Instructions
The first step in BIO involves leading students in a group discussion using an adaptation of the Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) method (we encourage those interested in using this to visit vtshome.org and consider being formally trained in the technique; for more on VTS see Yenawine 2013 and Housen 2002) around an art image that relates to the content topic. There are a number of things to consider when choosing artwork that will support rich discussion and a variety of insights, including the right balance of complexity, human interest, and curricular relevance. VTS has a very specific sequence of questions and a specific set of techniques for facilitating discussion. In our suggested adaptation, here are the steps:

• Choose an art image and display it in the front of the room.
• Allow students one minute for silent reflection and, optionally, one minute for journaling their thoughts.
• Use 3 questions for the discussion and paraphrasing what is heard. (15-20 min)

Q1 – “What is going on in this image?”; after an observation is made, paraphrase and maybe follow up with,

Q2 – “What do you see that makes you say that?; paraphrase again and to obtain the next observation,

Q3 – “What more can we find?”

• Paraphrasing the responses: After each student response, the teacher paraphrases what they heard using conditional and gender neutral language to ensure all students feel included and without leading or acknowledging right or wrong answers.

Next (ideally in the same class period), the teacher facilitates a similar observation and discussion session with a Mapped Dataset (15-20 min)

• Display a dataset at the front of the classroom, optionally leaving off any explanatory title or legend. One example of a dataset that works well for plate tectonics is the Age of Seafloor from the NOAA Science On a Sphere dataset catalog.
• Allow students a silent minute to observe and (optionally) another minute to journal their observations.
• Then the teacher repeats the VTS questions and paraphrases as before for about five minutes.

Q1 – “What is going on in this image?”; after an observation is made, paraphrase and maybe follow up with,

Q2 – “What do you see that makes you say that?; paraphrase again and to obtain the next observation,

Q3 – “What more can we find?”

• Paraphrasing the responses: After each student response, the teacher paraphrases what they heard using conditional and gender neutral language to ensure all students feel included and without leading or acknowledging right or wrong answers.
• Then add the legend and title information to the map (if it was not present to begin with) and invite the students to observe the data visualization again and consider how the additional information changes their thinking. This leads to further discussion with the VTS questions and paraphrasing.
• Create a parking lot of unanswered questions on sticky notes for the class to revisit together later in the unit.
  Questions for parking lot discussion/question generation:

What are you curious about?

What questions do we have?

You will need to find one map for Observation and Discussion (Step 1) and 2-3 more maps for Data Sketches (Step 3).

Looking for mapped data images and editing them can be time consuming, therefore, you may want to start with the ones we’ve already compiled topically below. Alternatively, you can seek out your own mapped datasets using our Suggested Data Resources as your guide.

The BIO method specifically uses global map-based data because it’s possible to overlay and compare this type of data more easily. Local data, on the other hand, often has different scales and resolutions.

Understanding – or being able to answer questions about – the global data visualizations is NOT a prerequisite for facilitating learning with data or art in the BIO method.

To help you, we have created a library of mapped data images (here) that you can feel free to use within your lessons. We will continue to add to this page as the project progresses. If you’d like to find for your own mapped dataset, visit our page of suggested data resources and tips and tricks here.