Data Nuggets will be presented at the Michigan Science Teacher Association (MSTA) 2014 Annual Meeting on March 7th.

To see the event on Facebook, click here.

See the original article on the LTER webpage (reproduced below)

The landscape of science education is undergoing a fundamental shift. Updated standards, to be followed by all science teachers in Michigan, emphasize that science is an active process: instead of the memorization of facts in textbooks, students should be taught the ability to generate new knowledge by testing hypotheses and interpreting data. In other words, students should be taught how to use the scientific method and make arguments from evidence. However, with the scientific method comes uncertainty in results. Educators, like K-12 Partnership teacher Connie High (Delton-Kellogg High School), express concern that teachers and their students are not comfortable with the messy data that can result from inquiry, such as results that do not support a hypothesis, or data with lots of variability: “We often found that although lab experiences were fun for students, they lacked skills in summarizing the meaning or goal [of their research]… we needed some data sets for students to practice on.”

As graduate students, we have experienced our fair share of unexpected results and experiments gone awry, and have no problem reassuring teachers that this is nothing to be afraid of. Often, we learn more from data that goes against our original hypothesis, but this can be intimidating in a classroom setting with limited time or ability to conduct follow-up experiments. Because we cannot go into every classroom to share this message, we thought that it would benefit students to work with data collected by scientists, instead of just seeing the polished results presented in textbooks.

Along with other fellows in the K-12 Partnership at KBS, we developed an educational tool aimed to do just that. Data Nuggets are worksheets that give students the chance to work with real data – and all its complexities. Each Data Nugget includes a brief background to a scientist and their study system along with a small, manageable dataset. Students are then given the scientist’s hypothesis and must use the data to construct an argument as to whether the data does or does not support it. One of our priorities has been to provide resources for students of all ages and skill levels because we recognize that students are often overwhelmed with data interpretation. As such, we have created Data Nuggets for students ranging from grades K-16, with varying levels of difficulty. We hope providing this structure will allow teachers to build these skills throughout a student’s entire education, ultimately preparing them for a career in science.

As we present Data Nuggets in classrooms and at national conferences, we continue to get great feedback from teachers on ways to improve the Nuggets and how teachers see them as fitting into their classrooms. “As we get our students ready for ACT testing, Data Nuggets are wonderful sets to use in our classroom because they are relevant and introduce “real” research to our students who might not have this type of exposure otherwise.” (K-12 Partnership teacher Marcia Angle, Lawton Middle School).

Melissa and Liz presenting their research to elementary students.

As scientists, we also see Data Nuggets as a great way to share our research with the public. We have each created Nuggets from our own dissertation data (Liz – invasive species, Melissa – animal behavior). Because we believe Data Nuggets could be a great way for all researchers to communicate their work as scientists, our future plans are to hold workshops to help scientists make Data Nuggets of their own. Communicating science to broad audiences is a skill that is becoming increasingly desirable for acquiring jobs and grants. We think Data Nuggets will help develop these skills in scientists of all disciplines and help them to think broadly about the societal importance of what they do.

Data Nuggets are currently funded by NSF’s BEACON Center for the Study of Evolution in Action, and originated through MSU’s GK-12 program at the Kellogg Biological Station.

This post is by MSU postdocs Liz Schultheis and Melissa Kjelvik. See the original article on the BEACON webpage (reproduced below):

The current landscape of K-12 science education is shifting – moving away from memorization of science facts to an approach based on the scientific method where students are taught quantitative skills and how to construct arguments from evidence. These skills are increasingly important as technology increases our access to large pools of data that must be quickly interpreted – including hot science topics in the news, such as evolution and climate change. While teachers support the shift, they currently lack the classroom resources necessary to make the change in their classroom. Additionally, teachers are worried about addressing The Next Generation Science Standards (released April 2013) and preparing students according to the ACT Readiness Standards, as both have increased expectations of analytical and quantitative skills for K-12 students. At present, there is no resource available to teachers that allows them to reinforce these skills repeatedly throughout the school year and continuing grade levels, while also covering core content and hitting on all parts of the scientific process.

