Running head: FOOD DESERT MAPPING UNIT PLAN 1

Food Desert Mapping Unit Plan: Teaching Geospatial Skills

Rebecca Sydow

The University of South Carolina

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Introduction & Rationale

Why teach geospatial skills?

In 2006, the National Research Council (NRC) focused on spatial thinking and geospatial

technologies and published their analysis. They commented, Spatial thinking is pervasive: it is

vital across a wide range of domains of practical and scientific knowledge; yet it is

underrecognized, undervalued, underappreciated, and therefore, underinstructed (National

Research Council, 2006, p. 14). The ubiquity of spatial thinking is obvious with some

consideration: we use it to remember where on our bedside table the alarm clock sits, so we can

turn it off in the morning; to navigate to work and school; to design our new garden, to

distinguish our left from our right shoes. The examples are limitless. Grossner and Janelle (2014)

write:

We think in space as we navigate through buildings and cityscapes, play sports, dance,

organize storage shelves. We think about space when analyzing the structure, function,

motion, and distribution of things in the world, at scales from nano to cosmicwhether

seeking scientific explanations for natural phenomena or designing a tool, a building, or

dam. We think with space when we create or interpret diagrams and maps, or reason by

spatial metaphora powerful and commonplace cognitive strategy. (Grossner & Janelle,

2014, p. 240).

Moreover, there has been a spatial turn in various fields of study. This means these disciplines

are moving towards a greater focus on spatiality, particularly those that would utilize Geographic

Information Science (GIS) and Global Positioning Systems (GPS) (Sinton, 2013). For example,

cell phones are location enabled, and that capability can only be developed and improved by
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employees who have advanced spatial thinking. Or, social activism groups need a solid

understanding of spatial relationships to interpret who and where needs support and resources.

But despite our common need for these skills, they are not often well understood nor well-taught,

as the NRC pointed out in 2006.

When there is a growing commercial need, there often follows a push toward education

reform that will enable commercial success. Because of the desire for employees with improved

geospatial skills, there has been motivation for educational curricula to be updated and more

specifically focused on spatiality (Montello, Grossner, and Janelle, 2014). This has resulted in an

upsurge in research as well as the publication of new National Geography Standardsupdated

for the first time since 1994 (Geography for Life, 2012). While the individual state standards are

slower to follow suit, the well-read teacher will come to recognize the need and will adjust his or

her lessons accordingly. This is what has been done in this Food Desert Mapping Unit plan.

Pertinent geospatial research as well as the new national standards have been applied to a social

justice geography lesson.

Why research food deserts?

Students should engage with researching food deserts for two reasons: the paramount

importance of solving this crisis and the educational responsibility of teachers to incorporate

social justice lessons into their course in order to foster civic-minded citizens. Concerning the

former, the United States Department of Agriculture and various other governmental and social

institutions have called obesity and diet-related diseases a major public health problem (United

States Department of Agriculture, 2009). There research found that these nutrition-based crises

are exacerbated in communities wherein people do not have access to supermarkets, and instead

receive food through fast food restaurants and convenience stores (USDA, 2009). Specifically,
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they found that 2.2 million citizens live in food desert qualifying areas (rural inhabitants are

low income, live more than 10 miles from a supermarket, and do not have access to

transportation; urban inhabitants are low income, live more than 1 mile from a supermarket, and

do not have access to transportation). Moreover, the authors wrote, Urban core areas with

limited food access are characterized by higher levels of racial segregation and greater income

inquality (USDA, 2009, p. iv). Clearly, there is a social imperative to address these food

deserts.

This topic is a perfect candidate to bring into the classroom in order to enrich curriculum

with social justice. Education researchers focused on citizenship development in the classroom

have determined that there are three kinds of citizens, the personally responsible citizen, the

participatory citizen, and the justice-oriented citizen (Westheimer & Kahne, 2004, p. 240).

