Summary:

The Local Health Mapping Project asks students working in groups to communicate aspects of a public health issue in our immediate environment by creating three linked deliverables:

An online map: This will be created in Google Maps or ArcGIS StoryMap (covered in class), and it will identify and describe at least five relevant sites using substantive text and media (images, video, or audio). This map of crime rates around Wilmington elementary schools from a previous student may be a useful example.
A data visualization: This will be produced with RAWGraphs (covered in class), and it will present selected data that is crafted with rhetorical intent. These column graphs of police deadly force in different states from a previous student may be useful examples.
Tangible placemarks: These are physical items (signs, posters, plaques, etc.) that present information about the subject and feasibly could be posted at the sites identified on the online map (although they will not actually be deployed). These "Walk Raleigh" signs may be useful examples.

These items will help us reexamine our quotidian spaces and explore how health issues connect with a shared history, culture, and landscape. Subject choice is open, and students are encouraged to think about the subject broadly. For example, visible issues such as Covid-19 and GenX are relevant, but so are systematic concerns such as low birth weight, domestic violence, and the connection between poverty and health outcomes. All topics should be focused locally. They need not be grandiose, but they should effectively communicate a point.

To proceed, each student first will find and analyze an existing map. Students then will research a topic chosen independently and deliver a corresponding one-minute pitch to the class. The class will vote on three topics to pursue based on these pitches. Students whose pitches are selected will receive individual extra credit, and the class will form groups associated with the selected topics. Groups will plan their deliverables and then draft them. The class will create rubrics for the Online Map, Data Visualization, and Tangible Placemarks based on our drafts. Once the rubrics are established, groups will finalize their materials and share them through a culminating presentation. The project will conclude with groups analyzing their materials and individuals composing reflective postmortems that evaluate members' contributions to the shared endeavor (these evaluations will directly impact group members' grades).

Resources:

Deliverables:

Practice Map Analysis (individual)
Initial Research Packet (individual)
One-minute Topic Pitch (individual)
Online Map Design Plan (group)
Data Visualization Design Plan (group)
Tangible Placemarks Design Plan (group)
Draft Online Map (group)
Draft Data Visualization (group)
Draft Tangible Placemarks (group)
Online Map (group)
Data Visualization (group)
Tangible Placemarks (group)
Presentation (group)
Materials Analysis (group)
Postmortem (individual)