, the Face of Half Dome, would be considered a photo of an area unaffected by humans, whereas, his photograph Farm, Farm Workers, is an expression of how humans were transforming the Earth. To elicit students understanding of human impact, we showed the previous photographs back to back and asked students to de- Too much Sun can ruin your photos. Use a flash at close range if your subject is backlit by strong sunlight. This will eliminate dark shadows on objects and faces. Make sure you are close enough to your subject before taking the picture. Your goal is to fill the picture area with the subject you are photographing. Move the subject away from the middle. The middle of your picture is not the best place to put your subject. Start by playing tick-tack-toe with your subject by placing your subject in different spots of your viewfinder, and then decide which one works best. Take some vertical pictures, too. Do not just go horizontal with your camera. Placing the horizon line high in the frame will accent the foreground details and enhance distance. Placing the horizon line low in the frame will capture dramatic skies. Student caption: People cut down trees to make a field. They keep cows here. Not having trees and having cows destroys oxygen. Alyssa Thomasson 30 SCIENCE SCOPE
scribe how they were different. Students immediately noticed the migrant workers in the photograph. We asked students to explain how this was different from the photograph of the monolith (no humans in this photograph). We asked them what the workers were doing in the photograph (harvesting potatoes) and how they thought farming affected the environment. For example, what might have been in the area before the farm was there? How did they think having a farm there has influenced or changed the area? After the questions and discussion, we explained that the farm was an example of human impact. Human impact is any change in the environment due to human activity. Once students were able to recognize the differences in Adams s photographs, we replayed the PowerPoint and asked students to identify human impact in the photos. They were asked to explain the features in the photo that represented human impact, to determine if the features represented a positive or negative impact, and to provide reasons for their decision. The last photograph on the PowerPoint, of a forest fire, was not taken by Adams. This photograph was also found online using Google Images. As before, students were asked to identify the human aspects of the photograph and determine if they were positive or negative. Nearly all the students replied that the fire had a negative impact. However, there were a few students who identified the fire as a positive impact and explained that fire could be used to clear land for new trees, control forest fires, add nutrients to the land, and maintain pine forests. We did not provide students with further examples of human impact photographs for fear that numerous examples of human impact on the environment would influence students photographs. Picture THIS The same day, once we were satisfied students understood the concept of human impact, we introduced the Picture THIS project. Each student received a disposable camera and a project packet. We used disposable cameras because this activity was completed as part of a project to collect data concerning how students viewed human impact in their local community. Therefore, we did not want to provide students with an opportunity to alter their photographs. If we allowed students to use digital cameras to collect the photographs, they would be able to change their photographs, and we would not be collecting their FIGURE 2 Photography journal: Human impact on the environment The objective of this art project is for you to go out into the community and observe how humans have made an impact on the environment. Then, after careful observations, you will need to take 24 different photographs of what you think is a good representation of how humans have impacted the environment.* Ask yourself, how have people changed the environment and are the changes good or bad? You will need to make a written journal entry for each picture that you take. Once you have completed your journal and all the pictures have been taken, you will need to have your pictures developed and bring both the journal and the pictures back to class. You have four weeks to do your environmental photography project. Pictures and journals are due on. *Pictures of your friends, family, etc. will not be accepted. original thoughts. To save money, you could have students share cameras. For example, you could put students into groups of two or three students. The project packet included the following: 1. A sheet (Figure 2) that provided students with the project objectives. The sheet explained that students were to take photographs in their local community that illustrated how humans have impacted the environment. 2. Twenty-four photograph information sheets (Figure 3), one for each photograph on the disposable camera. Students used these sheets to record data about each photograph they took. They were also asked to include why they took the photograph, how the photograph represented human impact, and how the photograph made them feel. 3. A rubric (Figure 4) explaining to students exactly what they needed to accomplish to achieve a passing grade on the project. 4. A parental information letter stating that students would be involved in the Picture THIS project and what was expected. We asked students to have parents sign the letter and return it, stating that they knew their child was involved in the project. M a r c h 2010 31
Students were told they could only take photos in their local community, and photos from family trips outside the community would not be accepted (for example, photos of the family trip to the Grand Canyon). Students were warned not to endanger themselves and not to trespass while taking the photographs. They were also told not to take photos of their friends and family. Surprisingly, students only included friends and family members in the photos FIGURE 3 Photography journal: Photograph information sheet Name Grade Day Picture # Circle the time of day the picture was taken: if they were doing something the student thought represented human impact. For example, a student took a photo of her cousin and noted, By just being alive she is affecting the environment. We allowed students two weeks to complete the project. Once the photographs were developed, students placed the photographs and their photograph information sheets in a three-ring binder, gluing the correct photograph to the back of the corresponding information sheet. If you use digital cameras, students can save their photographs and writings on a CD. When they had finished assembling their photographs, we asked students to select the one they felt best represented all of their photos. In other words, which photo best represented the name of the project Picture THIS: Taking Human Impact Seriously? Students wrote a few paragraphs concerning why they thought the selected picture best represented the project. When writing, students were asked to consider and answer the following questions: Morning Afternoon Evening Describe the subject of your photograph. (What is the subject of your photograph?) Why did you choose this particular subject as one of your photographs? 