They argue that to develop the kind of citizen needed to support an effective democratic society,

teachers should aim to nurture justice-oriented citizens, as they engage in considering the root

causes of problems and work toward addressing them (Westheimer & Kahne, 2004). Asking

students to analyze food deserts and ultimately attempt to address them in their own community

is a clear example of reaching for the goal of justice-oriented citizens. They come to not only just

study how change is implemented in society, but the can do it themselves.

Standards

National

Note: The National Geography Standards are split into fourth, eight, and twelfth grade-

level iterations of the same overarching theme. Because geography is traditionally taught in

South Carolina in ninth grade, I will provide the most relevant eighth and/or twelfth grade

standard. For example, Standard 1 is: How to use maps and other geographic representations,
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geospatial technologies, and spatial thinking to understand and communicate information. In

this unit, students will cover I-1-8th-A, I-1-8th-B, and I-1-12th-A. The roman numeral refers to the

standard number, the number refers to the initial indicator, the 8th or 12th refers to the grade level,

and the letter refers to the secondary indicator.

Geographic Content Knowledge.

I: How to use maps and other geographic representations, geospatial technologies, and

spatial thinking to understand and communicate information.

o I-1-8th-A: Analyze and explain the properties (position and orientation,

projections, symbols, scale, perspective, coordinate systems) and functions of

geographic representations.

o I-1-8th-B: Evaluate the appropriate use of geospatial representations for specific

geographic tasks, such as analyzing spatial distributions and patterns.

o I-1-12th-A: Explain the advantages of using multiple geographic representations to

answer geographic questions.

o I-2-8th-A: Identify the variety of geospatial data sources and formats.

o I-2-8th-B: Construct maps using data acquired from a variety of sources and in

various formats.

o I-2-12th-A: Identify and explain the metadata properties of geospatial data.

o I-2-12th-B: Evaluate the quality and quantity of geospatial data appropriate for a

given purpose.

o I-3-8th-A: Construct and analyze geographic representation using data acquired

from a variety of sources and formats.

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o I-4-8th-A: Analyze geographic representation to ask and answer question about

spatial distributions and patterns.

o I-4-12th-A: Analyze geographic representations and suggest solutions to

geographic questions at local to global scales using geographic representations

and geospatial technologies.

II: How to use mental maps to organize information about people, places, and

environments in a spatial context.

o II-1-8th-A: Identify from memory and describe locations, patterns, and

characteristics of physical and human features.

o II-3-8th-A: Identify from memory and describe the locations, characteristics, and

patterns of places and regions to answer geographic questions.

III: How to analyze the spatial organization of people, places, and environments on

Earths surface.

o III-1-12th-A: Analyze and explain the spatial organization of people, places, and

environments using spatial concepts.

IV: The physical and human characteristics of places.

o IV-2-8th-B: Explain the ways that human processes change places.

XI: The patterns and networks of economic interdependence on Earths surface.

o XI-2-12th-A: Identify and analyze the origins and development of and changes in

patterns of economic activities.

XVI: The changes that occur in the meaning, use, distribution, and importance of

resources.
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o XVI-2-12th-A: Analyze and explain the relationships between spatial patterns of

settlement and resources.

XVIII: How to apply geography to interpret the present and plan for the future.

o XVIII-2-12th-A: Identify and explain the causes and processes of current and

possible future changes in the geographic characteristics and spatial organization

of places, regions, and environments.

o XVIII-3-8th-A: Explain the role perception pays in planning for the present and

the future.

(National Council for Geographic Education, 2012)

State

There are Social Studies Literacy Skills for the Twenty-First Century that encompasses

some proficiencies for high school students that are seen in this unit:

Asses the relationships among multiple causes and multiple effects.

Analyze and evaluate evidence, arguments, claims, and beliefs.

Analyze, interpret, and synthesize social studies information to make inferences and draw

conclusions.

Represent and interpret Earths physical and human systems by using maps, mental maps,

geographic models, and other social studies resources to make inferences and draw

conclusions.