The BEACON Project has many overlapping goals with the new science standards, and is well situated to help teachers address their concerns. First, an understanding of evolution depends on a student’s analytical and quantitative skill set. Much disbelief about evolution comes, not from a lack of evidence, but the inability of the audience to understand the scientific process and synthesize evidence to make an argument. Second, a multidisciplinary approach is essential when addressing the new science standards, as quantitative skills must be brought to bear on all science topics and be used as a way of thinking, more than just one unit within the curriculum. Third, once students understand scientific principles, such as the evolutionary process or how to ask questions of the natural world, they will be more excited to pursue a scientific career than if they believe science is purely fact memorization. Students will be able to apply these skills to other careers as well – just as programmers and engineers in BEACON use principles of natural selection to design better software and products. To achieve the goals of BEACON and science standards, teachers need a multidisciplinary and versatile tool that closely resembles the actual practice of scientific research and quantitative analysis.

Data Nuggets give students the opportunity to work with real scientific data.

Introducing Data Nuggets

We are currently developing a tool that we think has the potential to address these curriculum changes and BEACON goals: Data Nuggets, which bring data collected by scientists into the classroom, thus giving students the chance to work with real data – and all its complexities. Data Nuggets are worksheets designed to help students practice interpreting quantitative information and make claims based on evidence. The standard format of each Nugget provides a brief background to a researcher and their study system along with a small, manageable dataset. Students are then challenged to answer a scientific question, using the dataset to support their claim, and are guided through the construction of graphs to facilitate data interpretation. Various graphing and content levels allow for differentiated learning for students with any quantitative or science background. Because of their simplicity and flexibility, Data Nuggets can be used throughout the school year and teachers can provide higher graphing levels as students build confidence in their quantitative skills.

Data Nugget History

Utilizing the unique teacher-graduate fellow partnership organized by the Kellogg Biological Station’s GK-12 program, Data Nuggets were created by graduate students in response to discussions with Michigan teachers who expressed concern about students’ ability to make claims based on evidence. When first designing Nuggets, GK-12 fellows held a teacher workshop at KBS to solicit feedback on the structure, organization, and content to make Data Nuggets a teacher and classroom friendly resource that could be used at all grade levels. Teacher feedback continues to be an invaluable component to the development of the Nuggets as we travel to conferences such as ESA Life Discovery and National Association of Biology Teachers. More recently, the Nugget network has expanded beyond GK-12 to include datasets from graduate students, faculty, teachers, and undergraduate researchers at KBS.

The Future of Data Nuggets: Integration of BEACON research

For the next year, we will be supported by BEACON funds to address both the challenges BEACON researchers face when communicating evolution to broad audiences and the lack of education resources available for teachers to teach quantitative skills. Utilizing BEACON’s network and resources we are excited to:

1. develop and implement an assessment tool documenting the ability of Data Nuggets to improve students’ quantitative skills and understanding of science
2. provide professional development for BEACON researchers by facilitating workshops at each institution to create Data Nuggets from their research
3. enhance accessibility of Data Nuggets by creating a user-friendly website and presenting Data Nuggets at teacher conferences.

Coming to a BEACON University Near You: Data Nugget Workshops

We anticipate Nuggets will be a popular tool for academics to share their research with broad audiences. The short, simple Nugget template facilitates the creation of additional worksheets by making the process quick and easy for faculty and graduate students in all disciplines. Researchers who create Nuggets will improve their science communication skills, important when giving talks, writing papers submitting grants. Additionally, graduate students involved in BEACON can make Nuggets on findings from multidisciplinary collaborations, such as connections between evolution and engineering.

We will be organizing workshops at BEACON-affiliated universities to provide the training necessary for BEACON researchers to create a Data Nugget of their own. We will walk through the basic components of the Data Nugget and provide feedback as to the appropriateness of their Nugget for specific grade levels. Additionally, we will reach out to K-12 teachers at schools near each institution to increase awareness of Data Nuggets and invite them to make Data Nuggets of their own.