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. When did you take this photograph (time of day)? What is the subject of this photograph? In this picture, how have people affected the environment? Does your picture represent a positive or negative change in the environment? How does this picture make you feel? How do you want other people to feel when they look at this photograph? How does the picture of your subject portray how humans have impacted the environment? Why do you believe that the subject of your photograph is a good visual representation of human impact on the environment? Is the subject of your photograph a positive or negative representation of human impact on the environment? How does the subject of your photograph make you feel and why? For the technology part of the project, we asked students to use Photo Story 3 for Windows to produce digital stories showing their work. You can also use Windows Movie Maker or imovie for Mac. These come free with some computers, or you can download software for free on the internet. Most schools will allow this once the appropriate IP people are contacted. Students had to use at least 15 photographs from the project and develop a digital story. Additionally, students were told to use their photograph information sheets to provide the voice-over information concerning each photo in the digital story. We asked students to read directly from their photograph information sheets as a voice-over for each photograph. The last aspect of the project was to involve the community. We held a community art show to showcase students best photographs, which was attended by 98% of students and parents, and featured on the local news. During the art show, the digital stories were played on 32 SCIENCE SCOPE
FIGURE 4 Rubric for photography journal Category Description Excellent (5 points) Good (4 points) Average (3 points) Poor (2 points) Needs work (1 point) Creativity Does the work show originality? Does the project show thought and innovativeness? Does the work show the student used higher-level thinking skills? Technique Does the student handle the media well? Does the student explore and experiment with the materials? Does the student demonstrate proper use of the materials? Composition and design Is the overall design successful? Did the student follow all the directions that were given? Craftsmanship Does the work show neatness? Does the project demonstrate good-quality work? Is the work presentable? Is the work displayable? Was the student successful in planning and creating the work? Concept Does the project effectively communicate human impact? Does the project/ work show an understanding of human impact? Are the photos taken by the student and not copied? Are the photos taken in the local community? Does the project achieve the desired outcome in a masterful way? Journal writing Were all pages of the journal filled out? Was the journal in complete sentences? Was the journal filled out for complete understanding? Participation Did the student display a willingness to do the project? Did the student do the project? Project was on time Was the project turned in on the due date? If not turned in on the due date, how was the project? Does the project seem to have been rushed? On time 1 day 2 days 3 days 4 days Growth Does the work show progress, improvement, and an understanding of human impact? Does the project show thought? Does the work show an improvement compared to previous projects? M a r c h 2010 33
Student caption: This is a positive impact because it [the culvert] allows the rain and snow not to flood the grass or roads. Dylan Tollie a wall using an LCD projector. Awards were given for the best photos. The principal and faculty served as judges, and local businesses provided the prizes. After the art show, the winning photographs were displayed in a local bank. Reflection After doing this project at three middle schools, we have identified and addressed issues that came up. When we developed the project, we did not take into account special needs students. However, after we explained the project, some of our special needs students asked if they could do the project together, and theirs turned out to be one of the better projects. Funding was the largest obstacle. For a class of 30 students, the cost for disposable cameras and film developing is approximately $500. We had approximately 100 students participate at each of the three schools. Even though the project does have a cost attached, every student at every school participated. We were able to acquire funding from local education grants, private and anonymous sources, parents, and businesses. Additionally, several businesses in the community provided prizes for the art show, and a local bank agreed to display the winning artwork. The goal of this project was to provide students with an outlet to identify and express their trepidations concerning human impact in their local community. Additionally, we wanted students to do a project in which they had ownership. We achieved these goals through Picture THIS. In the end, not only were students excited about the project, so were their parents and peers, and Picture THIS was embraced by the entire communit. n Resources Burns, R. 2000. Ansel Adams: A documentary film. New York: Public Broadcasting System. The Ansel Adams Gallery www.anseladams.com Picture This: Using photography as a learning tool in early childhood classrooms http://findarticles.com/p/ articles/mi_qa3614/is_200907/ai_n32127447 Acknowledgment Thanks to Sayrd Price s seventh grade class at South Davie Middle School in Mocksville, North Carolina, for providing the student photographs and captions. Patricia Patrick (ppatrick@bennett.edu) is an associate professor and coordinator of elementary education at Bennett College in Greensboro, North Carolina. Tammy Patrick is an art teacher at Cape Fear Middle School in Rocky Point, North Carolina. 34 SCIENCE SCOPE