Analyze and draw conclusions about the locations of places, the conditions at places, and

the connections between places.

Model informed participatory citizenship.

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Explain how groups work to challenge traditional institutions and effect change to

promote the needs and interests of society.

Analyze how a scarcity of productive resources affects economic choices and status.

Explain how investment in human capital such as health, education, and training leads to

economic growth.

Analyze and evaluate ideas in order to maximize creative efforts.

Communicate effectively in diverse environments by using media and technology.

Assume shared responsibility for collaborative work and value the contributions made by

each team member.

Synthesize ideas and data to determine their validity and authenticity.

(South Carolina Department of Education, 2011).

Essential Background Content

Cognitive developmental theorist Piaget began studying childrens spatial learning in the

1960s. He centered much of his research around wayfinding, which is the ability to navigate

through an environment form one destination to another. In one study, he asks children to model

their own home area by sketching routes in a sandbox and, after these observations, concludes

that their environmental cognition progresses in stages, fitting neatly with Piagets overall

view of child development (Piaget, Inhelder, & Szeminska, 1960). He argues that young children

could only learn about individual, isolated places at first, later they learn about routes and

patterns, and then in the final stage, they can fully understand the connections between

environments (Piaget et al., 1960). Fifteen years later, research Siegel and White (1975) also put

forth a stage theory, building off of Piaget, but they altered the stages: children first learn

landmarks, then link actions with landmarks, and then by connecting landmarks and actions, they
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can understand a route. (Siegel & White, 1975). Following that, knowing several routes allows a

child to create a miniature cognitive map that reflects the connections between places and routes

in a small area. With more experience, the mini-maps become integrated into a larger map

framework (Siegel & White, 1975). These stage-based theories were challenged, though, by

research demonstrating that with practice, adults can gain map-configuration knowledge quickly,

and thus do not move through distinct stages (Kitchin & Blades, 2002). Golledge (1978) broke

away with stages but built upon Siegel & Whites (1975) focus on landmarks, proposing an

anchor-point theory. According to Golledge, places have different salience levels to individuals.

A hierarchy is created, with those places with the highest salience becoming nodes, or anchors

to which other landmarks and routes are connected (Golledge, 1978). This web of spatial

information becomes a cognitive map, with the nodes acting s a memory cue that helps

individuals recall the landmarks and routes associated with that node (Golledge, 1978). He tested

his information-processing theory in 1985. In a case study, he details the learning of a new route

by an eleven-year-old boy. After being walked through the route once, the boy is asked to retrace

it five times, describing his strategies for navigation each time (Golledge, Smith, Pellegrino,

Doherty, & Marshall, 1985). He found that the boy spent more effort encoding landmarkshis

nodes.

Clearly, much of the early spatial research concerns way-finding and the formation of

mental maps. More recently, research has focused on how geographical tools can affect spatial

thinking ability. Uttal, Fisher, & Taylor (2006) found that exposure to a source of spatial

informationspecifically, a mapinfluences the mental models that children and adults form of

different environments. In their study, eight-year-olds, ten-year-olds, and adults either

memorized the description of a spatial configuration or learnd the layout from a map. After this
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study phase, their mental models of the spaces were measured through a construction task

arranging a set of cards to match their cognitive map of the spaceand a pointing taskentering

a test room and pointing where things are based on their mental map (Uttal et al., 2006).

Studying with the map results in more accurate mental maps far and beyond that of just hearing

descriptions (Uttal et al., 2006). A great amount of research has also been done on the effect

Geospatial Information Systems (GIS) could have on the development of spatial skills. Kim and

Bednarz (2013) tested the effects of GIS on learning three critical spatial thinking components:

evaluating data reliability, exercising spatial reasoning, and assessing problem-solving validity.

In an empirical study, university freshmen were taught either an introductory GIS course (the

treatment group), an economic geography course (control group 1), or a nongeographic

education course (control group 2). Following the classes, they were tested on the SCAST, the

spatial concepts and skills test. They found that GIS learning is significantly beneficial in

improving students critical spatial thinking skills, suggesting that digital tools improve these

abilities, too.

