Data Nuggets originated from a partnership between teachers and scientists, ensuring they address classroom needs in STEM education. In a single activity, Data Nuggets introduce students to the practices of science, authentic data, and scientist role models.
Data Nuggets are directed by Drs. Elizabeth Schultheis and Melissa Kjelvik from Michigan State University. They were founded through the K-12 Partnership at the Kellogg Biological Station, a unique partnership between scientists and local teachers that has run since 1999. This opportunity for collaboration led to the creation of teacher-inspired resources based on cutting-edge research. Teachers shared that their students were struggling with data literacy tasks such as graphing, and they were seeking out real, messy data that could be used for practice. We designed Data Nuggets in response, to bring real data from current and ongoing research into the classroom and take students through the process of science, from the inception of ideas to the analysis and interpretation of data. Today, these resources have expanded worldwide and are used in tens of thousands of classrooms.
Since their founding, Liz and Melissa have funded Data Nuggets through a series of collaborative grants from the National Science Foundation, including a DRK-12 in 2015 and two IUSE grants in 2020 and 2024. Funding, and collaboration with an amazing team of discipline-based education researchers, allows us to evaluate the effectiveness of integrating Data Nuggets into science curriculum and refine their design to include cutting-edge, evidence-based practices in STEM education. Through our work we have found that Data Nuggets improve student interest in STEM careers, and that featuring scientist role models along with our activities can enhance student ability to relate to scientists. Data Nuggets engage students in the practices of science, as defined by the Next Generation Science Standards, and shift classroom practice to active engagement. Students using Data Nuggets also improve in their quantitative reasoning abilities and are better able to use data as evidence when constructing scientific explanations.
Today, Data Nuggets are supported by the Kellogg Biological Station Long Term Ecological Research Program. We will continue to develop and enhance Data Nuggets to help teachers bring more data from research into their classroom, and help students become comfortable working with messy data and unexpected results. We continue to take in feedback from educators and education research. We present Data Nuggets at national and local education conferences and provide professional development for educators. Our innovative and iterative development approach has led to a product that teachers and students find easy to work with and integrate into existing curriculum, and that continue to evolve with needs of modern STEM education.
For more information on Data Nuggets, see our papers in the American Biology Teacher and other research on our Publications and Funding page.