Teaching with CHRONOS Data and Tools A Framework for Design

1. Teaching with CHRONOS Data and ToolsA Framework for Design Cathy Manduca Science Education Resource Center Carleton College June 13, 2006

2. Teaching with CHRONOS Data and ResearchWhat do we hope to accomplish?

3. NSDL Workshop Report • What do we mean by data? • Why is using data important? • How do we do it? • What do we know about how well this works? • What are the implications for digital libraries and data providers ?

4. Possible Goals • teach quantitative skills, technical methods and scientific concepts • prepare students to address real world complex problems • develop students' ability to use scientific methods • help students to critically evaluate the robustness of data or evidence and their consequent interpretations or conclusions • increase verbal, written and graphical communication skills • train students in the values and ethics of working with data

5. A spectrum of approaches • Students engaged in collecting data • Students engaged in generating questions • Testing theory or models with data or vice versa

6. Kinds of activities • Open-ended activities that encourage students to ask questions of the data in order to discover patterns and relationships as a basis for understanding scientific processes or concepts • Activities that address a real, often complex problem to foster an understanding of scientific concepts and their application to the world around us • Activities that use analytic mathematical models, computer models or simulations to help students discover functions that describe data and the behavior of complex systems under varying conditions • Guided interpretation of data, testing of hypotheses, and making predictions • Activities that replicate or simulate documented scientific investigations to lead students to an understanding of fundamental scientific observations or principles

7. Wisdom from Learning Science (How People Learn, NRC,1999) • Learning is additive, it builds on current understanding • Understanding is actively constructed -This requires an engaged learner -Different people construct/learn most easily in different ways • Learning to learn-metacognition is an important aspect of becoming an expert and is context specific

8. More Wisdom from Learning Science • To develop competence students must: • Have a deep foundation of factual knowledge • Understand ideas in the context of conceptual framework • Organize knowledge in ways that facilitate retrieval and application

9. Using Data Can . . • Engage students in learning • By providing real world context • Creating student ownership of questions • Enhance learning experience • Better retention by constructing knowledge • Transferable or useable understanding • Understanding of process of scientific inquiry • Subtlety • Teach some critical skills . . .

10. A design strategy • Establish goals-desired results • Determine measure of success and acceptable evidence • Consider wisdom from research and experience • Consider assets and constraints • Develop activity based on wisdom to meet goals while exploiting assets and meeting constraints • Evaluate results and tune system • Wiggins and McTigue, 2000, Understanding By Design • Tewksbury and McDonald, 2005, Course Design Tutorial (serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/coursedesign/tutorial/index.html)

11. What are your goals? • What do you want to accomplish? • What should students be able to do? • What is your measure of success?

12. Thinking Like an Assessor • What is worthy and requiring of understanding? • What would be sufficient and revealing evidence of understanding? • What performance tasks must anchor the unit? • How will I be able to distinguish between those who really understand and those who don’t? • Against what criteria will I distinguish work? • What misunderstandings are likely? How will I check for those? • From Wiggins and McTigue

13. From Goals to Outcomes:Designing the activity • Students must be engaged to learn- How does the activity engage them? • Students must construct new knowledge incrementally as a results of experience-What experiences will they have in this activity? • Students must refine and connect their knowledge to be able to use it further- How will the activity promote reflection on and application of the new knowledge? Edelson, 2001, Learning for Use A Framework for the Design of Technology-Supported Inquiry Activities: Journal of Research in Science Teaching, vol 38, no 3, p 355-385

14. Inquiry is Hard • Inquiry and research are complex learned skills • What do your students know that will help them • Ask questions? • Find and interpret data? • Draw conclusions? • Communicate results? • How will you scaffold their learning? How will you support students with different levels of experience?

15. Critical Aspects • Motivate/engage students • Learning through experience and communication • Reflect upon (talk, write or think) and use learning

16. In sum • Using data is a powerful and flexible tool for learning • It can be used to increase motivation for learning and is a foundation for activities that construct knowledge • Using data must be incorporated in well designed activities that provide for knowledge construction and reflection. • Developing inquiry and analysis skills are significant tasks that must be accounted for in planning