These many studies suggest that spatial thinking is developmental and can be taught, but

what is the most effective way to do so? In an effort to match spatial concepts with education,

Golledge, Marsh, and Battersby (2008) developed a task ontology that classifies these concepts

into various levels and complexities. They argue that there four spatial primitivesidentity,

location magnitude, and space-timeand that all other spatial concepts build off of these

primitives, becoming more complex combinations (Golledge et al., 2008). They argue, Without

a basic conceptual structure on which to build notions of spatial relations, the latter can be

meaningless. For example, one needs to know something about location, distribution, network,

and region before concepts of shortest path, mean areal centre, or connectivity are clearly
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understood (Golledge et al., 2008, p. 88). The idea is to organize spatial concepts so that they

are aligned with skill level and thus can be easily addressed in the classroom. Table 1 outlines

Golledge et al. (2008)s ontology.

Table 1

Geospatial Concepts and Tasks Ontology (Golledge, Marsh, and Battersby, 2008)

Level Label Concepts Tasks

1 Primitives Identity; Location; Identifying objects by type or category;

Magnitude; Space-time recognizing place of objects/features;

recognizing differences in quantities of

occurrences of different plans; recognition

of temporal diffusion over space and time.

2 Simple Arrangements; Recognize (plan) a path between an origin

distribution; line; shape; and destination. Determine spatial limits in

boundary distance; natural and built environments.

reference frame; Recognition of spatially based forms of

sequence membership. Understanding, cognizing,

and constraining structures.

3 Difficult Adjacency; angle; Recognizing closeness in space or finding

classification; coordinate; nearest neighbors in a distribution.

grid pattern; map; Develop language and means of expression

polygon of direction from a location. Create schema

for uniquely identifying places in spaces.

Develop an areal referencing procedure.

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Identifying arrangement of a distribution.

Determining areas with irregular edges.

4 Complicated Buffer; connectivity; Develop a static or dynamic area around a

gradient; profile; node. Assess type and completeness of

representation; scale; interpoint linkages. Measure slope between

shortest path two occurrences with different elevations.

Create a cross-section. Create a spatialized

way to present data or information.

Determine how change is effected by

altering the real world representations

ratio.

5 Complex Areal association; Measure degree of similarity between

cognitive mapping; point, line, or area distributions. Determine

interpolations; map value of two or more location/place-based

projection; subjective distributions. Represent curved surface on

space, virtual reality a flat sheet of paper. Recognize space as

usually represented in memory.

Comprehend representation (desktop or

immersive) of real or imagined

environments.

This ontology is applied to this unit. Students are asked to engage in all levels of spatial thinking,

gradually building up to the more complex concepts.

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Unit Progression Calendar

Please note: this unit does not necessarily need to proceed in five consecutive days. It

could be incorporated in different ways for the circumstances of the class. A lesson could be

done once a week or the time given to each lesson can be customized. For example, more or less

time could be spent practicing Geographic Information Systems (GIS) problems, depending on

the students former exposure to the program, or several more class days could be given for

research.

Table 2

Unit Progression Calendar

Lesson # Key Concepts & Topics Geospatial Instructional Strategies

1 Introduction to food desert Personal Mapping: draw a map from your

project: Students will house to the closest grocery store. Estimate

become familiar with the the time it would take to get there and the

concept of a food desert distance away it is (in miles).

and will be assigned to GPS Utilization: In Google Maps, check your

their research groups for map. Were you accurate in your drawing?

the unit: 1) nutrition, 2) Check the time and distance to the store. Were

income status, 3) your estimates close? Record the GPS

transportation access, and coordinates of both your house and the

4) diversity. grocery store. What do these numbers mean?

Do you live in a food desert?

