Using Data in the Classroom
Engaging students in using data to address scientific questions has long been an integral aspect of science education. Today's information technology provides many new mechanisms for collecting, manipulating, and aggregating data. In addition, large on-line data repositories provide the opportunity for totally new kinds of student experiences. This site provides information and discussion for educators and resource developers interested in effective teaching methods and pedagogical approaches for using data in the classroom. Follow the Whats Going On link to see workshops and related events on this topic.
For Resource Developers
A special goal of this site is to provide information for those developing data access and manipulation tools that will help them create resources well-suited for educational use. Developers are invited to join the using-data discussion list as a venue for developing dialog with educators who will use their products. The For Developers portion of the site aggregates recommendations from the education community for product development.
For Educators
Pedagogic Issues
The workshop report (Acrobat (PDF) 467kB Nov25 03), Using Data in Undergraduate Science Classrooms addresses several questions that arise repeatedly in discussions of using data in the classroom: What do we mean by "data" in this context? Why do we engage students with data? How do we currently engage students with data? Does using data improve learning? How can developers incorporate technology into the classroom?
These questions are the topics of conversation on the Using Data discussion list.
Resources
To support educators in using data in their courses, to promote sharing across disciplines and to enable an informed discussion, this site is aggregating:
- Links to and descriptions of Tools and Data Sources for accessing and manipulating data.
- Links to on-line Activities using data to teach STEM concepts.
- Examples of ways educators currently use data in their courses and classrooms.
- Scenarios describing ways in which educators would like to use data in the future.
- References to scholarly work and other Pedagogic Resources that address practical aspects of using data in the classroom.
The development of this resource collection is a community effort.