Mapping Through Our Own Perspective

To begin, students had to determine which species live in the Big Sur region by sifting through an array of sources generated with a search engine. They discovered that different search queries return results of varying levels of specificity, and determined how to curate a search query in order to explore their individual curiosities. As a self-directed activity, students were able to dig deeper into the specific organisms which interested them, organizing them into four phylogenetic groups: plants, algae, vertebrate animals and invertebrate animals. One of the most commonly wished for creatures was the cougar (Puma concolor), which we unfortunately did not see during our trip —maybe next time! Browser usage and document formatting are foundational skills for activities they will complete this year, not only in science, but also in humanities, mathematics, writing lab, and media literacy.