Exploring USDA Food Desert Atlas

(http://www.ers.usda.gov/data/fooddesert/):
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Find our school. Is it in a food desert? What

about your house? Where is the closest food

desert?

2 Geospatial Information Developing GIS Skills Activity (Guided

Systems Introduction: Learning): Open ArcGIS. Locate Columbia,

Students will be SC, and zoom in so the entire city is visible.

introduced to GIS Locate our school. At the top of the page,

software and layers. click AddAdd layers. Search for USA

Census Populated Places. What is the

population in the city of Columbia? How does

that compare to Lexington? What is the most

populated city in South Carolina? How does

that city compare with Charlotte, NC? Los

Angeles, CA? Search for 2014 USA Diversity

Index and 2015 USA Average Household

Income and add both. Flip between the two

layers, comparing different areas income

levels and average ethnicities. What patterns

can you find? Explore. Who created those

sources; are they trustworthy? What layers

can you find that apply to your research?

Begin to brainstorm how you might create one

of these layers for your research topic.

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3 Research Day: Students Research: Within your topic groups (nutrition,

will begin to develop their income status, transportation access, and

own layers by researching diversity), brainstorm how you might find

data on their topic. local data. Examples of what students may

come up with: the nutrition group could

research obesity in the city, income status

could research median income for the city and

different neighborhoods within the city,

transportation access could map bus stops,

and diversity could research the ethnic

makeup of different neighborhoods in the city.

When their research goal is decided on and

approved by the teacher, they can begin

compiling data.

4 Creating a geospatial Creating a geospatial representation: In

representation: Students ArcGIS, at the top of the map, click Add-Add

will develop a GIS layer Map Notes. Name your map notes. For

that reflects their research example, the transportation group might

data. create a set called TransportationBus

Stops Near Grocery Stores. Add a nodea

representative featurefor your data. For

example, the transportation group can add a

symbol, found under Infrastructure, that

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represents every bus stop near a grocery store

in Columbia. This creates a layer.

5 Creating a community Presentation of findings and creating an

solution: students will aggregate map: Each group presents the layer

brainstorm ways in which they have created. Then, the layers are

a local combined with a mapping of grocery store.

Students will then analyze the patterns they

find. What layers appear correlated. For

example, are there more grocery stores in

areas with higher income? For each

variablenutrition, income, transportation,

diversity, and grocery store location

compare it to every other variable. Right

down the patterns you find and brainstorm

why that might be.

Crafting a solution: In the form of a modified

Socratic Seminar, the class discusses possible

solutions to local food deserts. For example,

will building a grocery store be enough?

Could a free bus route put into place? How

can we address more systemic inequities, not

just the surface problem? What are concrete

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steps our class could take to make change in

our community?

Connecting Lessons to Spatial Principles

Table 3

Instructional Strategies and Related Spatial Principles

Strategy Spatial Principle

Personal Mapping Location; Map; Shortest Path; Cognitive

Mapping

GPS Utilization Identity; Location; Arrangement; Line;

Adjacency; Connectivity; Map; Shortest Path

Exploring USDA Food Desert Atlas Identity; Location; Adjacency; Map; Shortest

Path

Developing GIS Skills Activity (Guided Identity; Location; Reference Frame;

Learning): Classification; Connectivity; Representation;

Map; Virtual Reality

Research Reference Frame; Representation; Map

Creating a Geospatial Representation Identity; Location; Magnitude; Space-time;

Reference Frame; Classification; Polygon;

Density; Buffer; Connectivity;

Representation; Map; Virtual Reality

Presentation of findings and aggregate map Connectivity; Representation; Map; Virtual

creation Reality
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Crafting a solution Virtual Reality

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Golledge, R. G., Marsh, M. & Battersby, S. (2008). Matching geospatial concepts with

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conceptual model and empirical analysis of childrens acquisition of spatial knowledge.

Journal of Environmental Psychology, 5, 125-152.

Grossner, K. & Janelle, D. G. (2014). Concepts and principles for spatial literacy. In D. R.

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