Publications: Our first paper on Data Nuggets is in the January 2015 issue of the American Biology Teacher. We hope this paper introduces Data Nuggets to a broader audience of teachers. Click here for a PDF!
Schultheis, E. H. and M. K. Kjelvik (2015). Data Nuggets: Bringing Real Data into the Classroom to Unearth Students’ Quantitative and Inquiry Skills. The American Biology Teacher 77(1):19-29.
Our most recent paper was just published in the June 2019 issue of CBE Life Sciences Education and is now available online. Click here for a PDF!
Kjelvik, M. K. and E. H. Schultheis (2019). Getting messy with authentic data: Exploring the potential of using data from scientific research to support student data literacy. CBE Life Sciences Education 18(2): es2.
And stay tuned for our next paper, upcoming in The American Biology Teacher!
Schultheis, E. H. and M. K. Kjelvik (2020). Using messy, authentic data to promote data literacy and reveal the nature of science. The American Biology Teacher
NSF DRK-12 Research Study: We are conducting a research study, in partnership with BEACON at MSU and BSCS, to evaluate the effectiveness of integrating Data Nuggets into science curriculum. This research will help to determine whether these short activities can increase the quantitative abilities of students and their ability to think scientifically and support claims using data as evidence. We expect students in classrooms using Data Nuggets will demonstrate:
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A deeper understanding of quantitative reasoning in the context of science
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Improved understanding of the practices and processes of science, particularly in the areas of analyzing and interpreting data and using mathematics and computational thinking
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Greater engagement in the practices of science in the classroom
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Greater motivation to engage in science and improved general interest in science
For a press release on the project, check out the page on MSU’s website here.
BEACON: Data Nuggets are funded by several grants through the BEACON Center at Michigan State University. The goal of this collaboration is to hold science communication professional development workshops across all 5 BEACON institutions, create evolution-themed curriculum to use in K-12 and undergraduate classrooms, and disseminate BEACON research to share true stories of the process of evolution research.
- Enhancing BEACON’s educational legacy with a set of curricular materials derived from our center’s research (2020)
- Bringing Data to Life in Science Classrooms (2016)
- Data on Data Nuggets: Assessing the efficacy of an innovative science education resource to build a foundation for future support (2015)
- Taking Data Nuggets to the national level (2014)
- Data Nuggets: Unearthing Inquiry skills (2013)
LTER Data Nuggets: Data Nuggets were funded by the KBS LTER to develop new activities that focus on available long-term datasets, and expand students’ exposure to data of different levels of complexity. To explore these resources, check out this page!
