Using data in the classroom: Engaging educators, students, and the public with data that address environmental issues

Heather M. Rissler, Sean P. Fox, and Cathryn A. ManducaScience Education Resource Center, Carleton College; Northfield, MN

“As the role of data in our world grows, it is increasingly important that students be empowered to use data and to overcome any sense of intimidation in the face of data. Students on their way to becoming

informed voters, consumers, citizens, and scientists must develop a strong understanding and facility for using data”. (1)

Developing public understanding of complex environmental issues, such as global climate change and the role of photosynthesis in the carbon cycle and our sustainable energy future, requires that scientific data be connected with pedagogy and materials that support learning about and with data. The wealth of data that is currently available allows faculty new opportunities to engage students in the practice of science in the classroom. Using Data in the Classroom (http://serc.carleton.edu/usingdata/index.html) serves as a portal for educators who wish to incorporate data use and analysis in the classroom by providing links to datasets, tools, and activities related to earth science, encompassing topics that include the solid earth, hydrosphere, and oceans. We link information about the location of the data, its uses, and interpretations with activities that can be used in teaching or by students. Supporting links between data and pedagogical resources are demonstrated in the example: “Exploring Mote Marine Laboratory Oceanography Data in the Classroom”. This data sheet guides users through interpretation of salinity, density, temperature, and fluorescence data to understand how harmful algal blooms form and what methods may be implemented to predict future blooms. By working directly with data and using the associated activities, users can process data to make and test predictions about factors that influence algal productivity and gain experience in using data to generate visualizations that represent temporal changes in oceanographic data. This approach highlights the goal of using data to enhance quantitative literacy in the classroom and to promote science literacy.

(1) Manduca, C. and Mogk, D. (2002). Using Data in the Classroom: Workshop; Carleton College.

Introduction

Using Data in the ClassroomA portal for linking users with data and pedagogical resources

Using Data to Explore Harmful Algal BloomsAn example using data from the Mote Marine laboratory transect station in the Gulf of Mexico

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Acknowledgements

Data sheets: Linking data & pedagogical resources

We thank Gary Kirkpatrick at the Mote Marine Laboratory for use of data in creating draft data sheets. The Earth Exploration Toolkit (EET) “When is Dinner Served” chapter was written by Denise Blaha and Amy Cline. We thank Tamara Ledley (PI for EET) for use of EET materials in creating draft data sheets. This project is supported by NSF-0304762.

Searches can be refined by:

Topic

e.g. Ocean

Targeted audience

e.g. Undergraduates

Type of resource

Data

Data with Tools

Audio/Visual

Data type

Observational

Real-time

Synthetic/Model

“Exploring the Data”

Describes how data is presented

Guides users in accessing the data

Provides link to tools that may be useful for data exploration

“About the Data”

Addresses scientific issues related to data collection

Addresses sources of error and limitations to data use and interpretation

“Use in Teaching”

Provides a list of concepts, topics, and skills that users can address using the dataset

“ References and resources: Pedagogy”

Provides links to resources that use similar data in the classroom

The Earth Exploration Toolbook chapter “When is Dinner Served” contains pedagogical

support for using data to predict harmful algal blooms

“Related Links”

Contains links to websites related to the data (pedagogical and scientific)

These sites may be useful for supporting users in inquiry-based, exploratory learning

activities

http://serc.carleton.edu/usingdata/index.html

http://serc.carleton.edu/eet/phytoplankton/index.html

http://isurus.mote.org/~pederson/transects.phtml